Inside France is editor Emma Pearson's weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Tax travails
The misadventures of Samir Nasri and his takeaways have really gripped France this week.
Partly because it's always extremely jolly watching wealthy would-be tax cheats get their comeuppance, but also because many people were impressed/terrified at the Agatha Christie style sleuthing of the French tax office, which tracked not only Nasri's flights but his Deliveroo orders to prove that the retired footballer is actually tax resident in France (not Dubai).
Yes, le fisc (the tax man) is well-funded, clever and resourceful and has wide ranging powers to track every aspect of your life in France.
One of the first French films I ever saw was the classic farce Le Dîner de Cons - which involves a lowly tax clerk getting his own back on an arrogant, bullying posh boy by casually suggesting that maybe he should sign him up for a tax audit. The abject terror of French tax officials leads to some of the film's funniest scenes as the man almost kills himself frantically trying to dispose of evidence of his wealthy lifestyle.
Don't mess with le fisc.
Talking France
We discuss Samir's tax situation, plus other tax traps to avoid, in the latest episode of Talking France, along with carte de séjour problems, the east-west divide in Paris and why Brittany has no toll roads. Listen here.
Mayday
Meanwhile, French MPs in the Assemblée nationale have been locked in debate over the crucial question of whether employees at boulangeries and florists should be allowed to work on the public holiday of May 1st.
The hard-left La France Insoumise is unsurprisingly opposed, but has also proposed some additional public holidays. Bonus points to anyone who can identify what key events in French history these dates commemorate; February 4th, March 18th and August 4th? (answers below)
Love Match
The glossy magazine Paris Match occupies an unusual place in the media landscape - it's often compared to Hello magazine for its 'at home' style photoshoots, soft-soap interviews and interest in the lives of minor royals.
But it frequently serves a political purpose too, and in fact, the country's last three presidents posed with their wives or partners for the magazine as a soft-launch of their campaigns. Which is relevant to this week's cover - French far-right leader Jordan Bardella and his new partner, Italian princess Maria Carolina, photographed holding hands and strolling, sweater draped around the shoulders in the approved magazine photo style.
🚨 À la une de 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 cette semaine.
— Paris Match (@ParisMatch) April 8, 2026
📌 Jordan Bardella et Maria Carolina de Boubon des Deux-Siciles : l’idylle que personne n’attendait.
👉 Photos exclusives de leur escapade en Corse.
📌 Iran : l’incroyable sauvetage du pilote américain.
📌 Angleterre : la… pic.twitter.com/wk08ZJauo4
The magazine said that its photographers "stumbled upon" the pair out in the Corsican countryside. Et mon cul c'est du poulet.
Props to the Communist newspaper L'Humanité for taking the 'fairytale romance' theme and running with it, headlining their article The Princess and the Facho.
Matisse
And I know that Emma Albright has already recommended this in her La Belle Vie column, but I too really enjoyed the new exhibition of Matisse artworks at the Grand Palais in Paris.
The works themselves are beautiful but I was especially inspired by the fact that all the works in the expo were created when he was over the age of 70. Gives us all something to aspire to in old age!
Here's my favourite, entitled The Horse, the Rider and the Clown.
Inside France is editor Emma Pearson's weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
* Those dates are, of course; February 4th - the 1794 vote abolishing slavery in all French colonies (Napoleon later reinstated slavery, one reason why his legacy is a little complex); March 18th - the start of the short-lived Paris Commune of 1871; August 4th - the 1789 vote abolishing the feudal privileges of French nobles and clergy.
Many historians consider the August 4th vote to be the true beginning of the French Revolution, rather than the largely symbolic storming of the Bastille a couple of weeks earlier. But July 14th ended up becoming the anniversary - probably because it's quite hard to create sexy paintings and re-enactments of a bunch of blokes signing a piece of paper.
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