On December 24th 1951, a group of Catholic clergymen hanged and set on fire a Father Christmas effigy in front of at least 250 children in Dijon, France. Following the incident, the late French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss wrote an article entitled “Le Père Noël supplicié” (“The tortured Father Christmas”) in the literary journal “Les Temps […]
France
FRANCE: Violences Conjugales – Un Mal Gaulois?
Certains records nationaux sont enviables, d’autres honteux. Les chiffres officiels concernant les violences conjugales en France font froid dans le dos: une femme est tuée par son partenaire ou son ex-partenaire tous les trois jours. Ce qui est encore plus inquiétant, c’est que les chiffres officiels ne reflètent peut-être que la partie visible de l’iceberg […]
- Intolerance
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I’m No Racist, I Just Hate Everybody!
Paul Golding and others like him have had enough of being labelled as racist. According to the leader of Britain First, anybody who wants to put an end to immigration and favours national culture over foreign culture, shows no signs of racism whatsoever. I’m going to be honest and admit that I […]
La Vie En Rose – Domestic Violence Figures Shame France
Some national records are enviable, others are shameful. The official figures concerning domestic violence in France make for grim reading – a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner every three days. France’s dismal record on domestic violence is certainly nothing to be proud of, but what is even more worrying is that the […]
Vins Au Féminin – Que Les Hommes Aillent Se Faire Boire!
Ne vous méprenez pas. J’aime et respecte les femmes et il ne pourrait en être autrement, ma propre mère est une femme. Mais je dois admettre que mon épouse a un penchant pour les vins blancs doux ou les rosés, et cela m’agace. Cela aurait pu être bien pire pour Colombelle, notre petit […]
La France Accepterait-Elle Un “Backstop” Corse?
Les commentaires d’un lord anglais lors de l’émission Newsnight de la BBC ont jeté un doute sérieux sur la capacité qu’ont les anglais soutenant le Brexit de comprendre vraiment ce qui se passe, notamment en Irlande du Nord. Au sujet du fameux “backstop” irlandais, Lord Peter Lilley a suggéré que si la France quittait l’UE, […]
What It Feels Like To Be Frenglish
An article I came across in the Observer presents a documentary made by French journalist and producer Benjamin Carle. In his documentary that is to be shown on French TV, he tries to put himself in the shoes of an Englishman to see what he likes about the English and whether he can see himself […]
Love At First Read – Françoise Sagan: “Bonjour Tristesse” (“Hello Sadness”)
When French author, Françoise Sagan, died in September 2004, she left behind more than one million dollars in debts and a little gem entitled “Bonjour Tristesse” (“Hello Sadness”). In his memorial statement, the then French President Jacques Chirac said of Sagan: “With her death, France loses one of its most brilliant and sensitive writers – […]
FRANCE: François de Rugy – Big Mac À L’Élysée
C’est navrant lorsque des ministres à court d’idées sont persécutés pour autre chose par le pays qu’ils tentent de gouverner. C’est comme si nous avions tous subit une attaque de moralité divine concernant le fait qu’ils font autre chose que de gouverner. La dernière victime de cette moralité démocratique visant le mode de vie somptueux […]
A Big Mac, French Fries And A Coke. Anything Else, Minister?
It is sad really, when ministers who run out of ideas are being persecuted for something else by the country they are trying to govern. It is as if we all have suddenly had an attack of divine morality concerning the fact that they are otherwise engaged. The latest victim of the democratic inquisition into […]