Reading Time: 4 minutes The French just love chaos, adore complaining about everything and have a passion for taking to the streets. The latest movement of discontent targetted at Emmanuel Macron, the “gilets jaunes,” (yellow vests) is no exception to this French pastime. During my 15 years in France, I fell victim to this undisciplined, vociferous, and disrespectful mentality all […]
France
CULTURE: La Langue De Molière
Reading Time: 4 minutes J‘ai eu une chance inouïe de pouvoir faire mes études scolaires dans un lycée qui, au fil des années, est devenu une école de renommée internationale. Le Lycée Français de Londres, rebaptisé “Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle” en 1980, à la mémoire du fondateur de la Cinquième République, est devenu un symbole du système d’éducation […]
Red Alert, The Blues Should Win
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s squeaky bum time again, in the world of football. It’s that moment when you cannot muster the courage to switch on the television set and yet, you are compelled to do so. Old wounds, that you thought had healed forever, come surging to the surface again, and open up to cause you more pain […]
The Night England Won Me Back
Reading Time: 4 minutes There used to be a time when I was an unconditional England supporter. Living in Kilburn made it that much easier to get to Wembley Stadium to watch the Three Lions play really well, or get beaten out of sight by slick Continentals. I’ve seen just about all facets of the national side, and I […]
Brexit Musings (23) – “La Maison De Monsieur Lawson”
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s nearly two years since the UK Referendum on EU membership, and I’m not going to moan about it, like a lot of people will do, to mark the second anniversary of the Brexit vote. Others will do it much better than me. Such a shame though, the Brexit vote, but what is done, is […]
How Catholic Conservatism Could Conquer Secular France
Reading Time: 7 minutes Marion Maréchal is the grand-daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French extreme-right-wing Front National. She wants to implement a political ideology that is soaked in a thick mantle of Catholicism. It is ironic that, in the eyes of many, the return of Catholicism may be the answer to the battle (if battle there is) […]
May 1968 – I Love Paris In The Springtime
Reading Time: 5 minutes It may not have escaped your notice that this month marks the 50th anniversary of the riots that took Paris by the scruff of the neck. The widespread violence, of May 1968, resulted in… well not much, apart from transforming Parisian little brats, dependent on their parents’ money into… liberated Parisian little brats, dependent on […]
Emmanuel Macron Cannot Change French “Strike Culture”
Reading Time: 6 minutes There is another culture that the French are proud of, besides the “cultural exception” represented by their language, in the face of Anglo-Saxon dominance. It is the right for you to strike, regardless of whether your actions will close schools, disrupt the business commuter, or leave the unsuspecting tourist stranded at Charles de Gaulle airport. […]
Brexit Musings (14): Emmanuel Macron – Jupiter Or Icarus?
Reading Time: 4 minutes He’s quite articulate, isn’t he? – Andrew Marr French president, Emmanuel Macron’s television interview, broadcast on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, was nothing short of impressive. Macron showed a degree of confidence and self-belief, that were quite bewildering – especially if you consider that he was speaking to Andrew Marr, in English. From a linguistic […]
Charlie Hebdo And The True Value Of Freedom Of Expression
Reading Time: 5 minutes How much would you be willing to pay for the privilege to be able to open your mouth, and air your opinions? One Euro a day, or ten? Do you have a price limit, beyond which, it’s not worth the expense, and you will just shut up? Is being “priced out” of freedom of expression, […]