Many people love the French language for its flowing sonorous qualities or its meticulous adherence to grammatical rules. Once you’ve studied French a bit, you’re also likely to appreciate the language’s elaborate lexicon of profanity. Last week, President Macron stepped outside of the usual guardrails of European political decorum and…
As we ring in 2022, here are holiday gags from some of my favorite French cartoonists, along with English translations. I’ve also included a charming little video for those of you who do or do not speak French. Thank you to everyone who’s read or commented on my blog in…
I’m perpetually on the hunt for film and book recommendations, even though I have a long list of both that I’ll probably never get through. At the end of each year, however, I usually pick up the pace of my media consumption. The weather in Michigan keeps me away from…
In the summer of 2015, I was excited to learn that the Belgian pop star, Stromae, was coming to Detroit. There are very few French performers that bother to stop in Michigan and I hoped to attend his concert, not only to support a francophone artist but also because I’d…
At the end of each month, I select a handful of fun and informative Francophone news items that have come across my screen. Here are my picks for November 2021. First Black Woman Enshrined in the Panthéon Located in the heart of Paris’ Latin Quarter, the Panthéon honors many of…
Humankind’s penchant for continually pushing the limits of creativity, science, and physical achievement never ceases to amaze me. You will find a shining example of this powerful predilection in the diminutive French free diver, Julie Gautier. Gautier was born on Réunion Island, surrounded by the Indian Ocean. She is a…
In 1968, The Sunday Times in London ran a competition to translate the poem Spleen, by the famous French poet Charles Baudelaire. Upon learning of the contest, Nicholas Moore, who had once been one of Britain’s most celebrated poets, decided to have a little fun and also prove a point.…
Mention the name of Marie Antoinette and many people will credit her with the haughty citation, “Let them eat cake!” The frivolous queen allegedly uttered these words upon learning that French peasants had no bread to eat. Yet, Marie Antoinette never made this pronouncement nor was she indifferent to the…
