As France prepares to welcome athletes and tourists from around the world, many French people are hanging onto their hats. While thousands have benevolently volunteered to help out, opportunists abound, exploring every angle to advance their personal gain. It’s been 100 years since the games last took place in Paris…
We can argue about whether editorial cartoons make us laugh or cry, but the best among them should make us think. Here are some of my favorites from France which take aim at Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine and the West’s counter-reaction. See Also Masterful Street Artists Across France Hail…
On Sunday, May 7th, the French elected a new president, Emmanuel Macron. After a 1-week transition period, Macron took office on May 14th. Since the election, Macron has been busy. Almost immediately, he named his prime minister, the center-right politician Édouard Philippe, and met with Angela Merkel, completing his first official foreign…
Last weekend, one of France’s most celebrated graphic novelists passed away. You might be surprised to learn that he was Japanese. Indeed, Jiro Taniguchi was “knighted” as a chevalier in France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011. While hailed in the press as a manga author, Taniguchi’s style was…
I recently watched the documentary film, Je Suis Charlie, available on Netflix. The movie was released in September 2015, 9 months after the terrorist attack that killed several staff members of the sharp-edged periodical, Charlie Hebdo. The two gunmen that carried out the attack were members of Al Qaeda in…
I’ve recently written about the International Comics Festival that takes place each year in France and the controversy that marked last year’s event. At issue was the glaring absence of female nominees for the festival’s celebrated Grand Prix. The coveted Grand Prix is considered by many to be the most…
A year ago, women in the comic industry were outraged upon learning that all of the 30 nominees for the Grand Prix d’Angoulême were men. This prestigious prize is awarded each January at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France. In response to what they viewed as an egregious oversight,…
