The French Journal

My posting habits have been erratic lately. The situation is that while working on another writing project, fulfilling some professional obligations, and handling a few personal matters, my time for the blog is very limited. I have no real opportunity to research and dig for the new items that give me pleasure and teach me new things about my beloved France, and that I get joy from sharing with you.

I'm not going to put The French Journal on hiatus while I work through the crunch period, but it's likely that my posts will be less regular for awhile. My apologies.

2008-5-05 3:30pm

The travel guide Lonely Planet has a video page, and while it's not rich with items yet, there is the one that heads this post for a three minute swing around the city.

2008-5-05 12:00pm

I've written about Lyon many times in the past, but since my desire to visit the city are as of yet unfulfilled, I gladly take this opportunity to follow in Anthony Peregrine's footsteps as he travels there for The Times (U.K.). Starting off in Vieux Lyon, there's a taste of the Renaissance, and the frightening information that the city fathers once considered bulldozing the area for urban renewal. Happily, that disaster was avoided, and now you can still poke around in the walkways called traboules which connect the buildings. There's shopping, of course, and museums dedicated to the Lumière Brothers and the Resistance (whose leader, Jean Moulin, died in Lyon). And this being Lyon, food is king, with restaurants ranging from Paul Bocuse temples to the bouchons, the characteristic eateries of the city.

For more, be sure to go to my Rhône Alpes index, where there's a wealth of material.

2008-5-02 5:20pm

In some of the world's the finest wines, like those of Bordeaux, the Cabernet Franc grape is used sparingly as a blending element, adding a "herbaceous" note. As a varietal, however, it lacks prominence, although there are some notable bottlers in the Loire region, such as Saumur-Champigny, Bourgueil and Chinon. For this week's bit of wine knowledge, hie yourself o'er to the LA Times for an introduction to Cabernet Franc. Since it's a California publication, be prepared for the LAT to report on the grape's status in that state and in Washington (but there's a good dose of France in the blend). Should you not have the energy to follow the link, here are the salient tasting hints to remember: "(Cabernet Franc's) herbal marker is so unique that when it goes missing, as it does in warmer sites, the wines can seem generic and sullen.Too much and the wine can be green and weedy." Santé!

2008-5-02 11:56am

As an article in The Guardian (U.K.) notes, the beauty of Paris is due at least in part to rigid guidelines about the kinds of construction that can take place in the heart of the city. This is not a town where skyscrapers dominate the view; when they do, like the Tour Montparnasse, they are often reviled.

2008-5-01 5:24pm

2008-5-01 11:04am

I can't pretend to understand the intricacies of the situation of Muslims who live in France, but I do know that it's volatile. For those like me who would like a primer on the issues, Spiegel On-Line has an overview of the life of Muslims in France. The article cites "discrimination on a daily basis: when their tickets are checked on the metro, when they have to meet the bouncer’s approval to enter a disco, when they go in for a job interview and when they apply for a bank loan" Observers say it's not a question of integration, but of being characterized by their religion, which is viewed with suspicion and distrust. And a bickering local Muslim Council has been unable to provide leadership to ease the issues. All-in-all, a fascinating read.

Related to this story, from The Washington Post via French Culture Now: estimates that Muslims make up 60 to 70 percent of France's prison population.

2008-4-30 11:28am

Michel Houellebecq is one of the best-known, more notorious writers on the French scene, responsible for cynical, sex-filled novels like The Possibility of an Island andThe Elementary Particles. This latter book has a character which Houellebecq based on his mother, and he portrays her as an irresponsible flower child. Now Houellebecq's mother, Lucie Ceccaldi, 83, has "fired back," claiming that she was a hard-working woman (who nonetheless gave up the upbringing of her son to her mother-in-law). (TTC/AFP). Like most who follow this route, she says that going public to dispute her son's characterization is a way to reach out to him. Somehow, I don't think the tactic of telling the world that your son is a "liar" and a "parasite" will be the most effective way to bring about a reconciliation.

2008-4-29 9:00pm

The Molières, the French equivalent to the Tony Awards, were given out last night in Paris, and they had a decidedly American flavor. The best musical award went to Le Roi Lion, that is, The Lion King, a French language recreation of the New York/Disney smash. And the best director award went to actor John Malkovich for his work on the play Good Canary.

Winning for best drama was La Vie devant soi, based on a novel by Romain Gary which had also served as the source for the well-known Simone Signoret film, Madame Rosa. The lead actress in the play, Myriam Boyer, was honored for her work. Boyer is the mother of French film star Clovis Cornillac, himself a nominee this year for a Molière for his role in L'Hôtel du libre-échange; Cornillac lost, however, to veteran French actor Michel Galabru, who starred in Les Chaussettes - opus 124.

2008-4-29 11:22am

Late last week, in the village of Villers-Bretonneux, hundreds of Australians gathered to commemorate the efforts of their countrymen in World War I (Sydney Morning-Herald). VB, as it was known, had been captured by the Germans, who viewed it as a gateway for a march on Paris. The Australians fought - and regained - the town, but at an enormous cost: 1,200 lives. Even so, this battle was not the bloodiest for the Aussies on the French front during the Great War. At Fromelles, in 1916, there were over 5,000 casualties, including nearly 2,000 deaths.

Villers-Bretonneau planned a week-long celebration of the Australians, in recognition of the 90th anniversary of the battle. Anzac Day is a national holiday in Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere, which takes place on April 25, and which honors the soldiers of World War I who fought at Gallipoli.

2008-4-28 8:10pm

For our last taste of Paris, I'm sending you to The Telegraph (U.K.) for a recent update to its guide to the city. There are lists on the best hotels, restaurants, sites, nightspots, and shopping venues. It's not necessarily the place I'd recommend if you were planning a trip; in its brevity, one almost feels it was written from a desk somewhere in London. For example, the Musée du quai Branly is one of the "top five sites," but Notre Dame and Montmartre are not to be found. We'll forgive the idiocyncracies, however; when faced with the richness of Paris, choosing a few glories is an impossible task. And there's enough there to generate some longing.

2008-4-28 2:45pm

Over at the LA Times, Susan Spano offers us a list of the "Ten Best Films to See Paris on the Silver Screen." Last I'd heard, Spano had relocated to China; she may have left the Paris beat, but the LAT is still squeezing these articles out of her. In any case, there's a lot on her list to quibble with, like her number one: Ratatouille? A good movie, but it's perverse to select computer-generated Paris as your best way to experience the city on fillm. And I like An American in Paris, but most of it was shot in the studio. And then you get to Is Paris Burning?, which may have the scenery, but it's hell to sit through. The others on Spano's list are Love in the Afternoon, Le Divorce, Funny Face, Gigi, Breathless, Day of the Jackal, and Amélie. What? No Paris, Je T'aime?

The opening credits for Love in the Afternoon, with some good Paris scenes, heads this post. I haven't seen the movie for a long time.

2008-4-28 11:29am

April in Paris. Which is where I am not. Nonetheless, I found a good batch of Paris articles to share with you today, so those of us who are far away can spend some time there before this celebrated period ends.

First, through the auspices of Budget Travel, we see the city "through an artist's eyes," the artist being photographer Ian Gittler. There are many evocative delights in this series of 20 shots, including night time at Pigalle, Parisian rooftops, and a sequence on the Palais Royale. Gittler speaks for just about every tourist when he says "...I was as curious and enthusiastic about being here as anyone...I was free to wander and snap pictures of random or even insignificant details simply because I thought they might inspire a sweet memory at some point down the line."

There's even more on Gittler's web site; click on "Paris Journal" on the home page for a diorama, and be sure to look for Charlotte Gainsbourg as you circle around.

2008-4-25 7:13pm

Let's travel in rarefied air for our Friday wine truc and visit Château Lafite, the crown jewel in the kingdom of Domaines Barons de Rothschild, which includes vineyards in Bordeaux, Entre-Deux-Mers, Portugal, Chile, and Argentina (The Telegraph UK). The concern produces over 12-million bottles a year. Just to confuse you, and to prove life isn't fair, another branch of the Rothschild family owns Château Mouton Rothschild and several other labels. In spite of the proximity and overlap, there is no rivalry as such between the two factions; one senses that in this world, competition is beneath consideration, as there's enough money to go around for everyone, isn't there?

2008-4-25 3:15pm

For your weekend at the movies, you could try out the latest film by Claude Lelouche, Roman de Gare. A tricky little puzzle movie, the movie is graced with swoony shots of the Bordeaux area and the presence of grande dame Fanny Ardant. The movie's supporters enjoy its glossy escapism; naysayers suggest that "too many scenes outstay their welcome." The title, BTW, means "airplane read," that is, a none-too-challenging time killer.

Lelouche, who became famous several decades ago with the swirling romanticism of A Man and a Woman, was profiled recently in The New York Times. After the critical drubbing of some recent films, he made this picture under a pseudonym to test whether the reaction to his movies was a kneejerk response to his name on the credits. He submitted the movie to Cannes. Lelouche says, "“They thought they had discovered a wonderful new young director."

2008-4-25 11:11am

A profile of the city of Amiens, a college town and more in the Picardy region, starts off as if it will concentrate on les Hortillonnages, that is, city gardens, recovered from swampland, where urban dwellers grow produce to be sold in local markets. It's a false start, however. The piece (taken from The Guardian U.K.) wanders away from fresh radishes and meanders to the other big attractions of the town: a major art museum, medieval squares, a center devoted to Jules Verne (who moved there), and, of course, its magisterial cathedral, Notre Dame, France's largest, and "the last resting place of John the Baptist's forehead." (Saint's relics can show up in the most unusual spots.) As long as you're aware that the story shifts mid-way, you'll enjoy the stroll.

2008-4-24 12:03pm

Call this post "links to videos about French marginalia," since there are two brief clips I'm leading you to (and I don't have the skill to embed them in this post).

First up, from Time, is a video about some Frenchmen who have fallen in love with American baseball and who play in a local league. While the game has not yet taken the country by storm, a couple of the players are good enough to have been scouted for play with professional teams in the U.S.

Second, via The Guardian (U.K.), is a story of a Montmartre restaurant with a gimmick: it serves wine in baby bottles. From the tables packed with tourists, it appears the ploy is working, but I'd suggest it's only for those who only like their cabs laced with rubber.

2008-4-23 3:06pm

2008-4-23 11:21am

There have been lots of stories in the New York Times over the last few days about one of my deux amours, so I going to play catch up. First, today's paper has an interesting look at French lighthouses, a lovely aspect of the patrimoine, but one that is literally in danger of crumbling. In particular danger are those which are off-shore and run remotely; given that GPS units have made their functionality almost irrelevant, not a lot of money will be directed to their upkeep, since they are essentially inaccessible. Still, the article notes that the buildings have a special romantic place in the French imagination; lighthouse keepers are lionized. And the fact of the lighthouses' deterioration may eventually bring attention to the need for preservation of some of the of the dozens of land-based edifices.

2008-4-22 11:30am

In reseaching items for this blog over the past two years, I have learned to anticipate articles by Anthony Peregrine, who contributes to a number of English newspapers. A chief reason for my appreciation: he doesn't cover the usual spots.

For example, for this morning I'll line up two of his articles from The Times (U.K.). The first is a visit to Poitiers, in Poitou-Charentes. This town is not in the least bit trendy; its moment in the sun was several hundred years ago. Yet from that time as a medieval center, when Eleanor of Aquitaine ruled, much remains to do and see. And as Peregrine notes, for lovers of France, there's no greater pleasure than being in a French town, early in the morning, watching it come to life, "...as people open up food shops, swab pavements, take a first coffee of the day and leg it for work. There’s a rooted sense of purpose abroad."

About a month ago, Peregrine wrote another consideration, one of the town of Béziers and the Languedoc. In encouraging his fellow British citizens to take advantage of new airplane routes to the city, Béziers becomes a starting point for a tour of the region. Peregrine guides them (and us) around local ports, beaches, ruins, parks, vineyards; this is a "great place for wandering." A favorite stop is the city of Sète: "There’s a salty atmosphere of honest labour and, as in all ports, shadowy skulduggery...(T)ourism has added sprightlier shops and blow-up dolphins to the mix of ships’ chandlers, classic frontages, cranes and fish soup. ...(Y)ou’ll bump into memories of Georges Brassens, moustachio’d chansonnier and Sète’s most famous son. Say you like him or face the consequences."

2008-4-18 12:26pm

A pivotal event of recent French history was the riots of 1968, when an act of disciplining students turned into weeks of upheaval that gradually involved all levels of French society. An excellent virtual tour, almost an online documentary of the era, has been created by Agnès Poirier for The Guardian. As you click on the numbers of a map, Poirier and two commentators tell how the events unfolded, illustrated by a slide show of modern day Paris. It's a formula which both teaches and gives joy those who simply in the mood to revisit the city. And sure enough, for an ironic note about the immutability of some aspects of the French character, while the narrators walk around the sites, they come across a present day demonstration.

2008-4-17 3:18pm

Aileen Bordman loves Monet and Normandy a lot, and she's managed to convert her enthusiasm to an enterprise dedicated to those entities. One of the offshoots of her efforts is a television show, Monet's Palate, which will air this month on PBS. Featuring narration by Meryl Streep and appearances by renown chefs such as Alice Waters and Daniel Boulud, the documentary is a celebration of Monet and the food that he enjoyed when he was alive. A list of times that the documentary will show is on the Monet's Palate website and blog. A three minute promo video heads this post.

2008-4-17 11:30am

In New England, it's still too cold for beach reading, but maybe it's not too warm to curl up in front of the fire with a good, long read. A candidate for that activity is a new novel by first-timer Catherine Delors, Mistress of the Revolution. It tells of a young woman, first unhappily married and then the mistress of a nobleman, against the turbulence of the French Revolution. Early reviews indicate that the book is enriched by the wealth of historical detail that Delors, a Frenchwoman writing in English, provides, and there are special guest appearances by Thomas Jefferson and Robespierre, among other actual famous personages. The book's feature page on its publisher's site has a brief interview with Delors, a excerpt, and a reader's guide.

2008-4-16 5:25pm

What's cool in the City of Light? According to an article in The Times (London), the line up is something like this: a bistro in the 13th called L’Avant Goût for pot au feu for lunch; the Ritz's Bar Hemingway; Muriel Grateau, a boutique for linens, porcelins, and jewelry; the Musée Nissim de Camondo, a preserved family home redolent with art and antiques; and 3 Rooms, a place to stay, where there are three designer apartments awaiting your arrival.

Should you desire "new," instead of cool, Town and Country suggests that you try out Alain Ducasse's Le Jules Verne, now at the Eiffel Tower; the redesigned exhibits at the Arc de Triomphe; the new showroom of Hermès, complete with glass staircase; ditto, Chanel's new store; and Gordon Ramsay au Trianon, at Versailles, where the superstar British chef will swear at you.

2008-4-16 11:25am

In a David versus Goliath battle, smaller local makers of Camembert cheese have won a victory against some much larger producers (The Tocqueville Connection/AF). Two industrial giants, Lactilis and Isigny Cooperative, had waged an appeal with the commission on Appellation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) designations to have their cheeses, which do not use raw milk, as still worthy of an AOC. This label indicates that the foods and wines which carry it are unique, prepared under strict conditions, and only with certain ingredients. It's a symbol of quality. True Camembert, however, uses only raw milk, which makes it difficult to export to places like the U.S., where regulations require pasteurization that impacts the flavor of the cheese. (Many view the U.S. restriction as more political than based in real threat to well-being.) The loss for the big guys, who claimed that the raw milk cheese carried unhealthy bacteria, is unlikely to impact their overseas business, but may have repercussions in the local market. The A.O.C. commission determined that the dangers of raw milk cheese were "infinitesimal."

2008-4-15 10:45am

Let's start the day with a commentary from The New York Times entitled "A Lowbrow in High Office Ruffles France." Its premise: Culture-loving France, used to leaders who hobnob with poets and intellectuals, is somewhat aghast by the antics of its Celine Dion-loving, text-messaging, jeans-wearing president. The main hope for the future? The new Mrs. Sarkozy. One interviewee "speculated the other morning that Ms. Bruni and her sister, a filmmaker and actress, might make a kind of project of the president, culturally speaking: Pygmalions to his Galatea." Hilarious.

2008-4-14 8:44pm

Thanks to the phenomenal success in France of the movie Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, there is a new king of French film actors: comedian Dany Boon, who wrote, directed, and stars in the picture. And -- as is often the case -- Boon is largely unknown here in the U.S. To help remedy that situation, let me give you a few facts about him to bring you up-to-date.

Daniel Hamidou was born almost 42 years ago in Armentières in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region; his stage name is derived from the American frontiersman, Daniel Boone. In the early days of his career, Boon was a street performer, worked in clubs as a comic, and provided voices for cartoons. In 1993, a television personality, Patrick Sébastien, spotted him and gave him a break, which led to a series of successful one-man shows. One of them, A s'baraque et en ch'ti, uses for comic effect the ridicule that many of his countrymen express about his birthplace. (I believe the title is roughly translated as "At his place and in Ch'ti," which is a Northern dialect.) The DVD of this show sold over 600,000 copies and undoubtedly paved the way for the smashing acceptance of Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, which uses the same theme for its story. The film is already the most successful French film of all-time in its native land, and only surpassed by Titanic, which les Ch'tis may yet overtake.

A few of Boon's movies have shown up stateside, including Joyeux Noël, La Doublure/The Valet, and most notably, Mon meilleur ami/My Best Friend, in which he bonds with star Daniel Auteuil. Following is an extract from one of Boon's comedy monologues, in which he attempts to entice visitors to the North. Needless to say, it's in French.

2008-4-14 2:03pm

This one is for the style mavens. The D'Ornano family, blue bloods all, have made their mark with some of the biggest names in beauty products: Orlane and Lancôme, which the family eventually sold, and Sisley, still under their management, and one of the high-end brands in this category. Daphne Merkin of The New York Times "drops in" on some members of the business dynasty at their Paris apartment, and she accepts them at face value (ahem), praising the family's down-to-earth demeanor while sharing a lunch of salmon with green sauce (made of money, perhaps) before they run off to their place in the country. She admires their willingness to grapple with the innards of a business and proclaims that Proust would have been proud of their products. ("I would have kissed mamam then and there, but at the moment her face was shiny from a thin cover of Sisley Radiance Anti-Aging Concentrate. Eventually, I made up my mind to kiss her luminous cheek at any cost, even a price as high as $470 a jar, available only at Bergdorf's, Saks, Neiman-Marcus, and Bloomie's in SoHo.")

Still, it's an interesting glimpse behind the heavily brocaded curtain of the French upper classes and the beauty products business, and I hope Merkin left with a big bag of free samples.

2008-4-14 11:30am

Once you get out of Paris, particularly during off-season, you're likely to come across areas where you'll feel like the only tourist for miles. This can be one of the joys of a visit, to have all of that splendor to yourself.

A writer for the San Francisco Chronicle has many such experiences when she spends time in the former region of Gascony, a part of southwest France, now officially split between the Aquitaine and the Midi-Pyrénées. It has a leisurely pace. There are things to see, of course, like the caves of the Grotte de Pech-Merle, where -- unlike Lascaux -- you can view actual prehistoric paintings and not recreations. A number of the "Hundred Most Beautiful Villages of France" are in Gascony, and several others are examples of "bastides," or fortified towns. The spirits of the Romans and of Henri IV are also in evidence. Mostly, the writer has the joy of leaving well-trod roads and making discoveries that seem all her own.

One such is a visit to a workshop which has dedicated itself to "Bleu du Lectoure," the royal blue derived from a plant called Woad that was the signature color of kings. The website devoted to the enterprise has a French language video which explains the process (and which -- with its George Winston-like score and shots of golden fields -- you can watch for a Monday morning escape of your own).

2008-4-12 1:25pm

For a (late) wine truc this weekend, we'll tour the Bordeaux chateau Pontet-Canet with its owner, Alfred Tesseron, courtesy of The Wine Spectator. The vineyard is the source of a high-end Paulliac, and I love Tesseron's little spiel about the wine at the end of the video. "It's made to sit around the table...and share with friends. You'll find that when the wine is good, the conversation is always good. My philosphy of wine is always sharing. So cheers to you!"

2008-4-11 3:58pm

These are the new CDs that have hit the number one spot on the charts so far this year in France:

Lots of other recordings have reached number one this year, but they all are holdovers from 2007. The exception: a release of Michael Jackson's Thriller.

2008-4-11 12:15pm

The stories have been kickin' around for awhile, but these articles from The International Herald Tribune are fresh, and I haven't mentioned two of the subjects here, so for you enlightenment:

2008-4-10 2:12pm

The writer of an article for Condé Nast Traveler tries to make the case that you don't need to be wealthy to enjoy Cap-Ferrat, a resort off the Côte d'Azur. But with hotel rooms mostly in the $500--$1500 per night range, let's just say having a fat wallet might increase your options. (And forget about owning property.)

Nevertheless, the article offers an interesting history of the town. Once attracting celebs ranging from Somerset Maugham to Liz Taylor, it has become a playground for the super-rich; these days that means "Russians, Lebanese, and Italians of obscure power and wealth." They're the kind of people that can pay millions of dollars for properties that they stay in only occasionally.

On the plus side, the Cap has remained relatively unspoiled, someplace that gets pointed out by tourist buses which then pass it by. The beaches are pristine and many of them are free, which I suppose is the justification for the claim that wealth isn't a prerequisite.Yet it's difficult to escape that notion when you read that a bid by Bill Gates on a nearby villa -- listed at $295-million -- was turned down.

2008-4-09 4:55pm

Mon ami Alain at French Virtual Cafe takes his time in posting entries, but when he chooses a subject, he covers it with a thoroughness that has the texture of a good magazine article. His latest discourse is on pommes frites (a.k.a. French fries), and it contains just about everything you'd want to know about them. There are marvelous stories about being in France and devouring samples from street vendors; notes about the origins of the dish, and France's arguments with Belgium about bragging rights; definitions; best cooking methods (and what potatoes to use); how they arrived on U.S. shores (maybe Thomas Jefferson will get credit), and variations on the frites. Plus, if you're in the Chicago area, you'll get recommendations for the best fries in town. Good piece of knowledge: "frites à volonté’’ = "All the fries you can eat." Merci, Alain!

2008-4-09 11:22am

A morning quickie. As my dear fellow blogger Polly wrote in February, Deyrolle, a taxidermy shop and Parisian landmark, suffered a devastating fire. Last week, the International Herald Tribune had an update on the efforts to rebuild Deyrolle. While some may initially think that taxidermy is ghoulish, for Deyrolle it is an effort at conservation and education. The fire generated outpourings of first, sorrow, and then, support. The current owner, Prince Louis-Albert de Broglie, has hopes of re-opening a couple of rooms at the store soon; he is committed to rebuilding, and making the shop even better than before.

The French Journal

A site for Francophiles. Notes on French culture, history, geography, food, wine, travel, and more...and, of course, Paris!

Headings Only

2008-5-07 10:55am

2008-5-05 3:30pm

2008-5-05 12:00pm

2008-5-02 5:20pm

2008-5-02 11:56am

2008-5-01 5:24pm

2008-5-01 11:04am

2008-4-30 11:28am

2008-4-29 9:00pm

2008-4-29 11:22am

2008-4-28 8:10pm

2008-4-28 2:45pm

2008-4-28 11:29am

2008-4-25 7:13pm

2008-4-25 3:15pm

2008-4-25 11:11am

2008-4-24 12:03pm

2008-4-23 3:06pm

2008-4-23 11:21am

2008-4-22 11:30am

2008-4-18 12:26pm

2008-4-17 3:18pm

2008-4-17 11:30am

2008-4-16 5:25pm

2008-4-16 11:25am

2008-4-15 10:45am

2008-4-14 8:44pm

2008-4-14 2:03pm

2008-4-14 11:30am

2008-4-12 1:25pm

2008-4-11 3:58pm

2008-4-11 12:15pm

2008-4-10 2:12pm

2008-4-09 4:55pm

2008-4-09 11:22am