News
Two Sister Paintings by Monet Reunited in Washington D.C.Next stop for Monet amateurs is the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., where two sister paintings will be reunited through August 8. For the first time since their creation, two sister paintings named Jardin de l'artiste à Vétheuil produced by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet are reunited in the National Gallery of Art located in Washington D.C. Both...
The French-American Business Awards Are BackWho will receive the Start-Up of the Year award? Find out in San Francisco on June 7 at the French-American Business Awards! Preparations for the fifth edition of the French-American Business Awards (FABA) are underway. This competition distinguishes the best French-American companies in Northern California, and this year will feature 58 nominees across 11 categories such as agrobusiness, high-tech, wine,...
France-Amérique Turns 75!Seventy-five years ago today, on Sunday, May 23, 1943, the first issue of France-Amérique, “America’s French newspaper,” was published in New York. At the outbreak of World War II, the French community in the United States no longer had a newspaper. The respected Courrier des Etats-Unis, founded in 1828, had ceased publication in 1938, ruined by the Great Depression. In...
A Special Cannes Line-Up on TV5 MondeAs part of the Cannes Film Festival, the French-language television channel TV5 Monde will be screening a series of movies, documentaries and special-edition shows on the theme of the festival. From May 8 through 19, a selection of shows on TV5 will be filmed live in Cannes. Léa Salamé, who hosts the cultural show Stupéfiant !, and Patrick Simonin, who hosts L’invité, will...
Opinion
French Bread by New French CitizensBakers of Maghrebi origin are increasingly renowned in France as they appropriate and preserve one of the nation’s oldest traditions: the baguette. Far from the political debates on immigration currently holding the public’s attention in France and the United States, new French citizens are spontaneously finding their place in society with little trouble. This trend was spectacularly highlighted with the...
Macron Fooled by TrumpMacron is a European who believes in diplomacy and reconciliation between peoples, while Trump swears by the use of power. They belong to two worlds between which there are no feasible links. Emmanuel Macron is discovering — assuming he was not already aware — that there is little to be gained from kissing the U.S. president on the cheeks. If...[Subscriber]
Such a Pretty Month of MayThe demonstrations of May 1968, fifty years ago this month, brought a moral metamorphosis such as France had not known since the Romantic era. Fifty years ago in Paris, the weather was beautiful. Everyone who participated in what has since been called "the events" at least has this memory in common. Evenings were particularly mild and seemingly endless on the...[Subscriber]
The Baguette Embraces France’s DiversityMahmoud M’Seddi is the best baker in Paris. For the second year in a row, a baker of Maghrebin descent has won the Baguette Grand Prix of the city of Paris. ”The French national bread scene is now undeniably multicolored,” approved American historian and French bread expert Steven Kaplan. An annual competition to make the best baguette in the French capital...[Subscriber]
Culture
The Hundred-Year Anniversary of the Battle of CantignyThis weekend will see France and the United States commemorate the hundred-year anniversary of the Battle of Cantigny, named after a little village in the Somme. This particular event was one of many during World War 1, but marked the first U.S. military offensive in Europe. Some 199 American soldiers were killed during the Battle of Cantigny between May 28...
Make-Believe Paris in America (3/3): Las VegasAmericans can now visit Paris without having to leave the United States! At the EPCOT theme park in Florida, at Universal Studios in California, and at the Paris hotel and casino in Las Vegas, tourists rub shoulders with waistcoat-wearing garçons de café and take selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower. Follow France-Amérique through those picture-postards version of Paris in the...
The Last CajunNorbert LeBlanc doesn’t hunt alligators anymore. Instead, he has spent the last 15 years taking Francophone tourists on tours of the swamps east of Lafayette in his role as a guardian of Cajun culture in Louisiana. The engine purrs slowly as the boat slips between the cypress trees. The stem of the vessel cuts gently through the duckweed covering the...
Make-Believe Paris in America (2/3): HollywoodAmericans can now visit Paris without having to leave the United States! At the EPCOT theme park in Florida, at Universal Studios in California, and at the Paris hotel and casino in Las Vegas, tourists rub shoulders with waistcoat-wearing garçons de café and take selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower. Follow France-Amérique through those picture-postards version of Paris in the...
Business
French Tech at the MoMA in New YorkThe Museum of Modern Art in New York will be exhibiting and selling some 30 objects made by French startups from May 9 through 29. French businesses are the guests of honor at the MoMa Design Store as part of NYCxDesign, an annual design festival in New York. This department in the museum is exhibiting a collection of 30 objects...
Anne Willi, a Parisian Fashion Designer in BrooklynAnne Willi dresses women from Paris to New York. The Franco-Swiss fashion designer already has two boutiques in France, and opened her second New York store in Williamsburg in March. France-Amérique: You have two spaces in Paris – one in the Bastille neighborhood, and another in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. What made you decide to expand your activity to the United States?...
Essteem, a Mutual Aid Network for Women EngineersTwo French entrepreneurs living in New York have created a platform aimed at fostering the recruitment of women to engineering companies. After a three-month trial in France, the Essteem startup is now setting out to conquer the United States. Women make up 20% of engineers employed in France and earn 20% less than their male counterparts — a situation also...
Adore Me: The French Lingerie e-Boutique to Open StoresThe online lingerie boutique, Adore Me, founded by a French entrepreneur, has announced it will be opening "between 200 and 300 stores" in the United States over the next five years. The first store in New York is set to be inaugurated in May. "How can such a tiny piece of clothing cost so much?" His first visit to a...
Education
The Rebirth of Cajun French in Louisiana in Classrooms and OnlineFrom Baton Rouge to Lafayette and from the App Store to social media, a group of Louisianan activists is fighting to preserve the language of their ancestors — Cajun, or Louisiana French. Luke Romero uses his iPhone if he wants to understand his Francophone grandparents. Born into a family based in Louisiana since the 18th century, the 33-year-old software developer...
Kentucky’s First Dual-Language Classes Open Next AugustTwo dual-language French-English classes are set to open next August at Whitney Young Elementary, a public school in Louisville, Kentucky. The school sees the classes as a chance to help its underprivileged students. The dual-language French-English immersion program was approved in a four-to-one vote by the parent-teacher council at Whitney Young Elementary School on February 27, 2018. "It’s a wonderful...
A Documentary Depicts the Rebirth of French in LouisianaA pair of French teachers have spent two years following the key players in the rebirth of the French language in Louisiana, including teachers, activists, politicians, students and parents. The duo’s resulting documentary, Theo’s Choice, will premiere in Lafayette, Louisiana on January 26, 2018. Théodore Brode is one of the rare French teacher from Louisiana. He is part of the...
“Parents Are Driving Bilingualism in the United States”Fabrice Jaumont has a vision. By the year 2050, the Education Attaché at the French Embassy in New York hopes to have introduced a dual-language program into every school in America. Utah already has one in five schools organized in this way, and French is one of the languages of choice. In fact, with more than 160 bilingual options in...
Gastronomy
Dominique Crenn: An Homage to Good FoodAtelier Crenn made a name for itself with a multi-course tasting menu experience at 325 dollars and dishes garnished with gold leaf. But French restaurant owner and chef Dominique Crenn is now putting her talents into simpler things. Her new restaurant, Bar Crenn, set to open in San Francisco on February 20, promises to serve the standards of the French...
La Chandeleur: The Day to Flip CrêpesWhile Americans watch expectantly for the groundhog to emerge on February 2, the French will be flipping crêpes with their families. Known as Chandeleur in French and "Candlemas" in English, this event mixes pagan, Celtic, and catholic influences, and is named after the candles used for a pagan ritual celebrating the arrival of the harvest. In 472, Pope Gelasius I...
Bisou, French Cuisine in Touch With its FeelingsFrench-American restauranteur Nick Ronan is known as "the Kissing Chef" in San Francisco, where he greets customers with a peck on the cheek as they step into his aptly-named bistro, Bisou. The eatery will be taking part in San Francisco Restaurant Week from January 22 to 31, 2018. Nick Ronan found himself in the restaurant world in the same way...
How to Spot a Good BaguetteAs the French baguette enters the race to be given Unesco World Heritage status, American historian and French bread expert Steven Kaplan teaches us how to recognize and enjoy a good baguette de tradition. Six criteria matter: appearance, crust, crumb, mouth-feel, aroma, and taste. Viewed as a "fancy" food reserved for the bourgeoisie in the early 20th century, the baguette grew in popularity before...[Subscriber]