News

• Louisiana Applies to be Part of La Francophonie

  On April 5, 2018, Louisiana submitted its membership application to the IOF, the International Organization of La Francophonie, which unites French-speaking countries. The decision will be announced at the IOF Summit held in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 11 and 12 of this year. The State of Louisiana is home to almost 250,000 Francophones and has 5,000 students enrolled in English-French...

• TV5 Monde Celebrates “French Month” in March

  Promoting Francophone culture in the United States is the mission of TV5 Monde. And as part of "le Mois de la Francophonie" (French Month) celebrated every March, the channel will be screening a series of documentaries and movies showcasing the diversity of the French language in the United States. Here is our selection. Rendez-vous d’Amérique March 10, 6:25 pm EST...

• Gad Elmaleh’s “American Dream” is Coming to Netflix

  Gad Elmaleh's first English-language show, American Dream, will debut on Netflix on March 6, 2018. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the French stand-up comedian and the U.S. streaming platform. After a performance in French, Gad Gone Wild, available since January 2017, the Gad Elmaleh is coming back to Netflix with one-man show in English. In American Dream, taped...

• Hallyday’s Inheritance: A French-American Legal Battle

  Who should inherit the fortune of the late singer Johnny Hallyday, a former French citizen and a Californian tax resident? On both sides of the Atlantic, the rock star’s wife and two children are now fighting to stake their claim. Johnny’s most recent will and testament, signed in Marnes-la-Coquette just outside Paris in 2014, states that his entire fortune and...

Opinion

• The French Tradition of Striking

  The French once expressed their discontent by putting up barricades. Today, they go on strike. It is true that barricades have not been seen in Paris since May 1968. Charles de Gaulle, who was president at the time, decided to remove the cobblestones and cover the streets with asphalt instead. No more stones, no more barricades. But going head to...[Subscriber]

• Is Facebook Bad for Our Health?

  The scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica, a company accused of using the personal data of 50 million Facebook users to positively influence Donald Trump’s electoral campaign, has rekindled a longstanding debate: Is it time to #deleteFacebook? You are in front of your computer screen. You connect to the internet and prepare to type something on your keyboard. You think you are...[Subscriber]

• French Cuisine No Longer the Big Cheese

  This week, we learned simultaneously that the world’s best camembert is from Quebec, and that more hamburgers are sold in France than the traditional jambon-beurre ham sandwiches. If we are to believe the results of a cheese competition organized by local producers in Wisconsin, the world’s best camembert is called Extra, and is made in Saint-Hyacinthe in Quebec. While the...[Subscriber]

• Bannon-Le Pen, the Xenophobic Alliance

  In the longstanding history of transatlantic relations, an unexpected and paradoxical joining of French and American xenophobic movements has suddenly appeared. Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, former representative of the Vaucluse département, granddaughter of the Front National founder, and clearly a politician consumed by ambition, took part in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland on February 22, 2018. As if...[Subscriber]

Culture

• “Cannes Can’t Refuse Netflix Movies Much Longer”

  The 71st Cannes Film Festival will be opening on May 8, 2018, and has refused to include movies screened exclusively online. The origins of this heated debate are rooted in the differences in how cinema is financed in France and the United States, according to Nathalie Dupont, associate professor in American civilization at the Université du Littoral Côte d’Opale in...

• Godard, a Biographical Comedy

  The latest film by Michel Hazanavicius, Godard Mon Amour, out in the U.S. this Friday, portrays Jean-Luc Godard in the midst of an existential crisis during the May 1968 events. Jean-Luc Godard, the star director of the Nouvelle Vague, a figure as loved as he was misunderstood, is now a living legend at the age of 87. And it was...

• “This Is Our Land” in U.S. Theaters

  The tenth movie from Lucas Belvaux analyzes the message and methods used by a far-right, populist political party to gain a following in a village in France. Pauline is a visiting nurse in Northern France and well-liked by her patients. One day she is approached by high-ranking members of a far-right party called the Patriotic Block, and is asked to...

• A Stroll Through Versailles During the Time of Kings

  During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Court of Versailles was open to the public and welcomed artists, ambassadors, and diplomats from all over the world. The "Visitors to Versailles (1682-1789)" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York until July 29 offers the chance to walk in these visitors’ shoes. In 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of royal...

Business

• Adore Me: The French Lingerie e-Boutique to Open Stores

  The 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...

• Cervin: French Stockings on American Legs

  Arsoie is a company located in the Cévennes mountains in France, and is the world’s last business still making silk stockings according to 1950s methods. This unique know-how has won the hearts of dancers from the Crazy Horse cabaret, burlesque pioneer Dita Von Teese, as well as the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Katy Perry. As part of her preparations...

• Two French Expats Put New York Grandmas Back to Work

  New York City grandmothers can go back to work by knitting hats for Wooln, a startup founded by two French transplants living in the U.S. In its third year, the company led by Margaux Rousseau and Faustine Badrichani is growing steadily in terms of sales and grandmas. Nine retired women knit regularly for the brand. The "grandmas," as they are...

• Get Ready for Beaujolais Nouveau!

  After being bottled in Eastern France, Beaujolais Nouveau wine is transported to the four corners of the globe by truck, train, boat, helicopter, motorbike, rickshaw, on the backs of elephants, and in hot air balloons. On the third Thursday of November every year, bars and restaurants worldwide celebrate the arrival of this fruity wine, which is harvested a few weeks...[Subscriber]

Education

• The Rebirth of Cajun French in Louisiana in Classrooms and Online

  From 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 August

  Two 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 Louisiana

  A 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 Food

  Atelier 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 Crêpes

  While 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 Feelings

  French-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 Baguette

  As 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]