News
Louisiana Joins La FrancophonieIt's official! The American state has joined the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF) as an observer member. Its application was accepted on Thursday, October 11, by the organization’s member states at a summit in Erevan, Armenia. The 54 full member states and governments of the IOF made a unanimous decision at the 17th summit of La Francophonie. According to...
Should France Arm its Municipal Police Officers?Two French representatives recommend to follow the American model and arm municipal police officers in France. Only 44% of the 21,000 officers in this local police force currently carry a pistol while on duty. Between October 2013 and March 2018, there were 78 attempted acts of terrorism recorded in France. This figure “affects the way national security is approached,” according to...
A New French Consul in Los AngelesFrench writer Philippe Besson was appointed Consul General of France in Los Angeles. A close acquaintance of Emmanuel Macron's, his accession to such a coveted position is raising questions. The author of 18 books, including Un personnage de roman — an account of Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 campaign and an intimate portrait of the presidential couple — Philippe Besson will soon be...
Louisiana’s Master’s in Bilingual Education to Start in May 2019In the last step of a process which started more than a year ago, the Louisiana Board of Regents met in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, August 22, and allocated the funding required to create a Master’s degree in elementary French immersion education. A first class of ten students will begin the course at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in...
Opinion
Christine Blasey Ford, Equality Leading the PeopleThe testimony of a university professor who has brought sexual assault accusations against Donald Trump's candidate to the U.S. Supreme Court heralds a new step in the #MeToo movement. Women all over the world are now speaking out as one to tell men that “enough is enough.” Last Thursday I was on Times Square in New York where all media...
America Booms While Europe Trails BehindEconomists cannot forecast, and the current economic status in America is showing us proof of that today. No scientist ever imagined that an advanced economy such as the United States could grow by almost 4% in a year while also bringing unemployment figures below 4%. It was theoretically impossible, but the current situation proves otherwise. Inaccurate predictions could be one...
France Beats the U.S. (in Number of Ministers)The number of French ministers surpasses that of the United States. Following the nomination of a new minister for the environment and for sports, Guy Sorman compares the ministerial appointments between our two countries. The French change governments like most people change their clothes. By contrast, the United States is more stable, even with an unpredictable president. The French state...
The Irremovable Donald TrumpMuch to everyone’s surprise, the U.S. president seems set to lead the dance until the music stops. What’s more, his voters are increasingly enthusiastic and his opposition is paralyzed. Ronald Reagan earned the nickname “the Teflon President” during the 1980s because nothing seemed to affect him or hamper his popularity, despite his mistakes and a number of scandals. Is Trump...
Culture
1900, the Birth of the Parisian MythThe City of Light was at its peak in 1900. The Alexandre III Bridge, Orsay Station, the World’s Fair, and the first subway line were all inaugurated. An exhibition on Paris from the Belle Epoque era, initially presented at the Petit Palais, is now at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville from October 12 through January 6, 2019. It will...
Sergeant York Gets His Very Own Comic BookAn avenue in Manhattan bears his name, but who really remembers Sergeant York, the most decorated U.S. soldier of World War I? He proved his mettle in France during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, whose 100th anniversary is currently being commemorated, and is now the subject of a comic book published by Association of the United States Army. On October 8, 1918,...
Saint-Martin: French Touch Meets Caribbean TwistThe island of Saint-Martin is a choice destination for Americans but little-known in France, and hit the front pages following the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Irma on September 6, 2017. This territory jointly owned by the Dutch and the French is located between Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico but has staunchly American leanings. And while the "Friendly Island" mainly relies on...
Aznavour, the “French Sinatra” in AmericaThe renowned French singer passed away on October 1, 2018, but his influence had long since stretched beyond France, his native country, and Armenia, the land of his ancestors. He was known as the “French Sinatra” in the United States, where he represented a romantic and slightly old-fashioned image of France. Charles Aznavour should have been American. But his Armenian...
Business
A French Company in Every U.S. StateThere is not a single American state without a French business within its borders. From New York to Alaska, companies such as Airbus, Michelin, Bel, Louis Vuitton, Safran, Saint-Gobain, and Sodexo are creating jobs and contributing to the U.S. economy. In its most recent annual report, the department of economic affairs at the embassy of France in Washington offers a...
Airbus Races to the Stars in FloridaThe European aviation group will be inaugurating a satellite production facility near Cape Canaveral in Florida this fall. Airbus already makes mid-haul aircraft in Alabama but is now turning to space defense and government contracts for the U.S. armed forces. The building set to host the future Airbus factory has been finished at the NASA space complex in Exploration Park....
Paris Attitude, the Agency Specialized in Leasing Long-Term Furnished Apartments in Paris[Partner Article] With more than 6000 luxury-style apartments, Paris Attitude, specialized in rent for short and long-term furnished apartments, fits the needs of professionals in Paris as well as French expatriates returning to the capital. A furnished apartment, readily equipped with all the necessary amenities, and positioned close to the most prominent French business locations, starting with the Défense district:...
French Rosé Finds Fame and Fortune in the U.S.Sales of rosé wine shot up 53% in the United States last year. The reasons for this record growth can be found in the booming wine culture in North America and the aggressive marketing strategies employed by winegrowers from Southern France. It has to be said that rosé wine has not always had the best reputation. The go-to rosé in...
Education
The Boom in Dual-Language Classes in New York (3/3): The Future of Education is in Two LanguagesIn the third and final part of our series on bilingualism, Fabrice Jaumont, education specialist and author of The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages, looks at the future of French-English dual-language classes in New York. Fourteen public schools in New York have opened a French-English dual-language program since September 2007. Four have been discontinued due...
The Boom in Dual-Language Classes in New York (2/3): “Demand is High Enough to Open 50 More Schools!”In the second part of our series on bilingualism, Fabrice Jaumont, education specialist and author of The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages, explains the role of parents in the creation of the French-English dual-language classes in New York. More than 80,000 people living in New York speak French at home according to the latest data...
The Boom in Dual-Language Classes in New York (1/3): The Story of Giselle McGeeIn this three-part series on bilingualism, Fabrice Jaumont, educator and author of The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages, looks back over the creation of the first French-English dual-language classes in New York. In April 2006, three determined mothers burst into the office of Giselle Gault-McGee, the principal of the P.S. 58 elementary school in the...
The Fight Between Fountain Pens and Pencils in the U.S.The biggest difference between the French cartable and the American schoolbag weighs a little over half an ounce. In the United States, school children write with lead pencils while many students in France continue to use fountain pens. “My son was surprised to see his classmates all using lead pencils instead of a pen on his first day at school,”...
Gastronomy
You Are Where You EatLooking for her roots in Normandy, an American writer fell in love with pungent cheese and discovered the importance of terroir in French culture and gastronomy. The sky of Normandy is so blue that painters whose work hangs in the Musée d’Orsay had to find new pigment to paint it — so a guide told me. The sun that shines...
Joël Robuchon, a Star-Spangled Chef in the United StatesFamed for his potato purée with lightly salted butter, the Frenchman was far more than a cook. For many years he embodied French cuisine de terroir from Paris to Las Vegas. “To describe Joël Robuchon as a cook is a bit like calling Pablo Picasso a painter, Luciano Pavarotti a singer, Frederic Chopin a pianist, “wrote American Patricia Wells. The...
Le Bateau Ivre, a Haven for French Wine Lovers in ManhattanKnown as the first wine bar in New York City, the French bistro Le Bateau Ivre will be participating in French Restaurant Week through July 15. The owners of Le Bateau Ivre are from India. The chef is from Venezuela and the kitchen staff is from Ecuador, Mexico, and Guatemala. Yet the French atmosphere can be seen from miles away....
Discover our Selection of French and American RosésAs a third of all bottles of rosé sold in the United States are produced on American soil, some domestic rosés now offer the same quality as imported, French wines. Keith Mabry, Rhone and Loire Valley Buyer for the K&L wine stores in California, presents his selection of must-try French and American rosés. * Casa Smith, ViNO Rosé, Washington ($11.99)...