News
Covid-19: 72-Hour Testing Measures Spark PanicThe French community in the United States has been thrown into panic. From August 1, anyone wanting to travel to France from the U.S. will be asked to present negative Covid-19 test results obtained no more than 72 hours beforehand. Mission impossible? Almost. The French government’s decree n° 2020-911 on July 27, 2020 is very clear. It states that anyone...
Visa Suspensions: Exception Granted to French Teachers in the U.S.Bilingualism in the United States has won a major victory. The American government has decided to grant an exception to international teachers — essential for those hoping to teach in U.S. dual-language schools in September. Around 200 French teachers are affected by this measure, which will apply to the suspension of J-1 visas. “Hello, I think we’ve got some good...
Map: Where to Celebrate Bastille Day in the United States?On July 14, the French commemorate the storming of the Bastille of 1789 and the Fête de la Fédération of 1790. In the U.S., the event is known as Bastille Day, a showcase of French culture and gastronomy! A tradition set to continue this year despite the pandemic. This year, the sidewalks along Smith Street in Brooklyn will not be...
Anthony Smith, the General Who Championed French-American Military CooperationAmerican general Anthony Smith, who passed away in Virginia on May 31, 2020, played an essential role in military relations between France and America, and directed the French-American Foundation USA for five years. Anthony “Tony” Smith discovered France as a teenager when his father helped General Eisenhower launch NATO. He attended the Paris American High School in the early 1950s,...
Opinion
A Quiet ReliefThe French are relieved — even delighted — by Donald Trump’s departure. But will Joe Biden’s election herald the return of amicable French-American relations? The 45th president of the United States certainly had a few supporters in France, but mainly in a small number of nationalist political spheres and the odd fanciful intellectual who saw populism as an alternative ideology....
A Divisive ElectionThe November election will be the most racially focused of any in the history of the United States since Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, writes Guy Sorman. It will not lead to an openly declared civil war, but we can expect a latent one. Racism is the implicit yet central stake in the upcoming American presidential elections. This is...
Black Lives Matter in Paris: An American Movement in FranceThis summer, Paris was beset by tens of thousands of French citizens braving the risk of Covid-19 to demonstrate under the banners of the American Black Lives Matter movement, carrying portraits of George Floyd like a martyr’s icons. Far from Minneapolis, these demonstrators belonged to all the ethnic communities that now constitute our societies, both French and American. This incursion...
Adrien de Chaisemartin: “The Covid Vaccine Must Be a Global Public Good”Adrien de Chaisemartin was a Young Leader with the French-American Foundation in 2016 and is currently the director of strategy, funding, and performance at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This public-private partnership, launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, strives to increase access to vaccines in poor countries and has helped save more than seven million lives since...
Culture
Seattle Puts Francophone Comics in the SpotlightThe Made in France association has been promoting French culture in Seattle and providing extracurricular French classes to middle school and high school students and adults since 2016. This year, it will be hosting the city’s first Francophone comic arts festival, which will be held online from December 2 through 5. It all started when Jean Bastide came to visit....
This Week on TV5MONDE USA (November 23-29)Every week, France-Amérique will compile a list of 5 films, series, documentaries, cooking shows, and children's shows you don't want to miss on TV5MONDE USA, the first French-language television channel in the United States. 1. Desrances Monday, November 23, at 11:30 pm EST (8:30 pm PST) Francis Desrances has made a life for himself in Ivory Coast after his family...
This Week on TV5MONDE USA (November 16-22)Every week, France-Amérique will compile a list of 5 films, series, documentaries, cooking shows, and children's shows you don't want to miss on TV5MONDE USA, the first French-language television channel in the United States. 1. Louise Michel Tuesday, November 17, at 8:30 pm EST (5:30 pm PST) One night, the boss of a textile company empties his factory to relocate...
Eric Vuillard: Giving a Voice to Public WrathAfter winning the 2017 Prix Goncourt for The Order of the Day, Eric Vuillard published The War of the Poor in France last year, recounting the civil uprising that accompanied the 16th-century Protestant Reformation in Germany. This dense, incisive work available in English since November 3 does justice to the memory of the oppressed and shines a light on our...
Business
Chargeurs: From Haute Couture to Protective Face MasksLast March, Chargeurs was still producing technical fabrics for Chanel, Balmain, and Yves Saint Laurent. The French group, also established in the United States, is now making some 15 million protective masks every week — an unprecedented initiative in the group’s long history. Founded in 1872, Chargeurs has adapted its factories in Picardy and Alsace to meet the demand for...
Coronavirus: Industry Goes to War!Heavy industry and individual workers have arrived as backup to accelerate the production of masks and ventilators desperately needed by medical professionals. Both in France and the United States, a wartime economy has developed to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. On the banks of the East River opposite Manhattan, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is back to work. The former naval...
Emmanuel Macron Dreams of UnicornsAmbitious French president Emmanuel Macron wants to see a fivefold increase in the number of billion-dollar start-ups, or “unicorns,” in France over the next few years. His goal is to replicate the American model. Emmanuel Macron has a dream. He wants unicorns to flourish in France, and hopes that their number will rise from five to twenty, or even twenty-five,...
Ode à la Rose: Flower Delivery à la FrançaiseThe business model of Ode à la Rose, a flower delivery company founded by two French entrepreneurs in New York City in 2012, is based on the dual concept of French elegance and speed. Available across the northeast of the United States and in the Chicago area, the service will soon be expanded to and Florida. Monday is the most...
Education
Covid-19: A Tense Return to School for Florida StudentsAs Florida deals with another spike in infections – an average of 2,679 new cases of Covid-19 registered daily – the French-American School of Tampa Bay has started its third academic year. This return to the classrooms has been stressful for both teachers and parents, but a necessary step for the students. The forty students at the French-American School of...
Visa Suspensions Threaten Immersion Schools in LouisianaThe ban on all new J-1 visas declared by Donald Trump on June 22 has dealt a blow to French-English immersion schools in Louisiana, which depend on these temporary work permits for recruiting Francophone teachers. Worry hangs heavy in the air of Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana. Around 2,200 students might be left without a full education if...
OFALycée, the French Online School for American High Schoolers[Partner Article] The first online French-American high school, OFALycée, will open its virtual doors in September. To assist students whose education was disrupted by the pandemic, its founders will offer online French and math classes for ninth, tenth and eleventh-graders starting on April 27. “Do you know about the drama of French-American education in the United States? Thousands of French...
Cécile David-Weill: “Authority Is Credibility Granted by Children”Cécile David-Weill is the author of three novels, including "The Suitors," a comedy of manners about French high society. In "Parents Under the Influence," recently translated from French and published in the United States, the French-American mother of three tackles accepted ideas about raising children. She shows how we are subconsciously influenced by how our parents raised us, with often...
Gastronomy
The Transatlantic Travels of an American BirdTurkeys are the centerpieces of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and are as American as apple pie and Coca-Cola. This bird appeared in the Americas around one million years ago before arriving in Europe, becoming a favorite at the royal court of Louis XIV and across the French kingdom! Turkeys were long a source of confusion for Europeans. Christopher Columbus, who...
Twelve Ideas for a French ThanksgivingIt is hard to think of a more American tradition than Thanksgiving! Yet it is quite easy to add a little French flavor to your dinner while still serving the traditional turkey. With this in mind, France-Amérique gathered some expert advice from twelve French-American gourmets. Dominique Crenn, French chef, owner of three restaurants in San Francisco, author of the book...
Fifteen Adjectives to Describe Fine WinesConnoisseurs are not happy simply sipping fine wine. They also like to wax lyrical about their characteristics. Thank God (or, rather, Bacchus), they have an almost infinite vocabulary for expressing sensations. And this list is not as old as you might think. While Rabelais and Montaigne, two well-known vino buffs, sing the praises of wine in their writing, neither of...
A Meal by Daniel Boulud Delivered to Your DoorHave you ever dreamed of enjoying a bouillabaisse or a platter of braised ribs prepared by double Michelin-star French chef Daniel Boulud, without reserving a table at the exclusive Daniel restaurant? You can now indulge from your home thanks to the Goldbelly food delivery service. The Covid-19 pandemic forced French chef Daniel Boulud to close his eight U.S. restaurants in...