News
Macron-Trump: The Divorce is OfficialThe French-American outpouring of Bastille Day is little more than a distant memory. Invited to France to attend the commemorative ceremonies for the 1918 Armistice, the U.S. president was anything but tactful. The French and American presidents hugged in front of the White House six months ago. Emmanuel Macron was on an official visit to Washington, and Donald Trump expressed...
Where to Celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau 2018 in the U.S.?On November 15, 2018 at the strike of midnight, the season’s new batch of Beaujolais wine will be released. Cheers! In accordance with French law, these wines have been fermenting only a few weeks and are made exclusively with Gamay grapes found in the region of Beaujolais in Eastern France. November 15th will be declared “Beaujolais Nouveau Day,” as is...
The French Benevolent Society to Hold its Annual Dinner in PhiladelphiaFounded in 1793, the French Benevolent Society of Philadelphia will hold its 8th annual dinner at the restaurant R2L on November 8 at 7 pm. This is the first French association in the United States. Back in 1793, the French Benevolent Society of Philadelphia helped French citizens who had fled to the U.S. capital city in the aftermath of the French...
La Francophonie’s Decision Confirms the Rebirth of French in LouisianaLouisiana’s application to join the International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF) was accepted on October 11. But in Paris and in Baton Rouge the "battle" of La Francophonie in Louisiana is only just beginning. Louisiana is now a part of the institution of La Francophonie. The American State’s population comprises more than 5% of Francophones with 5,000 students enrolled in...
Opinion
Democracy Seen From Below: Referendums in AmericaRegardless of differing opinions of the United States, it is an experimental model for our possible future. This applies to culture and technology, but can the same be said for politics? The American tradition of referendums has stopped tax increases and legalized cannabis. However, whether it will one day be adopted in France remains to be seen. During his famous...
Should Marshal Pétain Be Honored?As the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice is being celebrated, public opinion is divided on the inclusion of Pétain’s name in the list of eight French marshals honored by the Elysée Palace on Saturday 10 November. Pétain is a major historical figure, having been both the hero of the Battle of Verdun in World War I, and the collaborationist,...
Passing the Torch: America One Hundred Years AgoNovember 11, 1918, marked the end of World War I and the beginning of American omnipotence — and this era continues today. What exactly do we commemorate on November 11 in France and America? There were no real winners in the Great War. The French and their allies from Britain, the United States, Belgium, Serbia and elsewhere were decimated by...
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...[Subscriber]
Culture
Turkey With a French DressingThanksgiving is the one day in the year which, as O. Henry reminds us, is purely American. It’s also the only day when overeating is considered a patriotic duty. And when, according to another keen observer, we surpass the French in culinary matters... Spare a thought on November 22 for those Americans living in France who will try to recreate the...
Van Gogh: A Portrait of the Artist as a MadmanAre Van Gogh’s talent and madness indissociable? This is the question asked by American director Julian Schnabel in At Eternity’s Gate, an Impressionist portrait of the painter behind the Sunflowers series, coming to U.S. theatres this Friday. Following in the footsteps of Kirk Douglas (1956), Tim Roth (1990), Martin Scorsese (1990), Jacques Dutronc (1991), and Benedict Cumberbatch (2010), it is...
The Hello Girls, the Voice of the U.S. Army in FranceThe first women recruited by the U.S. Army were equipped with helmets and gasmasks just like their male counterparts, but they were armed with telephones. Some 223 French-speaking American women served as switchboard operators during World War I. Nicknamed the “Hello Girls,” they acted as a link between the front line and the rear guard and between French and American...
World War I in France Seen Through the Lens of Lewis HineA hundred years ago, France was caught in the final year of World War I. American photographer Lewis Hine traveled across the country in 1918 for the American Red Cross, documenting their work with refugees, orphans, and wounded soldiers. Lost for decades, his poignant work has recently been made public by the Library of Congress. Lewis Hine has been acknowledged...
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
Pascaline Lepeltier, Master SommelierPascaline Lepeltier first studied philosophy before deciding to train as a sommelier. After working in New York for almost ten years, she has recently become the first woman to receive the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France title in the sommellerie category. Pascaline Lepeltier has made her way to the top. On October 2, she was the only woman among nine...
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....