News
Explaining the French Pension Reform Strikes to AmericansThe French pension reform is hardly a long, tranquil river. Our Paris-based columnist took a crack at explaining what pushed thousands of French railway and public-transit workers, pensioners, medical staff, and teachers to take to the streets. France has been paralyzed recently by mass strikes and demonstrations over the government’s plans to reform the pension system. At present, there are...
Franco-American Esther Duflo Wins the Nobel Prize in EconomicsFrench-born American citizen and MIT professor Esther Duflo is one of three economists awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics for her research into the fight against poverty. Finding local solutions to the global problem of poverty is the calling of Esther Duflo, one of the most prominent economists of her generations. While studying at the Ecole Normale Supérieure during...
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 know as Bastille Day, a celebration of France through wine, accordion, and pétanque! Over 200 Bastille Day events will take place in the United States this year. In New York, the French Institute...
Degas House in New Orleans Enshrined by French Culture MinisterThe house at 2306 Esplanade Avenue where Edgar Degas lived and painted from 1872 to 1873 has received the Maison des Illustres label from the French minister of culture. This is the second site in the United States to be recognized in this way, along with Marguerite Yourcenar’s house in Maine. The label was created in 2011 to showcase “residences that...
Opinion
Anti-Semitism, Here and ThereAccording to a report on anti-semitism in Europe ordered by Ronald S. Lauder, former U.S. ambassador to Austria and president of the World Jewish Congress, France is the most dangerous place to be Jewish today. In fact, responds Guy Sorman, there is in this regard a strange back-and-forth between France and the United States. The oldest recorded antisemitic slurs date from Ancient...
The French Don’t Understand ImpeachmentThe U.S. Senate has acquitted Donald Trump on Wednesday after a long impeachment trial, a little-known process in France. For the third time in about fifty years, the French are discovering the American procedure of the impeachment of the president of the United States: Richard Nixon in 1974, Bill Clinton in 1998, and now Donald Trump. One Democrat, two Republicans. As...
#MeToo Catches Up With Roman PolanskiFrance has taken longer than North America to address the sexual misconduct of its artists. Revered in France but boycotted and subjected to legal attacks in the United States for the 1977 rape of an underage girl, Roman Polanski had never had cause for concern in the country where he fled. However, this is no longer the case. While his latest...
“Europe Should Be Capable of Defending Its Interests by Itself”French scholar Benjamin Haddad heads up the Future Europe initiative for Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council, specialized in U.S. foreign policy. He is the author of Paradise Lost: Europe in the World of Trump. France-Amérique: The French often place responsibility for American isolationism on Donald Trump, but your book explains that the movement began with Barack Obama… Benjamin Haddad: The positions...
Culture
Mardi Gras in Louisiana: Carnivals Between the City and the CountryFrom the first days of January and Mardi Gras, held on February 25 this year, Louisiana celebrates a French tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages — the carnival. The line-up includes floats and bead necklaces in New Orleans, and masked horse riders and Cajun songs in the countryside. This is the world’s biggest show enjoyed for free every...
I Love You, Mon Amour: Ten Legendary French-American CouplesThe following portraits are of artists, designers, writers, diplomats, and actors. Half are French, half are American. And all of them are in love! In celebration of Valentine’s Day, France-Amérique has taken a closer look at ten legendary French-American couples whose passionate or thwarted romances have gone down in 20th-century history. Juliette Gréco & Miles Davis Miles Davis could well have...
Céline Sciamma: The French Director Winning Over U.S. CriticsWith Portrait of a Lady on Fire, screened in a selection of U.S. theaters in early December before its national release on February 14, Céline Sciamma has found a following in America. Everyone has applauded her liberated perspective and her approach to feminine eroticism freed from objectification. Somewhere on a Breton island during the 18th century, painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant)...
The French Engineer Who De-Aged Robert De NiroFrench engineer Stéphane Grabli and his team will be in the running for the Oscar for Best Visual Effects on Sunday for their work on the movie The Irishman. The latest film from Martin Scorsese, produced by Netflix, is a narrative rollercoaster. Via ellipses, flashbacks, and flashforwards, audiences meet gangster Frank Sheeran at different times in his life. But when...
Business
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...
Pop! The Rise of American Sparkling WineThe consumption of sparkling wine in the United States has doubled since the 1970s. Thanks to champagnes imported from France, "American champagnes," and sparkling wines produced by French companies established on the U.S. West Coast, the American market is bubbling over! Since the first cases of champagne were delivered to the Thirteen Colonies in 1750, French bubbly has enjoyed a...
French Whiskey Barrels Onto the World StageKentucky and Scotland may be whiskey countries, but the French also produce premium blended whiskeys and single malts. And output is increasing every year. Here’s one for you: Which country consumes the most whiskey? The answer may surprise you. While many might think the British hold the top spot, the French are actually the winners. At 2.15 liters per inhabitant, they...
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...
Education
Teachers 2.0: An Online French-American High SchoolThe first online French-American high school, OFALycée, will be opening its virtual doors in September 2020. Its goal is to prepare students within the U.S. education system for the French Baccalaureate exams. Every year, some 400 high school students in the United States take the Baccalaureate exam, which enables them to continue on to higher education in France. Fourteen schools,...
The Success of French Dual-Language Programs in the U.S.Dual-language classes are flourishing in the United States. With more than 160 bilingual programs across 34 states, French is now America’s second most popular foreign language. In New York, one in ten public schools offers a bilingual education. In Utah, one in five schools is bilingual. And in August, Alaska inaugurated its first two dual-language French-English classes. These bilingual programs...
French Immersion Classes Arrive in Alaska!The first two dual-language French-English classes in Alaska will be launched next August at O’Malley Elementary School, a public school in Anchorage. Despite being isolated, this American state is attracting an increasingly large international population. Alaska is no stranger to bilingualism. After all, the state’s first dual-language program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! Japan was one of Alaska’s...
Are French Classes Under Threat at American Universities?According to the latest report from the Modern Language Association, which conducts an annual survey on the status of language learning in higher education in America, 129 French programs were discontinued between 2013 and 2016. Karl Cogard, education attaché at the embassy of France in Washington D.C., offers his take on this worrying situation. France-Amérique: The Modern Language Association’s report...
Gastronomy
The Jean-Georges EmpireJean-Georges Vongerichten has lived in New York since 1986, and made the city the capital of his culinary empire. The French restaurant owner reigns over 39 establishments, including 25 in the United States. He guarantees the same quality of service from Las Vegas to Singapore, and still finds time to cook for his friends! The clock strikes 5:30 pm in...
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...
King Cake: A French Tradition Little Known in the U.S.This golden, frangipane-filled cake appears in boulangeries and patisseries at the end of December. King cake or la galette des rois, is traditionally eaten with the family on the first Sunday after New Year’s Day, but many enjoy it from December 31 and throughout the whole month of January! Along with Yule logs and Easter eggs, this is another unmissable...
Dinner Is Served: The Art of Hosting à la FrançaiseWith the end-of-year celebrations almost upon us, what is the best way to host a dinner à la française without committing a faux pas? Here are a few invaluable tips for putting on a meal fit for the finest French tables. In the olden days in France, young women from well-to-do families all had a bible of good manners, Usages...