Who or what is responsible for the hurricanes Harvey and Irma that recently devastated the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Global warming? Urbanization? Or perhaps Nature itself? Natural disasters were equated to some divine punishment until the 18th century — a theory that dates back to the Flood. After destroying land and sea, God personally promised Noah to never...
It’s decided: Paris will host the 2024 Olympic Games. But this adventure is borne more by politics than sport, and we could be forgiven for asking if it is really necessary. And just how much will this mass entertainment cost the taxpayer? Paris has beaten Los Angeles in the race to host the 2024 Olympic Games. But where are the...
Of their trip to Paris, most people choose to remember a croissant that they ate at a café, the view from the top floor of the Eiffel Tower or Mona Lisa's smile at the Louvre. Our columnist Adam Gopnik prefered to remember the day he lost his phone! Not long ago I got to spend a couple of days in...
The most famous cathedral in France is appealing to American patrons in an effort to find funding for its estimated 179 million dollars of renovation work. The pearl of French gothic art has been a cornerstone of the country’s national history since 1163, but is now falling into ruin. Its gargoyles are crumbling, and its saints’ faces are growing smooth...
Scarred by the memory of slavery, the United States is attacking all forms of discrimination... including in restrooms! Americans maintain an open relationship with the body and its functions that we in Europe do not have: We prefer discretion and they, exhibition. During my first visit to the United States in 1962, when Greyhound buses allowed me to crisscross the...
Embarrassing symbols of American history are being torn down one by one; after removing Confederate flags in the past, the focus has now been turned to statues. A commission in New York has been tasked with identifying exactly which symbols are to be confiscated, starting with the name “Philippe Pétain” engraved on Broadway. French people will hardly be surprised by...
Many celebrated the election of Donald Trump last November as the “revenge of the white man.” This vengeful sentiment continues today, and is more toxic than ever. A certain category of Americans never truly accepted Barack Obama’s presidential victory, nor the current changes that have been shaping U.S. society since the 1960s. Feminism, ethnic diversity, priority for minorities in universities...
Terrorist attacks have not damaged France’s appeal for travelers, and the country remains the world’s leading tourist destination. The current obstacles are above all the fault of the French government. Despite the recent terrorist attacks (and lunatics wandering around the foot of the Eiffel Tower holding knives) France’s appeal has not suffered any long-term damage. The country is still the...
A symbolic rankings table published by a British public relations firm has revealed that France has supposedly become the world’s leading “soft power,” overtaking the United States. But what does it mean? “Soft power” is a recent term popularized in the 1990s by U.S. academic Joseph Nye. His theory opposed American military inventions and overly offensive positions by promoting the...
Start-up incubators like Station F, which opened recently in Paris, are a sign of progress, but France needs radical change. Silicon Valley-based French-American innovator Navi Radjou lists three steps to foster innovation in France. With Emmanuel Macron as president and his party winning a decisive majority in recent parliamentary elections, France’s ailing economy may finally receive a shot in the arm....
Donald Trump was Emmanuel Macron’s guest of honor at the July 14 celebrations in Paris, and seems to have forgotten the advice of his friend “Jim.” The American president has fallen back in love with France. Advantage: Macron. Macron hooked a big fish — Donald Trump — by using the bait that works best on the U.S. president: Flattery and...
On July 14, Americans celebrate Bastille Day. On this day, the French celebrate more than their National Day or the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille: They celebrate the everlasting spirit of the 1789 Revolution. “The French are better at fighting revolutions than making reforms”, wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in his notes in 1848. As a Deputy of the Manche...
The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change is the only tangible decision made by the Trump government in its five months of existence. The American president himself hesitated at length, before leaving it up to a militant, committed member of his staff: A certain Scott Pruitt, the ecologists’ enemy number one. In this baroque, incompetent administration,...
American sculptor Jeff Koons gifted one of his creations to the city of Paris last November. But the gaudy work inspired by the Statue of Liberty is still a point of contention. The artist’s large-scale sculpture representing a bouquet of tulips is supposed to be pay homage to the victims of the Paris Attacks in 2015. The project is supported...
Both the French and American presidents have the power to appoint people of their choosing to thousands of public sector positions, starting with their cabinet. The difference in France, however, is that no vetting of their background is required. Presidential nominations are not subject to any checks in France, whereas the equivalent appointments in the United States are generally preceded by...
According to early estimates, the République en Marche ! party headed by President Emmanuel Macron is set to control more than 70% of the National Assembly. A rare case of political domination in French history. Macronism is a representation of a French passion: Enlightened despotism, that of Bonaparte and De Gaulle, the quest for a Savior. Its origins are ancient, with Voltaire immediately springing...
Emmanuel Macron's movement won by a landslide the first round of the French legislative election, held in North America last weekend. There is a real danger the domination of the En Marche ! movement will change the nature of the Republic. Macron’s candidate Roland Lescure came away with 57.53% of the votes in the United States and Canada, putting him 43 points...
A striking image will remain etched in the public mind after the first meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump: That of their interminable handshake. Far from assuming its usual salutary function, the gesture was nothing short of a declaration of independence. Macron had clearly observed Trump’s manners and behavior. Particularly with regard to his vigorous handshake, in which the...
There are two weeks between Mother’s Day in the United States and France, the former taking place on the second Sunday in May and the latter on the last. But calendars aside, their totally distinct origins sum up just how different our two societies really are. Mother’s Day in the U.S.A. was started in a Methodist church in West Virginia in 1908 by a...
The same question is asked every time an Islamist terror attack shocks a Western city, such as Manchester this week. Are terrorists crusading warriors, or simply uprooted, frustrated young men? Are they “good” Muslims? On May 21, Donald Trump was in Riyadh giving a speech to Saudi leaders and the most important kings and emirs of the Arab world. In...
June 2017 will see each of the 577 French legislative constituencies choose a deputy (equivalent to a member of Congress) to represent them at the National Assembly for the next five years. French people living in North America will elect their representative from 17 candidates on June 3 and 17. We can predict with some certainty which two main candidates...
