Every month in France-Amérique,
discover the best of French and Francophone culture in the United States.
Analysis of French-American news • French cultural events in the United States • Interviews with leading intellectuals • Fashion tips • Traditional and contemporary recipes • Reports from across the United States • Authors’ perspectives on America • Portraits of artists, entrepreneurs, and other French-American personalities • The best of Francophone literature translated into English • French movies and series in theaters and online • French habits and linguistic subtleties • Unique places to visit in France • And so much more…
October 2022
A Smorgasbord of French-American Talent
A table! This October, we invite you to a dinner party – a roomful of transatlantic talent like Thomas Chisholm, the French-American chef shaking things up in Paris, New York-based French philanthropists Olivia and Jean-Pierre Chessé, and the team at Bragard, the French house that has been dressing chefs since 1933! Also in this issue, read how Rousseau inspired not one, but two revolutions; travel to Camargue (“the French Wild West”); and meet French vanlifer Ben Quesnel, who left his job at Facebook to travel up and down the West Coast in a Volkswagen bus and turned his itinerant lifestyle into a company.
Featured Articles
THE OBSERVER
CLOTHES MAKETH – OR UNMAKETH – THE POLITICIAN
Type the name “Eric Ciotti” into a search engine, and up pops the associated word cravate, or necktie. Never mind that Mr. Ciotti is a right-wing politician known for his hardline stance on immigration and crime. What has fired up the online chatterati is Ciotti’s indignant demand that tie-wearing be made mandatory for men in the French Assemblée Nationale.
By Anthony Bulger
HERITAGE
CAMARGUE
The French Wild West
Far from the bustle of modern life, this oasis formed by the delta of the Rhône River has retained a charmingly untamed ecosystem. An isolated, preserved region staunchly attached to its traditions, much like a French version of the American Wild West!
By Jean-Gabriel Fredet
STYLE
YMER&MALTA
A Design Studio Descended from Versailles
Since the reign of Louis XIV, French artisans have excelled in the field of decorative arts. Following in the footsteps of the extravagance of Versailles and the refinement of the Art Deco period, Parisian design studio YMER&MALTA has become a major new player in furniture, lighting, and art objects.
By Marielle Brie
BEYOND THE SEA
ADOLPHE & OLGA DE MEYER
The Downfall of the Café Society’s Most Eccentric Couple
Baron Adolphe de Meyer was a leading photographer in the first half of the 20th century. As a couple, he and his wife Olga were as improbable as they were feared. Renowned for their luxury tastes, greed, and ingratitude, they imposed their viperous company upon both sides of the Atlantic, trailing a whiff of elegance and scandal in their wake.
By Jérôme Kagan
Table of contents
FROM THE NEWSDESK
The European Single Currency Dips Below the Dollar. By Anthony Bulger
COME ON OUT
French Cultural Events in North America. By Tracy Kendrick
EDITORIAL
Good News: Facebook Is in Decline. By Guy Sorman
INTERVIEW
Rousseau, the Other “Hero of Two Worlds.” By Guy Sorman
THE OBSERVER
Why Fashion Is Inherently Political. By Anthony Bulger
ENTREPRENEURS
Olivia & Jean-Pierre Chessé: A Recipe for Change. By Benoît Georges
HERITAGE
Camargue, the French Wild West. By Jean-Gabriel Fredet
PERSPECTIVES
ALBERTINE DIARIES
BON APPÉTIT
Thomas Chisholm: The Chef with a Lot on His Plate. By Clément Thiery
Recipe: S’mores
STYLE
Ymer&Malta: A Design Studio Descended from Versailles. By Marielle Brie
BEYOND THE SEA
Adolphe & Olga de Meyer: The Downfall of the Café Society’s Most Eccentric Couple. By Jérôme Kagan
FRENCH AMERICA
Mount Herard, Colorado. By Anthony Lacoudre
PORTFOLIO
Ben Quesnel: Doing #Vanlife the French Way. By Juliette Démas
ICONIC
Bragard, Iconic Chef’s Whites. By Guénola Pellen
BOOK REVIEW
Annie Ernaux & Edouard Louis: Writing as a Political Act. By Sophie Joubert
THE WORDSMITH
Anthropocene, Anthropause, and Pyrocene. By Dominique Mataillet
