Every month in France-Amérique,
discover the best of French and Francophone culture in the United States and Canada.
Analysis of French-American news • French cultural events in the United States and Canada • Interviews with leading intellectuals • Fashion tips • Traditional and contemporary recipes • Reports from across the United States and Canada • 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 2023
A Sign of the Vines
This month, take a walk through France’s vineyards and observe the changing cultural landscape. An estate near Epernay is working to produce the world’s greenest Champagne, while other producers are turning to no- and low-alcohol wines to cater to to sober-curious generation. Welcome to the Age of Raisin. Also in this issue, read about “Wemby-mania” and the success of French NBA players; meet French-American composer Betsy Jolas who, at the age of 97, still creates with the same intensity; and discover a new art space near Paris – a former blimp hangar, masterpiece of Belle Epoque industrial architecture.
Featured Articles
THE OBSERVER
NOLO WINES
New Culture or Sour Grapes?
Sales of no- and low-alcohol wines soar in France amid deep-seated cultural change. Your correspondent keeps his true feelings bottled up.
By Anthony Bulger
THE BRIEF
LUDOVIC DU PLESSIS
Telmont, the Green Champagne Revolution
The contagiously enthusiastic “climate optimist,” a former executive for Dom Pérignon in the United States, is working to produce the world’s most environmentally friendly Champagne. In pursuit of this objective, he is working with an American investor renowned for his environmental activism, Leonardo DiCaprio.
By Clément Thiery
HERITAGE
HANGAR Y
Outside Paris, a New Art Space Takes Flight
On the banks of a lake in the Meudon forest southwest of the French capital, a masterpiece of Belle Epoque industrial architecture is looking to become a hub of contemporary creation.
By Jean-Gabriel Fredet
SPORT
FRENCH NBA PLAYERS
A Success Story
Last June, four French players were selected in the NBA draft, including two in the top 10: Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly. The key to France’s success in the United States? Education, in the French sense, and a shared basketball culture that goes back more than a century.
By Phineas Rueckert
Table of contents
FROM THE NEWSDESK
A School Ban on Full-Length Robes Sparks Yet Another Round of Tension. By Anthony Bulger
COME ON OUT
French Cultural Events in North America. By Tracy Kendrick
EDITORIAL
Who Is Wealthiest, France or America? By Guy Sorman
INTERVIEW
Souleymane Bachir Diagne: “France and the United States See African Art as Museum Exhibits.” By Guy Sorman
THE OBSERVER
NoLo Wines: New Culture or Sour Grapes? By Anthony Bulger
COMMUNITY
Alain Bernard, the French Entrepreneur Running for New York City’s Homeless. By Benoît Georges
THE BRIEF
Ludovic du Plessis: Telmont, the Green Champagne Revolution. By Clément Thiery
HERITAGE
Outside Paris, a New Art Space Takes Flight. By Jean-Gabriel Fredet
SPORT
French NBA Players: A Success Story. By Phineas Rueckert
MUSIC
PORTFOLIO
A Photographic Bridge Connecting France and the United States. By Clément Thiery
CINEMA
Claire Denis: America’s Long Shadow. By Pauline Guedj
BOOKS
Joseph Kessel in America, Journeys Through the Abyss. By Sophie Joubert
BOOK REVIEW
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr: In Memory of Yambo Ouologuem. By Sophie Joubert
THE WORDSMITH
Where Are the Noble Savages Now? By Dominique Mataillet
© Champagne Telmont
