Inside France: Bashing footballers, British royals and Breton cakes
From the climate row engulfing a French football club to a behind-the-scenes look at France's presidency, via the particular place that British royals hold in French hearts, our weekly newsletter Inside France looks at what we have been talking about in France this week.
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Football focus
We've seen this week in France huge outrage at Paris Saint-Germain football club taking a plane to Nantes, a city that is accessible by train in just two hours - a row that perhaps seems trivial, but one that I think shows how much the dial has shifted in France on environmental issues.
A big chunk of the population has already made changes to their own lifestyle because of the climate crisis, and now they expect businesses and the super-rich to follow suit and avoid what is becoming known as un effort à deux vitesses - a two-speed effort.
And here's one protester putting a distinctly French spin on things;
Le sens des priorités Bretonnes 🧈 pic.twitter.com/aHMJNgDfZb
— Mammbreizh (@Mammbreizh) September 3, 2022
"Our planet is the only one where they make Kouign Amann, save it!" - in case you're unlucky enough not to have tasted it, Kouign Amman is a Breton speciality made of sweet, laminated pastry.
France in mourning
And we also saw this week, on the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, just how popular the British royals are in France.
As well as fulsome tributes from political leaders, British flags were flown, the Eiffel Tower lights were turned off and three French daily newspapers made the death their front page story. Many Brits in France have also reported their French friends, neighbours and colleagues offering condolences on the death of the Queen.
The French papers this morning
🇫🇷🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/mCCAhmlDKi
— Sophie Pedder (@PedderSophie) September 9, 2022
I find it fascinating because you might think that famously republican France would have no time for royals, but in fact this obsession with the British royals is a long-standing phenomenon in France.
French cultural commentators all focus on one thing - unity, remarking that often-divided France envies the sense of stability that a monarchy brings. Which is ironic because in the UK itself the monarchy is far from an uncontroversial subject and a significant chunk of the population believe that they should have no official role.
Perhaps a case of things always looking better from the outside?
READ ALSO 'The French have a taste for princes' - why are British royals so popular in France?
Macron uncovered
You might have seen this clip circulating below, showing a phone call between Volodymr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron on the morning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Some pretty incredible footage of Macron talking to Zelensky on the morning of the invasion, when the scale of the full-scale Russian assault on Ukraine was becoming clear.pic.twitter.com/9ETzGScTmp
— Jimmy (@JimmySecUK) September 7, 2022
It comes from a fly-on-the-wall documentary that was screened on France 2 TV channel at the end of June.
The whole thing (mostly in French) is well worth a watch, giving fascinating insight into how things work behind the scenes, the personal relationships and the secret smoking that goes on in the Elysée - find it here.
Talking France
And our podcast Talking France has returned from its summer break. You can find the new episode HERE, where me and Genevieve Mansfield talk with Europe editor Ben McPartland and veteran political reporter John Lichfield about the big questions facing France.
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
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See Also
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Football focus
We've seen this week in France huge outrage at Paris Saint-Germain football club taking a plane to Nantes, a city that is accessible by train in just two hours - a row that perhaps seems trivial, but one that I think shows how much the dial has shifted in France on environmental issues.
A big chunk of the population has already made changes to their own lifestyle because of the climate crisis, and now they expect businesses and the super-rich to follow suit and avoid what is becoming known as un effort à deux vitesses - a two-speed effort.
And here's one protester putting a distinctly French spin on things;
Le sens des priorités Bretonnes 🧈 pic.twitter.com/aHMJNgDfZb
— Mammbreizh (@Mammbreizh) September 3, 2022
"Our planet is the only one where they make Kouign Amann, save it!" - in case you're unlucky enough not to have tasted it, Kouign Amman is a Breton speciality made of sweet, laminated pastry.
France in mourning
And we also saw this week, on the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, just how popular the British royals are in France.
As well as fulsome tributes from political leaders, British flags were flown, the Eiffel Tower lights were turned off and three French daily newspapers made the death their front page story. Many Brits in France have also reported their French friends, neighbours and colleagues offering condolences on the death of the Queen.
The French papers this morning
— Sophie Pedder (@PedderSophie) September 9, 2022
🇫🇷🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/mCCAhmlDKi
I find it fascinating because you might think that famously republican France would have no time for royals, but in fact this obsession with the British royals is a long-standing phenomenon in France.
French cultural commentators all focus on one thing - unity, remarking that often-divided France envies the sense of stability that a monarchy brings. Which is ironic because in the UK itself the monarchy is far from an uncontroversial subject and a significant chunk of the population believe that they should have no official role.
Perhaps a case of things always looking better from the outside?
READ ALSO 'The French have a taste for princes' - why are British royals so popular in France?
Macron uncovered
You might have seen this clip circulating below, showing a phone call between Volodymr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron on the morning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Some pretty incredible footage of Macron talking to Zelensky on the morning of the invasion, when the scale of the full-scale Russian assault on Ukraine was becoming clear.pic.twitter.com/9ETzGScTmp
— Jimmy (@JimmySecUK) September 7, 2022
It comes from a fly-on-the-wall documentary that was screened on France 2 TV channel at the end of June.
The whole thing (mostly in French) is well worth a watch, giving fascinating insight into how things work behind the scenes, the personal relationships and the secret smoking that goes on in the Elysée - find it here.
Talking France
And our podcast Talking France has returned from its summer break. You can find the new episode HERE, where me and Genevieve Mansfield talk with Europe editor Ben McPartland and veteran political reporter John Lichfield about the big questions facing France.
Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
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