La Belle Vie: France's favourite hero, French wealth and how to use 'oh là là'
From France's favourite comic book character to a holiday all about crêpes and how to express shock in French, this week's La Belle Vie newsletter offers you an essential starting point for eating, talking, drinking and living like a French person.
La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.
Between cold weather, grey skies, and holidays being far and few between, February is the winter month that tempts me the most to stay within the warmth of my apartment and avoid venturing outdoors. If I'm able to convince myself to do anything, it's usually to head to the movie theatre (where it is also warm). Both the Academy Awards and the French Oscar's - the César's - often take place in mid-to-late February, so it can be a great time to catch up on the films that have been nominated.
This week, France's favourite Gaullish hero, Asterix, hit the box offices for the fifth time, and this version features stars of French cinema like Marion Cotillard and Vincent Cassel. Before you reserve your tickets to see what all the buzz is about, here are the five things you should know about the hit series that both the young and the old in France adore.
Asterix: Five things to know about France’s favourite character
Even though I mentioned above that holidays are far and few between in February, that is not entirely true. We have Valentine's Day to look forward to, of course, but before that, France has a special day that is basically dedicated to delicious crêpes.
The holiday is called La Chandeleur and is a day of superstition and snacking. According to tradition, if one could carry a Chandeleur candle all the way home from church without it going out, then they would be able to stay alive that year. These days, you probably will not stumble upon many people trying to walk candles home from church, but you will find them eating crêpes, a part of the festivities that finds its origins in Rome, not France.
La Chandeleur: The day the French get superstitious and go crazy over crepes
When preparing your tasty crêpes, you might consider drizzling some caramel au buerre salé (salted butter caramel) from Brittany over top. This is my favourite topping for crêpes - it might sound very simple, but I promise it is delicious. The most important part of the formula, however, is making sure that you buy your salted butter caramel from a marché in Brittany - that is how you can ensure the best quality.
France has plenty of other ways to mark quality and region of origin when it comes to food and drink. When buying a bottle of French wine, you might see it described as cru or AOC. When going to buy your bread at the bakery, you might find yourself choosing between a boulengerie 'artisanale' or one with the label 'boulanger de France'.
There are many different labels when it comes to shopping in France, and sometimes they do not necessarily mean that the product will taste any better than the one without the special label. Here is how you can keep track of them.
Bio, artisan and red label: What do French food and drink labels really mean?
Regardless of whether you pay attention to France's labelling system, you can be pretty sure that the food bought at your local marché will be fresh. I've even found that shopping at the marché can be more affordable than going to supermarkets - depending on the product.
Maybe that explains how the French are able to save money, though you might be surprised by how wealthy the French actually are. In a country where talking about money can be seen as taboo, recent data just came out from France's national statistics agency to help give a glimpse of average net wealth in France.
Calculator: How rich are the French?
The amount may have surprised you - either in the sense that you expected it to be lower or in the sense that you expected it to be higher. Regardless, if you are looking to express that shock, you could start with a classic "oh là là".
The use of oh là là is a French cliché that is actually true - but its meaning is pretty different to how we use it in English.
Oh là là can be either a good or a bad surprise while its stronger cousin oh là là là là là là (always 6) is usually bad. You probably heard this a lot during the World Cup from the sports commentators when France lost to Argentina.
11 ways to express shock or surprise in French
Besides oh là là, English speakers, even those who have little experience with the French language, will also know another French expression: voilà.
This is another one of those expressions where we anglophones use it differently than the French do. An English-speaker might say voilà to emphasise some spectacular action - imagine a waiter lifting the lid of a silver platter, announcing “Voilà“, to unveil an exquisite dish.
But in France, although it can be used in this sense, it’s far more commonplace and has a plenty of other more mundane uses.
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La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in “My account”.
Between cold weather, grey skies, and holidays being far and few between, February is the winter month that tempts me the most to stay within the warmth of my apartment and avoid venturing outdoors. If I'm able to convince myself to do anything, it's usually to head to the movie theatre (where it is also warm). Both the Academy Awards and the French Oscar's - the César's - often take place in mid-to-late February, so it can be a great time to catch up on the films that have been nominated.
This week, France's favourite Gaullish hero, Asterix, hit the box offices for the fifth time, and this version features stars of French cinema like Marion Cotillard and Vincent Cassel. Before you reserve your tickets to see what all the buzz is about, here are the five things you should know about the hit series that both the young and the old in France adore.
Asterix: Five things to know about France’s favourite character
Even though I mentioned above that holidays are far and few between in February, that is not entirely true. We have Valentine's Day to look forward to, of course, but before that, France has a special day that is basically dedicated to delicious crêpes.
The holiday is called La Chandeleur and is a day of superstition and snacking. According to tradition, if one could carry a Chandeleur candle all the way home from church without it going out, then they would be able to stay alive that year. These days, you probably will not stumble upon many people trying to walk candles home from church, but you will find them eating crêpes, a part of the festivities that finds its origins in Rome, not France.
La Chandeleur: The day the French get superstitious and go crazy over crepes
When preparing your tasty crêpes, you might consider drizzling some caramel au buerre salé (salted butter caramel) from Brittany over top. This is my favourite topping for crêpes - it might sound very simple, but I promise it is delicious. The most important part of the formula, however, is making sure that you buy your salted butter caramel from a marché in Brittany - that is how you can ensure the best quality.
France has plenty of other ways to mark quality and region of origin when it comes to food and drink. When buying a bottle of French wine, you might see it described as cru or AOC. When going to buy your bread at the bakery, you might find yourself choosing between a boulengerie 'artisanale' or one with the label 'boulanger de France'.
There are many different labels when it comes to shopping in France, and sometimes they do not necessarily mean that the product will taste any better than the one without the special label. Here is how you can keep track of them.
Bio, artisan and red label: What do French food and drink labels really mean?
Regardless of whether you pay attention to France's labelling system, you can be pretty sure that the food bought at your local marché will be fresh. I've even found that shopping at the marché can be more affordable than going to supermarkets - depending on the product.
Maybe that explains how the French are able to save money, though you might be surprised by how wealthy the French actually are. In a country where talking about money can be seen as taboo, recent data just came out from France's national statistics agency to help give a glimpse of average net wealth in France.
Calculator: How rich are the French?
The amount may have surprised you - either in the sense that you expected it to be lower or in the sense that you expected it to be higher. Regardless, if you are looking to express that shock, you could start with a classic "oh là là".
The use of oh là là is a French cliché that is actually true - but its meaning is pretty different to how we use it in English.
Oh là là can be either a good or a bad surprise while its stronger cousin oh là là là là là là (always 6) is usually bad. You probably heard this a lot during the World Cup from the sports commentators when France lost to Argentina.
11 ways to express shock or surprise in French
Besides oh là là, English speakers, even those who have little experience with the French language, will also know another French expression: voilà.
This is another one of those expressions where we anglophones use it differently than the French do. An English-speaker might say voilà to emphasise some spectacular action - imagine a waiter lifting the lid of a silver platter, announcing “Voilà“, to unveil an exquisite dish.
But in France, although it can be used in this sense, it’s far more commonplace and has a plenty of other more mundane uses.
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