Inside France: Streets on fire, Alpine lakes and accidental insults

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.

Burning question

In what is, I suspect, a common experience for foreigners living in France, in recent days I've been getting an increasing number of messages from friends and family overseas saying 'are you OK? I see Paris is burning?'.

Although there have been some violent clashes at the ends of demos in Paris, Bordeaux and Rennes I can confirm that the French capital is not on fire and life pretty much continues as normal.

I had to factcheck the below video because it seemed almost too perfect - but it is in fact real, filmed in Bordeaux, and just goes to show that you shouldn't let a tiny bit of arson come between you and a nice drink and a chat on a cafe terrace . . .

C’est tellement romantique...🔥#DarmaninDemission #manif23mars pic.twitter.com/tMDttkGPB0

— Le DéCaLé📽 (@ledecaledu25) March 25, 2023

 

Risky business

I'm interested in the difference between the perception of 'risk' in France though, so really enjoyed speaking to the professional risk and crisis management adviser who told me how travel alerts and advisories are decided on (before telling me that she's coming to Paris next week and isn't worried at all).

Business as usual

The government too seems to have decided on a 'business as usual, everything is fine' approach, although in their case it might be more of a pretence.

In recent days we've seen a flurry of new announcements and initiatives on everything from regulating online 'influencers' to dealing with drought. France's water reduction plan was announced by Emmanuel Macron, standing in front of a beautiful lake in Hautes-Alpes, eastern France.

According to journalists who covered the event, however, the location was picked less for the scenery and more for the fact that it is extremely inaccessible, therefore lowering the risk that the president's announcement would be disrupted by protests.  

Language fails

All language-learners have embarrassing stories to share, and we're grateful to all The Local readers who shared their tips on things they wish they had known about the French language before moving to France, but one really stuck out . .  I was sweating in embarrassment for poor Seb in Montpellier, who accidentally told his son's teacher to "go f*ck yourself" by getting his sa and ta mixed up.

Musical moments

We are of course talking about protests - and how the current demos link to France's history of violent protest - in this week's Talking France podcast, as well as practical jokes, after-dinner tipples and whether France is a good place for women to live. We also sing some of our favourite French protest songs and chants. Listen here or on the link below.

 

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.