Inside France: The far-right, 'big bacon' and budgie-smugglers
From violence flaring among activists of the extreme right to worrying political trends, via new film releases, memes and 'franglais', 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.
Back bacon
There's plenty to worry about in France right now, in particular the terrible killing of a teenager at a village party and the violent demonstrations from the extreme right that followed. More worrying still, as John Lichfield writes, is the reaction of not just far-right politicians but rightwing politicians and media, who seem happy to buy into the narrative of the 'fachosphere' that civil war is brewing in France.
This is nonsense, of course, but politicians and media who should know better have been repeating these claims in recent days.
But one ray of hope has stayed with me - during violent clashes between locals and extreme right thugs in the town of Romans-sur-Isère, one far-right member lost his phone, and screenshots of the messages summoning supporters to the event were shared - some of which were signed off with the code name Gros lardon.
That literally translates at 'fat bacon' - although it can also be rude slang like 'fatty' or 'fatso' - and soon social media was awash with jokes and memes.
mhhh fais moi griller. Ordre de gros lardon pic.twitter.com/sp3JRD8djb
— je suis Thomas pas robin (@crampteur) November 27, 2023
It's good to remind ourselves that not only do the vast, vast majority of French people not support the extreme right, they also find them ridiculous and laughable.
Talking France
We discuss the latest in this case on the Talking France podcast - as well as new travel routes for 2024, the 'Ogre of the Ardennes' case, why France is banning smoking on beaches and how France ended up with its somewhat bizarre numbers. And we end with a discussion on which parts of the French language we would like to see changed to make it easier for language learners. Listen here or on the link below.
My own plea is that surely French does not need quite so many verb tenses? When my French teacher told me about the existence of a tense that is only used for novel writing (le passé simple) I thought she was teasing the credulous English idiot . . .
Building blocks
There's a new release next week from the man who is, for my money, one of the best directors working in French cinema right now - Ladj Ly, Oscar nominated for the 2019 film Les Misérables (no, not the musical).
Bâtiment 5 is out in cinemas on December 6th and tells the story of a young woman battling evictions in her Paris suburb, which are driven by a desire to 'gentrify' the area.
Franglais of the week
Black Friday might be a minor event in France, but you're still likely to get emails from companies with special offers. I couldn't help laugh out loud at the mad franglais of 'slip de bain budgy smuggler' for these natty French Rugby Federation Speedos. I wasn't aware that the 'budgie smuggler' nickname was known in a country that makes Speedos compulsory in public pools.
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.
Comments
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.
Back bacon
There's plenty to worry about in France right now, in particular the terrible killing of a teenager at a village party and the violent demonstrations from the extreme right that followed. More worrying still, as John Lichfield writes, is the reaction of not just far-right politicians but rightwing politicians and media, who seem happy to buy into the narrative of the 'fachosphere' that civil war is brewing in France.
This is nonsense, of course, but politicians and media who should know better have been repeating these claims in recent days.
But one ray of hope has stayed with me - during violent clashes between locals and extreme right thugs in the town of Romans-sur-Isère, one far-right member lost his phone, and screenshots of the messages summoning supporters to the event were shared - some of which were signed off with the code name Gros lardon.
That literally translates at 'fat bacon' - although it can also be rude slang like 'fatty' or 'fatso' - and soon social media was awash with jokes and memes.
mhhh fais moi griller. Ordre de gros lardon pic.twitter.com/sp3JRD8djb
— je suis Thomas pas robin (@crampteur) November 27, 2023
It's good to remind ourselves that not only do the vast, vast majority of French people not support the extreme right, they also find them ridiculous and laughable.
Talking France
We discuss the latest in this case on the Talking France podcast - as well as new travel routes for 2024, the 'Ogre of the Ardennes' case, why France is banning smoking on beaches and how France ended up with its somewhat bizarre numbers. And we end with a discussion on which parts of the French language we would like to see changed to make it easier for language learners. Listen here or on the link below.
My own plea is that surely French does not need quite so many verb tenses? When my French teacher told me about the existence of a tense that is only used for novel writing (le passé simple) I thought she was teasing the credulous English idiot . . .
Building blocks
There's a new release next week from the man who is, for my money, one of the best directors working in French cinema right now - Ladj Ly, Oscar nominated for the 2019 film Les Misérables (no, not the musical).
Bâtiment 5 is out in cinemas on December 6th and tells the story of a young woman battling evictions in her Paris suburb, which are driven by a desire to 'gentrify' the area.
Franglais of the week
Black Friday might be a minor event in France, but you're still likely to get emails from companies with special offers. I couldn't help laugh out loud at the mad franglais of 'slip de bain budgy smuggler' for these natty French Rugby Federation Speedos. I wasn't aware that the 'budgie smuggler' nickname was known in a country that makes Speedos compulsory in public pools.
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.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.