France
Nagging doubts: Twenty Minutes of Silence, by Hélène Bessette, reviewed
In a luxurious French villa, a man lies dead, shot with his own gun – and his wife and son become suspects. But new information emerges every time the scene is reviewed
Reading Jeremy’s words only gets harder
Provence In the hope of renting out the main cave house during the summer, I’ve been clearing to make room…
What do the French see in Ireland?
As the eco-tourism season got under way, the confused-looking French people began to arrive. They come to see ‘la nature’,…
France is throwing a tantrum at Trump
France is intensifying its counter-offensive against what it calls misinformation. Earlier this month, Paris prosecutors confirmed they have opened a…
People who say it’s no good throwing money at a problem have never been poor
It started during the bus journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh airport on the way home to Provence. Saying goodbye is…
De Gaulle or nothing: lessons from the General
The first time I set foot in the White House as a Labour political adviser, in spring 2024, to see…
Making Tax Difficult: another Whitehall farce
Welcome to the new tax year, with its overflowing hamper of half-baked, growth-eating, enterprise-crushing Labour measures. And if you happen…
The joy of meeting ‘randomers’
Provence Life was complicated when I fled to Provence in November 2014 with no job and very little money. At…
Iran and the crisis in the European mind
The politics of the Iranian war feature an observable gap between interest and action for nearly all parties. The Americans…
Fractured loyalties: The Tribe, by Michael Arditti, reviewed
A powerful Jewish family flee Salonika in 1912 – only to fall apart in France on the eve of the second world war
Revenge of the cheese-eating surrender monkeys
French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating rose by six points last week. It will likely continue to climb following his…
Americans are erasing European culture
Did Mariah Carey mime or not when she headlined the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan? That was…
Am I a Zionist?
The death of Quentin Deranque is strangely under-reported here. He was a 23-year-old beaten up in Lyon on 12 February…
British politics is turning French
An editorial in Friday’s Le Figaro (France’s equivalent to the New York Times) is headlined “Mélenchon or the moral suicide…
France can no longer ignore the menace of left-wing violence
Police in France arrested nine people on Tuesday evening in connection with the death of a 23-year-old student in Lyon…
France has a nasty case of Trump Derangement Syndrome
The French IT giant Capgemini has put its US subsidiary on sale because of its association with the work of…
The EU vs the farmers
It was a weekend of mixed emotions for the European Union. There was the news from Donald Trump that he…
Is Steve Bannon right about Jordan Bardella?
Marine Le Pen returned to a court in Paris on Tuesday as her appeal began against her five-year ban from…
France’s bistros are dying
Emmanuel Macron says France’s traditional bistros should be granted Unesco world heritage status. Speaking at the Élysée this week, the…
Will bromance bloom between Trump and Jordan Bardella?
Life has never been so good for Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old president of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. A recent…
Paris is a city afraid
The New Year’s Eve concert on the Champs Élysées has been cancelled for security reasons. Paris was supposed to host…
Portrait of the week: Downfall of a duke, double-decker trains in the Chunnel and no more chocolate Penguins
Home Prince Andrew said he would no longer use his titles, including as Duke of York, or his honours; his…
French parents do it better
I arrived in Paris as an au pair in 2022. I was in my early twenties and armed only with…
Yoga is slow-motion pole-dancing for grannies
It’s hard work being rich. I gave up trying years ago. You must waste money on everything, even the basics,…
In reappointing Lecornu, Macron is clinging to power
Emmanuel Macron has reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister, a loyalist whose government collapsed in mere weeks, and whose resignation…
