Illustration Faustine Sayagh for Les Echos
Wanna attend French university classes? Let’s look at the offer of MOOCs (massive open online courses) and online classes in France. Continue reading
Three weeks ago, I meet a young American guy who came to Berlin to check out the city with the idea of settling here to developp his start up. Very dynamic and much of a doer (do be a doer, don’t be a don’ter, right) he was working on the fashion and tech prototype of a product. I found his idea passionating and his dynamism admirable. He had calculated everything, he already knew the costs of the components, and most importantly the margin he would be making out of the product. I found all that super interesting, and his enthousiasm was contagious. I only felt weird when he started to say that he was gonna make millions, visibly excited, laughing nervously. His eyes grew so shinny I suddenly realized they were golden coins, his grin so wide I started to see fangs instead of teeth. Almost, I mean.
But what’s that, “felt weird” ? Well, difficult to explain. Let’s say that I disapproved. I felt that joy at the idea of fortune was legitimate, but I also felt that he shouldn’t have share it with me, as we had never met before. I felt that by showing so clearly that he loved money, he lacked decency.
And then I felt bad for thinking this. I’m just a narrow-minded French girl very complexed by money like all French, is what I thought. The French know quite well that money is a difficult subject for them. Money is more taboo than sex.
Looking for references about this French cultural feature, I fell upon the sociological and anthropological work of Michèle Lamont, entitled Money, Morals, Manners – the culture of the French and the American middle class. The book, which as its title suggests, draws a comparison between the French and the Americans, was written in 1992. It’s a while ago, but no worries, even if things have changed, the content remains highly valuable. Continue reading
« Really, what’s so special about French food ? » asked my boyfriend. After all, they have wonderful bread in Germany, there are a lot of tasty cheeses and wines all around the world, Korean/ Mexican/ Italian/ Chinese/ Lebanese/…/ food is delicious, so why does French food seem to be such a big deal ? I’ve found myself quite unable to answer this question. « The French must be good at marketing » is my boyfriend’s hypothesis to this issue – and I laughed a great deal in front of his very rational mindset.
One of the first things I can say is that I am myself discovering what French food is. The food I eat at home is for me quite normal, ok, it’s good, but it doesn’t seem very special to me. But as I am growing up and starting to earn money, I have also started to spend it in real restaurants, including French ones. And I must say that another world is opening before my eyes – this is only the beginning of my culinary journey, through which I am well decided to include my boyfriend.
But French food is not only about its gastronomic performance. Food is a whole culture in France. The French have habits and behaviours towards food that are typical to them, and this is the first characteristic of the French food culture : a certain homogeneity of practices. Three meals a day, structured in 3 to 5 courses and nothing between meals, this is the French food model. This model did not arise by chance. It is the result of political and social changes that appeared throughout history, an evolution which I will quickly introduce you to.
We will first see that before the 20th century, no homogeneity of practices could be witnessed in France concerning food. People ate different things in a different order at different times depending on their social classes.
But starting the 18th century, the manners of the aristocracy started to spread, copied by the bourgeoisie, and, in the 19th, the French Revolution engendered new equalitarian values, while in the 20th century the French Republic flourished and contributed, by its institutions, to the homogenization of the French eating practices.
In June 2010 was discovered a pure testimony of the Paris of the early 20th century : the door of a Parisian flat of the 9th arrondissement was unlocked for the first time in 70 years.
Covered in dust, old carpets and tableware, antics were found, and among the art pieces, an original painting by Giovani Boldini (1842-1931), portraitist quite in vogue in Paris at the time.
The painting represents Marthe de Florian aged 24 in 1898, actress and demimondaine, obviously beautiful and more obviously very popular among our male friends judging by the amount of love letter she kept and classified (according to which order, the story doesn´t say). Many business cards of politiciens of the time were found, like that of Clemenceau, Waldeck-Rousseau, Doumergue oder Deschanel – no comment. The owner of the appartment, who died at the age of 91, was the grand daugter of this lady. She had moved to Southern France before WW2 and never came back.
Last spring, an exhibition about Paul Jacoulet’s art took place at the Quai Branly Museum of indigenous culture and arts of Asia, Oceania, Africa and America. Listen, Paul Jacoulet’s art, although not very famous, is astonishing. The brightness of the colors and their combinations are so great that I was mesmerized! His art is so vibrand and modern!
He also had a one of a kind life: born in 1896, his family moves to Tokyo where his dad is a French teacher when he is 3. So basically, the guy is a Japanese at heart, he was brought up there, learning Japanese from an early age along with French and English, and at the age of 13 was taught art by renown Japanese painters, thus learning Japanese wood engraving, ukiyo-e. At 25 his dad dies and his mom remaries with a Japanese who lives in Seoul. In his thirties Paul Jacoulet decides to devote his life to painting, settles in Japan, and travels in Micronesia (region composed by the numerous islands of the Pacific Ocean, more HERE).
When I think of the situation of this family, I am fascinated.
Posted in ART/STYLE/FASHION, HISTORY, PEOPLE
I love these covers!
Beautiful movie with the amazing Isabelle Adjani, my favourite actress. She’s so dramatic in this movie, when she whirls around in her dress and shouts her despair – she gives me goosebumps.
The movie was released in 1994, and is based on a novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas, published in 1845. Dumas is also the author of The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask or the Count of Monte Cristo, if you’ve already read those books or seen movie adaptions and you liked them, you will like La Reine Margot.
The atmosphere: Dark, under pressure, passionate.
Guys, I have some good news: watch La Reine Margot/ watch Queen Margot in streaming in ok quality, subtitled in English!
{picture coming from a tumblr about Chirac}
{kiss montage btw Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy is from a Benetton campaign}
I remember in the US having been asked several times whether it was true that the French just take for granted that their presidents have love affairs. It is true, we just assume very naturally that they do… Politicians in general have been making such a reputation of ladykillers for themselves (or attempted ones, see below), that the contrary would actually be suspiscious.
Felix Faure dies in conditions many men would envy, Giscard tries to seduce Lady Di, Mitterrand has a secret daughter, and Chirac (the best for the dessert) tries to seduce everyone (proof with video).
Posted in HISTORY, LOVE, PEOPLE
Tagged french history, french people behavior, love, sexuality
Found the above illustration HERE.
{NO SPOILERS}
A friend of mine lent me several books to read last month but none of them was by far as good as the first one she lent me, The Confident. I even bought two copies after that, one that I kept for myself, one that I offered to my friend Alice. Then, since I couldn’t help myself from talking about it to everyone, I discovered that my good friend Adé, had read it, loved it, and also offered it to other people.
I must say the first thing I pay attention to when I read is the writing. When I open and start reading a new book, I instantly start to relax and to breath better if it is well written. The Confident is written with great simplicity. The tone is natural, flowy, soft.
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