This French Life

Author: Craig McGinty

  • Hollande puts forward plans to reduce number of regions in France

    ImageIn an address, published on the l’Elysée website, President Hollande has put forward proposals for changes to the regions of France, in an attempt to cut costs and reduce bureaucracy in the government system.

    There is set to be a parliamentary debate on the issue, but the changes proposed would see the following regions come together:

    Poitou-Charentes, Centre and Limousin
    Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon
    Champagne-Ardenne and Picardy
    Burgundy and Franche-Comté
    Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes
    Alsace and Lorraine
    Lower and Upper-Normandy

    The following would be unchanged: Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Aquitaine, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Corsica, Ile-de-France and Paca (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur).

    Prime Minister Manuel Valls claimed that savings of around €25billion were possible with cuts in administration costs and efficiency savings.

  • French children exposed to dangerous mixture of agricultural pesticides

    Couv-les-toxiques-dans-les-cheveux2-800x769-300x288A STUDY of children living close to agricultural areas in France found many had been exposed to a dangerous cocktail of pesticides.

    Générations Futures found that an average of 21.52 distinct pesticides were found in each child; 35 endocrine disruptor pesticides were found at least once, while 13 types of pesticides were discovered in all the hair samples.

    The hair of young people living or studying near farms and vineyards were taken as samples after parents expressed worries about their children being exposed to poisons.

    The organisation accepted that it has used a small sample size, but said more needed to be done at a national and European level.

    “The presence of more than 21 pesticides, on average, that are endocrine disruptors in the hair that was analysed shows that our children are exposed to a significant cocktail of these substances,” said François Veillerette, spokesperson for Générations Futures.

    “Now the European commission must finally publish a clear and protective definition of the endocrine disruptors that have to be banned.”Générations Futures said the French government’s plan to deal with endocrine disruptors had come to a halt, with an initial publication date in 2013 long past and supposedly a new date set for the end of April.

  • Thomas Piketty’s Capital: everything you need to know about the surprise bestseller

    That capitalism is unfair has been said before. But it is the way Thomas Piketty says it – subtly but with relentless logic – that has sent rightwing economics into a frenzy, both here and in the US.

    His book, Capital in the Twenty-first Century, has shot to the top of the Amazon bestseller list. Carrying it under your arm has, in certain latitudes of Manhattan, become the newest tool for making a social connection among young progressives. Meanwhile, he is been condemned as neo-Marxist by rightwing commentators. So why the fuss?

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  • British Pathé puts thousands of clips online including many of France of yesteryear


    EXPLORE the France of yesteryear via British Pathé and YouTube after thousands of news clips from the past were put online.

    British Pathé has put its entire archive of videos, totaling 3,500 hours of content and 85,000 videos on YouTube letting people explore historic content from both World Wars, famous faces and hidden corners of the past.

    A search for France related videos turns up many political and sporting clips, with rugby, football and athletic matches prominent.

    But you can also find clips of parts of France that look very different to the country of today, including the one above of canoeists paddling down a very choppy river Dordogne.

    Other interesting videos include:

    Launch of the SS Ile de France, weighing 40,500 tons, the biggest ship in France in 1926.

    ***

    A rich grape harvest in Champagne from 1948.

  • Creation of Huguenot Heritage Centre in UK to get lottery cash help

    Huguenot-heritage-centre_2

    The Refugee story – designer's impression of the layout

    THE UK's Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is to award a grant of £1.2 million for the development of the first national Huguenot Heritage Centre, in Rochester.

    The centre will bring to life the Huguenot story; a story of persecution, of flight from France, and of settlement and integration in England.

    Visitors will learn of the skills that the Huguenots brought with them to England and be able to understand the impact of those skills on the development of modern Britain.

    They will also be able to explore their own historical Huguenot links.

    Stuart McLeod, head of Heritage Lottery Fund south east England, said: "This project will provide Rochester with a fascinating historical resource and visitor attraction enabling people to learn about a wave of migration that brought many advantages to British society.

    "Giving people the chance to discover if they have Huguenot ancestry will, I’m certain, be especially popular."

    The Huguenot Heritage Centre is the first museum in Britain dedicated to the history of the Huguenots, a group of some 250,000 French Protestants who fled from religious persecution in France, over a period of some 200 years, but most significantly at the end of the 17th century.

    Between 60,000 to 80,000 Huguenots settled in England, largely in the south east, and this represents the biggest proportionate influx of immigrants in England’s history.

    There were approximately 580,000 people living in London in 1700; the 40,000 Huguenots living there, represented approximately 14.5% of the population of the capital.

    A heritage centre has long been planned by the French Hospital, which can trace its own history back to 1718 when it was set up as a charity offering sanctuary to Huguenots.

    The French Hospital's collection currently consists of highly regarded paintings, prints, drawings, etchings, furniture, silverware, clocks, books, archival records, and other items illustrating the material culture of the Huguenots.

    Many of these items will be used to help tell the Huguenot story.

  • British expatriates urged to register to vote in European elections

    Expats-vote
    WITH just seven weeks left to register to vote in the European elections, the Electoral Commission is urging UK expats to visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/overseas to make sure they can have their say on Thursday 22 May.

    “Many people have already downloaded their registration form, but we don’t want any eligible expats to miss out,” said Samantha Mills, head of campaigns at the Electoral Commission.

    “It only takes a few minutes but time is running out. Expats need to act now to make sure they’re on the register by the deadline of Tuesday 6 May.”

    Every British citizen who has been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years is eligible to vote in UK Parliamentary general elections and European Parliamentary elections.

    Those who were too young to register when they left the UK can still register as an overseas voter as long as their parent or guardian was registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years.

    It is also important for expatriates to think about how they are going to cast their vote. Ballot papers can be sent overseas but people must think about whether they have time to receive and return these papers by polling day.

    Those who think they might not have time may want to consider voting by proxy. This involves nominating a person they trust in the UK to vote on their behalf.

  • British expatriates – It’s your vote, don’t lose it

    Expats-vote
    WITH just weeks to go before the European Parliamentary elections on Thursday 22 May, the Electoral Commission has launched an international campaign to encourage British citizens living overseas to register to vote.

    To mark the start of the campaign, the elections watchdog is staging Overseas Registration Day on Wednesday 26 February in a bid to boost the numbers of expatriates on the UK’s electoral registers.

    Samantha Mills, of the Electoral Commission, said: “Estimates show that there may be as many as 5.5 million UK citizens living overseas, but the latest figures showed that there were only around 20,000 on the UK electoral registers.

    (more…)

  • Shale not a miracle solution for Europe, says French think tank

    Shale not a miracle solution for Europe (via AFP)

    Shale oil and gas have had limited benefits for the US economy and their advantages for Europe will be even slimmer, a French think tank said Wednesday. The shale boon in the US has mainly benefited local economies and the gas industry with only “minimal…

    (more…)

  • A very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year


    THE snow is not here just yet but here’s to a very Merry Christmas and hope you have a happy and healthy New Year.

    So I’ll say Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!!!

    Many thanks for continuing to drop in on This French Life.

    All the best,
    Craig

  • Enjoy a Christmas quiz with a touch of France

    Winter in FranceIF you are looking to brush up on your knowledge of France, or are just keen to keep the guests amused over the coming few days drop in on the This French Life quiz archive.

    There is a Christmas quiz taking in a bit of Père Noël alongside Edith Piaf, but also crosswords and general knowledge quiz sheets you can enjoy.

    So if you have a quiet five minutes then learn more about France, or if you have been tasked with setting a family quiz over the festive period well here’s your chance to do it with a French theme.

    You can quickly print off the quiz sheets and crosswords, with the answers kept separate so no one can cheekily win an extra mince pie.

    Drop in on the French quiz archive.