Monday 15 March 2010

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Paris

Contributors of the day

Jon Newton

Bensred

Staffjam

bubul01

Liberally Conservative

Liberally Conservative

Enigma4ever

openDemocracy

James Joiner

Monroe Anderson

Monroe Anderson

Rob Port

A homeless Frenchman’s residence tax riddle

A homeless Frenchman's residence tax riddle

The case of a homeless Frenchman sent a demand for local residence tax. Spare a thought for Emile Busson, a Frenchman who has had problems with the tax authorities here. He recently received a demand for taxe d’habitation, or local residence tax, (...)

15 Feb. 2010 | 3 comments | Johnny Summerton

A French Valentine’s Day Kiss-in against homophobia

A French Valentine's Day Kiss-in against homophobia

The title pretty much says it all as once again the group Kiss-in contre l’homophobie readies itself for action - this time on Valentine’s Day. February 14 is the date set for the next Kiss-in, an event which since it was first held in (...)

9 Feb. 2010 | 3 comments | Johnny Summerton

A Disney disappointment for Parisian family

A Disney disappointment for Parisian family

It was supposed to have been a family treat as a group that included six adults and nine children made their way to a cinema in Paris to see a matinée performance of the latest Disney film "The Princess and the Frog". But it ended up with the (...)

8 Feb. 2010 | 3 comments | Johnny Summerton

French national identity: the debate and the case of Anne Sinclair

The difficulties of "proving your Frenchness" even for the famous French. France is in the throes of a debate on national identity. At least some sectors of society and in particular politicians from the right are, with the agenda being led by the (...)

28 Jan. 2010 | 2 comments | Johnny Summerton

Panicking ponies in busy Paris traffic

Panicking ponies in busy Paris traffic

Now here’s a sight you don’t see every day in Paris - thank goodness. And one motorists on the boulevard périphérique, the busy ring road around the French capital, probably had a hard time believing: riderless ponies galloping through the (...)

25 Jan. 2010 | 2 comments | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

François Pinault’s "Mapping the studio", Venice

François Pinault's "Mapping the studio", Venice

When French billionaire François Pinault gave up his attempts to build a museum on L’île Seguin, an island on the river Seine in the suburbs of the French capital which was once the site of a Renault factory, he chose the Palazzo Grassi in the (...)

11 Jan. 2010 | 1 comment | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

Flamenco in Paris, Sara Baras style

Flamenco in Paris, Sara Baras style

If your idea of what flamenco dancing is all about is a woman in a frilly polka-dot dress stomping her way across the floor to the clatter of castanets, the accompaniment of twanging guitars and the loudest of gypsy songs - think again. Sure it’s (...)

11 Jan. 2010 | 1 comment | Johnny Summerton

French tourists in Brazil plane row face bleak Christmas

French tourists in Brazil plane row face bleak Christmas

There seems to be little hope that three French citizens detained earlier this month by Brazilian authorities for causing a disturbance on a ’plane, will be home in time for Christmas. On Monday their families had hoped to have a private audience (...)

23 Dec. 2009 | 1 comment | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

Paris comes alive to "The Sound of Music" - finally

Paris comes alive to "The Sound of Music" - finally

Celebrating 50 years of The Sound of Music - the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical classic makes its Paris debut. Ask many a native English speaker to hum or sing a tune from the musical "The Sound of Music" and the chances are they’ll at (...)

14 Dec. 2009 | 1 comment | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

Natalie Dessay steal the show in la bohème

Natalie Dessay steal the show in la bohème

Actually that’s not quite right as the current run of Giacomo Puccini’s four-act work at the Opéra Bastille in Paris came to and end on Sunday. But for many in the audience, Natalie Dessay’s presence was probably the reason for (...)

30 Nov. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

Paris sways to the Soweto Gospel Choir

Audiences at the Théâtre du Châtelet in the French capital this past week have been delighting in the sights and sounds of the Soweto Gospel Choir. In a run lasting just six days, the group has been serving up its own mix of traditional African gospel (...)

9 Nov. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Row over homophobia in local French soccer league - redux

There has been yet another twist in the tale of two local football clubs in France who came to blows (off the pitch) over claims of homophobia. You might remember that the story first hit the headlines at the beginning of the month when Créteil Bébel (...)

20 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

French motorcyclist fined for wearing contact lenses

French motorcyclist fined for wearing contact lenses

All right the headline is a little misleading as will become clear. But in essence it’s what happened. Once again it’s time to say "road users in France beware". After the recent case of a motorist being fined (€22) for (...)

16 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Why numbers matter in France

What’s in a number? Well quite a lot in France it appears if the latest figures released for car registration plates here are to be believed. In order of popularity the French have plumped for the following numbers to be included on their car (...)

16 Oct. 2009 | 1 comment | Johnny Summerton

A slice of life in France - Big cats pacing in Seine and Marne

While Disneyland Paris is the largest and probably best known theme park in the département of Seine-et-Marne in the Ile de France region surrounding the capital, it’s not the only one competing for visitors. Just a few kilometres away is Le Parc (...)

15 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

The debate over Jean Sarkozy’s new job continues

The debate over Jean Sarkozy's new job continues

Reactions are coming thick and fast to the news last week that Jean Sarkozy, the son of the French president, is in line for a top job at l’Etablissement public d’aménagement du quartier d’affaires de la Défense (Epad), the development (...)

13 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

French bank blows whistle on illegal immigrant

French bank blows whistle on illegal immigrant

Last weekend Yaro S. as he’s being referred to in the French media, turned up at a branch of the bank Société Générale in the Parisian suburb of Boulogne to withdraw money from his account. As is always the case for anyone wanting to make (...)

9 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Row over homophobia in local French soccer league

Homophobia in sport is for many a taboo subject and is still alive and sadly kicking in French football as far as those who work to promote tolerance in the "Beautiful Game" are concerned. Last weekend, the club Paris Foot Gay (PFG) received (...)

7 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

McDonald’s at the Louvre - quelle horreur!

The Louvre in Paris is about to get a new neighbour, as the US fast food chain, McDonald’s, plans to open an outlet in the underground mall (Carousel du Louvre) at the approach to the museum. And "Quelle horreur" seems to be the response (...)

6 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

A French Kiss-In to fight homophobia

You might have missed reports on it, as it wasn’t exactly the doom and gloom sort of story that fills column inches and makes the headlines of news bulletins. So just in case you did, here’s a reminder of a demonstration that took place at (...)

6 Oct. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Hijo, the dog who went missing during a Paris stopover

Lost luggage is one thing, but imagine how difficult it must be, in spite of all the regulations and procedures in place, for an airline to lose man’s best friend and the sheer desperation owners must feel when they’re told their dog has gone (...)

22 Sep. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

High speed birth on Paris-Brussels Thalys train

High speed birth on Paris-Brussels Thalys train

Taking the high-speed train that links Paris and Brussels isn’t usually a dramatic affair, but on Monday the Thalys service experienced a "first" since it started operating in 1996 as a baby girl was born on board shortly before the train (...)

22 Sep. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

War of the roads over a one-way Paris street

Thank goodness for the prefect of the suburban Parisian département of Hauts-de-Seine, Patrick Strzoda, and the rest of his administrative team. They’ve put an end, albeit temporarily perhaps, to a dispute between two neighbouring mayors within the (...)

22 Sep. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

France - Fined for smoking at the wheel

Motorists who smoke beware! Think twice before lighting up when taking the wheel of a car - at least here in France. Because if the police catch you with a ciggie in your mouth, you might just end up facing a fine. Well at least it could happen (...)

22 Sep. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Air France to launch auction for its inaugural A380 flights

Air France to launch auction for its inaugural A380 flights

If you’re an aeroplane enthusiast living in France, November 20 is perhaps a date to mark in your diary. That’s the date for the inaugural flight of Air France’s first Airbus A380, and the company is planning to sell seats on the (...)

7 Aug. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

Arts & Entertainment

Kandinsky in Paris - battling the crowds

Art lovers will probably be very well aware that there’s a major retrospective of the life and works of the Russian-born painter and art theorist, Wassily Kandinsky, showing in the French capital at the moment. After its huge success at (...)

27 Jul. 2009 | | Johnny Summerton

House-hunting in Paris - still a pricey affair

Everyone knows that the City of Lights can be an expensive place to live, and as in most capitals there always seems to be a shortage of reasonably-priced accommodation for rent and finding a deal when buying a property has never been easy. For a while (...)

27 Jul. 2009 | 1 comment | Johnny Summerton

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