What does it mean to be French?

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Susan

The latest debate in France is about French identity. Qu’est-ce qu’être français? A new minister of French Identity was recently appointed to open this question up not only to French citizens – immigrants and “de souche” – but to those of us who are interested in France. The lovers and, I assume, the haters. The official take on the question as well as the varying opinions of the people on the street, AND to comment on any of it, you can
go here to the web site provided by the government.

I have another question, actually: aside from the words “liberté,” “égalité,” “fraternité” and “La Marseillaise,” how different are their answers from what ours might be on America?

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Ten hotels in Paris under $150

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Susan

There are still some good places to stay in Paris for less than $150 per night. Here are some that are vetted by the editor of the NY Times Travel section:

New York Times: list of hotels from special issue on ‘Fall in Europe’, dated October 11. The list has a section for hotels in Paris; see items #68 through 77.

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Thanksgiving Explained to the French – Hysterical!

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Susan

Art Buchwald’s classic explanation of Thanksgiving is priceless! It’s still a riot after  50 years. In 2005, a copy of it was reprinted in the Washington Post and it still packs its punch!

I thought it was written to explain our holiday to the French but now see that there are too many in-jokes for them. It must be for the very people who would read my blog – YOU bi-cultural and bi-lingual people!

Enjoy:  Le Grande Thanksgiving

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History of French Cuisine

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Susan

For a history of French restaurants and what remains there after 200 years, check out: this New York Times article

Thank you, Pamela, for sending it to us!

Did you know that the history of French cuisine is an academic field? I have a friend who got wrote her doctoral dissertation on it from her French department. She now teaches college courses on that and French. Boston University also has a department on it.

 

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Antisemitism in France — hoax email still making the rounds

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Susan

Récemment, j’ai reçu mon enième exemplaire d’une alarme d’anti-sémitisme en France. Pourquoi s’alarmer sans savoir les faits ? Pourquoi blâmer la France ? Comment croire un mail sans auteur? Il y a assez de racisme dans le monde pour ne pas en rajouter.

(In English)

After receiving this same “recent” message a few times over the past few years, I finally saw a disturbing pattern: alarm, conspiratorial tone, accumulation or invention of undocumented incidents, appeal to Jews not to “let it happen again,” exhortation common to hoaxes to forward the message to everyone we know, and a call to boycott the country of France.

1) A condensation of the original message that I received.

2) A condensation of a briefer reaction to #1 from an informed French friend.

3) The reaction to #2 from the person who sent it to the person who sent it to me.

4) An article on the cycle from “Jewish Currents” in 1/8.

– “Jewish Currents,” Jan. 2008. http://www.jewishcurrents.org/2008-jan-antisemitism.htm
– “http://www.jewishcurrents.org/2008-jan-antisemitism.htm” par Ami Isseroff

Continue reading →

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Etienne’s View on French and BHL’s Politics

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Susan

Etienne sent our blog a post of Bernard-Henri Lévy, interviewed in L’Express about his views on French politics today – the future of its Socialist Party (PS). That appears on a separate post. This post was written by Etienne Roop, an American politician and political scholar, to give his take on BHL’s take. An English translation by Pam Sacks is in another post of this blog.

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En bref, et à mon avis, le mot clé ici est “antilibérale.”  “Libéral” est un euphémisme commun parmi les intellectuels français qui ne veut pas dire la même chose qu’aux aux Etats-Unis.  “Libéral” fait allusion à la politique économique, en particulier à la préférence présumée de l’Amérique (et de la Grande Bretagne–donc l’épithète commune parmi les socialistes de gauche et d’autres gauchistes “Blairites”) pour l’échange libre et les marchés libres.

Continue reading →

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Is the French Socialist Party Dead?

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Susan

In this Express article, Bernard-Henri Lévy talks about the future of the Parti Socialiste in France – its position today and where he thinks it is going. BHL is a “new philosopher,” a political analyst and commentator, and a journalist. His views anger some French folk and inspire others.

BHL talks about the future of the Socialist Party (PS) and politics in France

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“Libéralisme” and BHL in French politics today

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Susan

Pamela Sacks and Etienne Roop are two of my more erudite students. Pam is learning French by supplementing grammar with translating from French to English. Etienne is progressing by reading and writing French. Below is Pam’s translation of Roop’s recent post on French politics, its take on “liberalism” and “antiliberalism,” and Bernard-Henri Lévy. Lévy is a political, cultural, inetellectual writer and philosopher in France today.

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Briefly, in my view, the key word here is “antiliberal.” “Liberal” is commonly used among French intellectuals who do not mean the same thing as in the United States. “Liberal” is an allusion to economic politics, in particular the presumed preference of America (and of Great Britain – therefore the common epithet used among leftist socialists and other leftists, “Blairites”) for free exchange and free markets.

Continue reading →

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French complain they are working harder and earning less

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Susan

French workers react to the financial crisis in France:

Getting less money for doing more work

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French anthropologist Levi-Strauss dead at 100

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Susan

To read about the passing of a major French cultural icon, click on:

Story on France24

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