Mag

Here you will find inspiring articles on nature, food and drink, and culture – the simple pleasures that make living in France such a joy. You can also enjoy bilingual crosswords, quizzes, book and film reviews – plus lifestyle and travel ideas. We have organised articles by subject – read the latest below or browse sections via the blue tabs. The Cx symbol denotes subscriber-only articles.

French Life

coworkers Michel Cziffa and Arthur Marteau 3 at Le 400

Leaving home: coworkers reap benefits of office use

Every edition we assess an emerging aspect of French zeitgeist. This month: freelancers who share office space, by Jane Hanks

A ‘little bit of artwork’ on every envelope

La Poste has a tradition of inviting artists to create stamps and one of the most popular ever produced commemorated the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2014.

The Eiffel Tower watches over me as I write

Sarah’s Key author Tatiana de Rosnay says success did not come easily for her. And when it did come, it was a struggle.

Art of water divining in France is local sourciery

Water divining is an ancient art but the local sourcier is still in demand – and these days can often be found on the internet.

Language

Language is a castle for exploring, not attacking

Dare to try out your French slang

The French language is in continual evolution and its argot reflects the country’s rich heritage. Learning when to use slang can be tricky, however. Connexion spoke to Jennifer Rowell Gastard, an American language specialist who has lived in France for more than 20 years

Solving a problem like teaching languages in France

A recent report into language education in France suggests options for improvement, including teaching subjects like history in English. We speak to one of the report’s authors, UK-born journalist Alex Taylor

Say 'infox', not 'fake news'

French language chiefs have decreed that instead of ‘fake news’ people should say infox in French.

Food and Drink

French food notes - December 2018

In our new series providing a sideways look at French food, we examine the north’s doughy dedication to Jesus

Apple man’s core beliefs

Prime apple season is the perfect time to speak to the pastry chef Christophe Adam about his passion for baking with pommes

Marrons glacés: sweet taste of success

As we approach peak marron glacé season, Jane Hanks spoke to the original transformers of chestnuts into sweet treats: Clément Faugier

French food focus - December 2018

A focus on food in France. Includes meeting producers, artisan cheese and a local speciality...

Culture

Vlahos, as Philippe, alongside George Blagden, who stars as Louis XIV

Sun King cross-dressing brother steps out of shadows

TV series was right – there was more to Philippe, Duke of Orléans, than historians once believed Dr Jonathan Spangler tells Scheenagh Harrington

French cultural life - December 2018

A round-up of news, and those creating ‘le buzz’ in French cultural life

Aristocrat revolutionary turned angel of assassination

Revolutionary figure Charlotte Corday is known for murdering a rival political figure in his bathtub. Samantha David looks at her extraordinary, if short, life and what motivated her ultimately fruitless act

Eleanor of Aquitaine: a life of love and leadership

The noblewoman led a long, extraordinarily eventful life of achievement, writes Jane Hanks

Nature

‘In the end, the power of love is all’

As one of France’s most admired environmentalists, Pierre Rabhi advocates a simplified existence in order to live a sustainable, happy life. Jane Hanks falls under the sage’s spell in an exclusive interview

Green news - December 2018

An update on environmental events and occurrences in France

French garden diary - December 2018

Hellebore, a fine festive flower - They are picky but Christmas roses are great inside and out, says Cathy Thompson

The man who makes Monet live on

Jane Hanks speaks to the new head gardener at the late, great artist’s wildly popular garden in Giverny, Normandy

French Facts

Martin Waldseemüller/Library of Congress

America got its name from a French town

Did you know?

Did you know? Why the ‘0’ in Peugeot?

The names of Peugeot cars are distinctive by the 0 in the middle of the name of nearly every car they produce; so we have the Peugeot 104, the Peugeot 202, the Peugeot 305, the Peugeot 908...

Quoi de neuf: French shopping in November 2018

New products, designs and ideas from around France

Explore France

Secret history of buildings - December 2018

In the latest of her explorations of small French villages with secret histories, Jane Hanks visits Peyrusse-le-Roc in Aveyron

Stellar journey: France’s place in the space race

With a film about the moon landings and lunar anniversaries coming up, Samantha David examines France’s space-bound history and talks exclusively to its only female astronaut

How to be a space tourist...on terra firma

Keen to explore France’s long history of space exploration, intrepid Samantha David visits Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse

Big Picture

Striking a pose for changing fashions

1960s fashion snapper Peter Knapp changed fashion photography, as a new exhibition reveals

English hideaway fit for French Queen

The lovingly restored Queen’s House is now open to the public.

Lazy days of Doisneau in the Dordogne

Legendary lensman Robert Doisneau loved visiting the Dordogne on holiday, camera in hand. A new exhibition of images taken there impresses Jane Hanks

Quiz

July 2018

What keyboard symbol has seen vastly increased use in the last 20 years and is known in French as ‘l’arobase’?
Already an Olympic silver medallist, in what track and field event did Parisian Kévin Mayer become world champion in London in August 2017?
What is the English name of the island in the Atlantic known in one of the official languages of the country to which it belongs as ‘Terre-Neuve’?
Which Lennon & McCartney composition was performed in 1964 by Johnny Hallyday under the title ‘Quand je l’ai vue devant moi’?
What is the usual two-word English name for the fungal grape infection Botrytis cinerea which imparts a distinctive flavour to Sauternes wines from the Bordeaux region?
One of the most famous 20th century poems in the English language, who created the work which contains the words, “Et O ces voix d’enfants, chantant dans la coupole!”
Former French Republican politician Michel Barnier was appointed to what role within the European Union in December 2016?
Cultivated in order to complement the local Mediterranean cuisine, between half and two thirds of all wine produced in the vineyards of Provence is of what general type?
By what diminutive name is Margaret of Valois, wife of Henri of Navarre, known in the title of a 1994 French film in which she was played by Isabelle Adjani?
Who was pictured in a famous photograph taken on the front terrace of the Palais de Chaillot on June 6th 1940, with the Eiffel Tower in the immediate background?