Profiles

Connexion journalists profile the people making the news or doing interesting things in France.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau - undersea explorer, filmmaker and so much more

The French naval officer helped millions of people see into the deep through his inventions and productions but he also worked on projects to build three underwater villages in Sudan

Joséphine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s wife, was nothing if not a survivor

Her life was far from ordinary: she lost her first husband to the guillotine, built up legendary debts and wild animals roamed freely about her extensive gardens

Two remarkable pilots whose lives both took flight in France

Awarded fifteen French war medals in his lifetime, Eugene Bullard’s piloting career and story demands a place in history. As well as that of inspiring Bessie Coleman

Anne de Bretagne: A symbol from birth of a ‘free’ Brittany

She was the ruling Duchess of Brittany by the age of 11 and engaged for the first time in what would be along string of strategic betrothals. The life of one of Brittany’s most famous figures was full on from start to finish

French microlight pilot realises her dream to fly solo across Africa

French nurse Rachel Muller had been flying microlights for 10 years when the idea came to her, and admits that it had become something of an obsession

Gustave Eiffel: Revealing the man behind the Eiffel tower

His impressive résumé covers iconic French railway bridges to contributing to the Statue of Liberty, his most famous work attracting more than 300 million visitors