Le Web Francais

July 13, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

LE WEB FRANÇAIS As of today, France has a new multilingual Web site for visitors, France.fr, which has already crashed because of excess traffic. And the city of Paris recently gave its own site an attractive, much-needed redesign. Both are … Read More

Electrifying News

July 13, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

ELECTRIFYING NEWS The city of Paris plans to place eight electricity-generating water turbines in four sites in the Seine where the current is strong. Bids have been requested from contractors for this experiment in renewable-energy production, which joins a geothermal-energy … Read More

Access Denied

July 6, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

ACCESS DENIED France has never been in the vanguard when it comes to disabled access, and now a study by the Association pour Adultes et Jeunes Handicapés shows that only between 5 percent and 15 percent of 330,000 French public … Read More

Rate Paris Real Estate

June 22, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

RATE PARIS REAL ESTATE A rooftop house on top of another building in Saint Ouen, by Freaks freearchitects. Express your opinion about the Paris region’s modern architecture by voting online for the Prix Grand Public des Architectures Contemporaines de la … Read More

Scam Alert

June 22, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

NEW SCAM ALERT A new street scam has popped up in Paris to add the list enumerated by David Jaggard last year in Paris Update. This one has an extra nasty twist because it takes advantage of those rare people … Read More

Shopping on Sunday

June 8, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

NEVER (SHOP) ON SUNDAY The Paris City Council has said no to Mammon, refusing to extend the right to stay open on Sunday to more categories of retail stores. “Do we want to live in a world where consumerism reigns … Read More

Racism

June 1, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

RACISM ON THE RISE Racial prejudice is on the rise in France, according to a poll taken in May by SOS Racisme and the Union of Jewish Students. More than 27.6 percent of the 1,029 respondents over the age of … Read More

Female Scofflaws Unite

May 4, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

FEMALE SCOFFLAWS UNITE! This woman could be arrested for wearing trousers in Paris. Photo © Ron Fox Clothes are very important to the French, and the proposed new law forbidding the wearing of the burqa is not the first instance … Read More

Insurance for Libertarians

May 4, 2010 | By Paris Update | What's New Potpourri

INSURANCE FOR LIBERTARIANS Perhaps the Paris Métro should revise its payment system: passengers are trusted to buy a ticket, and those who don’t are only occasionally caught and made to pay a fine. Charles Bremner reports in the Times Online … Read More