Everyone knows the story by now: about two weeks ago, a French gossip magazine revealed that President François Hollande has been cheating on his official partner, first lady Valérie Trierweiler, with the previously little-known actress Julie Gayet. Instantly relayed in … Read More
Is it the legacy of centuries of observing Catholic liturgy and royal court protocols? Millennia of evolving a language with no fewer than 82 basic verb conjugations? Hours of printing out “C’est Ironique” articles and running them page by page … Read More
As regular readers of this column are already tired of hearing, I love just about everything about France. I adore the geography, the architecture, the food, the wine, the culture, the lax morals and (most of) the population. I even adore … Read More
Back when my wife Nancy and I were looking for our first apartment to buy in Paris, our real estate agent called one day and said that he had a wonderful place to show us. He was right: it was … Read More
Paris is often described as being a “magical” city, for its mystical beauty, its enchanting atmosphere and its miraculous ability to saw bank balances in half. But there’s another reason that it deserves this reputation: Paris actually performs magic. Or … Read More
First, a shameful confession: one of my favorite online news sources is the e-version of a French tabloid newspaper. Like most tabloids, it reports at lurid length on every sick, sordid or violent crime that happens anywhere in France. And, … Read More
Even though it’s right in the middle of the Right Bank, the Sentier is probably the least famous, least popular, least visited district in town. Ask a thousand people to name their favorite Paris neighborhood (seriously — go out and … Read More
Autumn has come, and it looks as though the entire population of Paris spent the entire month of August tanning on the beach. Because, in fact, they did. Except me. I don’t even wear shorts in the summer. The reason … Read More
The celebrations went on for days. Paris was one huge party, with free Champagne in every café and spontaneous parades on every boulevard. The entire population, young and old, civilian and military, was out in the street at all hours, … Read More
It’s official: the French are dour. I’m sure that some readers have suspected this for years, but now even The New York Times says so. According to an editorial by Maureen Dowd, published on July 7 and instantly e-mailed to … Read More
