The decision by British voters to leave the EU comes with a certain sense of déjà vu. It is reminiscent of the French decision to reject the European Constitution back in 2005. Both polls have important similarities - but also key differences.
In April 2011, as Libyans were in the thick of their uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, a Frenchman in a white shirt unbuttoned to reveal swathes of chest arrived in Benghazi to hold yet another meeting with opposition leaders.
After it emerged that some French schoolchildren did not respect a minute’s silence for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the emphasis is now on shoring up “Republican values” in France's schools. But is this really such a new problem?
Working at FRANCE 24 offers a good vantage point to notice “new” French words - well, new to my foreign eyes. Here is a selection of French vocabulary that cropped up in 2014 and sometimes had me “reaching” for the online dictionary.
This Thursday is World Kindness Day, which here in France means it’s la Journée de la gentillesse. This is slightly ironic, as being nice is not usually seen as a positive trait by the French.
This week, the magazine of French newspaper Le Monde features an exclusive behind-the-scenes report at the Elysée presidential palace. For one week, a journalist and photographer were given rare access to President François Hollande and his staff.
François Hollande’s $1 billion pledge to the climate struggle on Tuesday is part of an ambitious drive by the French government to save the world from self destruction, with Environment Minister Ségolène Royal suggesting that nobody else is up to it.
The banning of recent Gaza protests in and around Paris has enflamed passions and exacerbated tensions in France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities.
