Big newspapers typically have an international section, but what if you want to REALLY keep up with what's going on in France? Like politics, culture, social issues. If you're a serious francophile, you want to be sure and get all the details, which means reading in English, unless you're lucky enough to be fluent in French. Or if, like me, you're kind of lazy.
Well, there's an app for that. Plenty of them actually, in English or French.
Here's an example of need-to-know news: you may have read an article buried in your local paper about a dust-up with one of Macron's security guards, whose name is Benalla. Over here, it's no small matter: it's l'affaire Benalla, or BenallaGate. It has dominated the top headlines since it happened: " 'Heat Getting to Parisians' says Macron of Benalla Affair"! "Benalla Slams Attempts to 'Get At' Macron"! It's what everyone's talking about, doncha know.
So if you don't want to miss a thing, there are lots of ways to stay au courant, in French or in English. And keeping up with the news is a great way to really get to know a county and it's people, if only from a distance. Here are some (internet) methods that we use:
For hard news, France 24 (that's their logo, at the top) is the French equivalent of CNN. You can get it on-line, in both French and English. Though they cover international news, click on France to get great in-depth coverage (free).
Euronews is a another popular international news site, and you can set the language to French or English (free).
Another major French news and weather site is BFTMTV. This one is in French (free).
Next up are the news outlets in English, designed specifically for Anglo expats. There are two main ones: The Local, and The Connexion. We have both apps, but we both prefer the Local. (Both used to be free, but now you have to subscribe to get all the articles, though some are free.). Both cover the latest hard news, but more in summary fashion. They also cover culture, language, legal and other expat issues. Note that they both are UK publications, so you'll get a British slant on things.
If you don't need the daily news but are more interested in the latest in French culture, travel, language, food, etc., France Magazine or France Today are both good choices (subscription; some free articles on-line).
If you read in French,you can subscribe to the major newspapers and magazines. Le Monde and Paris Match are good choices (some articles free).
In the car, I listen to FranceInfo a lot, and you can do that too, for free on-line. It's great French practice, too. There are periodic headlines, with features and interviews in between.
Ron's trick: he sets Google Alerts for "France" and "French", so he gets all things French from a variety of English news sources. You could of course make your search more specific.
Please share if you have other good ideas!
In the COMMENTS: Lots of ideas for cooking simply with fire. Be sure to read about Emily's fête du pain, and Page's. Jon says, no bread oven needed if you've got a Big Green Egg! Lisa, who is camping in Michigan, shares a photo of her "bread oven": campfire toast with honey for breakfast
Lisa also cooks at home on a fire pit on wheels. She cooks all sorts of meats and veggies on it. I've got one of those, for cool evenings–never thought to cook on it, great idea.
Meanwhile Martin has a real live four à pain chez lui, in its own charming bakehouse. Here are the photos:
Favorite READS: Christine has a perfect recommendation for francophones, given last weeks's post: Marcel Pagnol's La Femme de Boulanger. And Mindy says don't read but LISTEN to The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, by Fannie Flagg.
7 thoughts on “How Francophiles Stay Au Courant”
Hi Lynn,
Great post!
I receive most of my news in French from some of the French sources you mention. It avoids the wall-to-wall politics we are getting locally. I have found that the sites that offer the option of English do not usually translate the French news, but give you the same topic from an English speaking news source.
I find the BBC and Le Figaro are good news source also.
Note : à la une is “on the front page” for the French sites.
The Connexion goes for outrageous headlines.
The latest edition says that all Brits will have a Carte de Sejour after Brexit.
Only in the last paragraph does it admit that this is in the event of there being no deal!
When I won my case against the French Health Authorities on behalf of all UK retirees living in France and getting their health cover via a form S1 from the Uk government, they went ahead explicitly against my wishes and published their own version.
They jumped the gun, probably to meet a publishing deadline, but what is more important, their deadline or getting the story accurate?
Another good English daily newsletter is Languedoc Living http://www.languedocliving.com. In addition to some reports about local Occitanie, there is a daily summary of the French press. It’s written and edited by a former BBC journalist.
Lynn,these are wonderful suggestions!(thank you!)I believe you had mentioned The Local in a post awhile back,and I have been enjoying it ever since–though I have to admit that both France and France Today absoultely
capture my imagination for both their articles and beautiful photographs.
I tried a paper subscription to Paris Match and also to L’Express with,unfortunately, less than terrific results.I don’t know if they have fixed the problems yet,but I am now receiving both Paris Match and Presse on my cell.It is much more fun!
Also looking forward to these great book suggestions!
May I add two more?
Paris By The Book,by Liam Callanan(really good),and also The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ,by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows(this one is not newly in print–I just reread it for the second time!–and it still keeps me turning pages)
Hi Lynn,
At your suggestion, I read The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Now I’m curious to read her other books. Thanks! And since I have family in Provence/Marseille, I will definitely be reading La Femme de Boulanger. We’re Marcel Pagnol fans, but we mostly watch the films based on the books. The Fanny trilogy is a family favorite.
And I agree with Natalia. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a wonderful book, and if you haven’t read A Man Called Ove, the writing is spectacular in that one. 😉
There’s a site called News in Slow French (newsinslowfrench.com). They read the news relatively slowly while you follow along. It’s fun.
Lynn, Love this issue and love the news suggestions, all of which we do actually use and yes, they are au courant for sure but especially LOVED the names of the French towns! Hilarious. But then, again, Paris, Texas is sort of an interesting take on a cow town.