A la française

Fashion designers, models, celebrities… Many people are currently in Paris for the Fashion Week running from September 27 to October 5. But behind closed doors, the joy may not last for long due to bad economic news, according to some specialists. On Reuters we read: ‘Paris Fashion Week kicked off on Tuesday under a cloud of economic pessimism mixed with uncertainty about the creative direction of some of the world’s biggest fashion ...

We decided to dedicate this C’est la vie in France weekly post to Troy Davis. As you may already know if you read the Sama Gazette, and with the strong support of French artist Max Dana, we actively work to bring attention to his case. In a few words: ‘Troy Davis was sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia in 1989. No physical evidence directly links Davis to the murder – no ...

Everything started back in May, when IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of sexual assault. Four months later,  the New York District Attorney moved to withdraw the charges on 22 August 2011, due to the ‘unreliability of the complainant and inconclusive physical evidence’. On Sunday, Dominique Strauss-Khan and his wife Anne Sinclair have returned to France, and they were surrounded by journalists, eager to ask DSK questions about ...

Last week, France made U.S. actress Liza Minnelli an officer in its Legion of Honour in recognition of her entertainment career and charity work. On the BBC webiste we can read: French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who hosted the ceremony in Paris, presented the red-ribboned medal to Minnelli. Mr Mitterrand explained why the veteran singer had been selected to receive the honour. “We love you because you make our lives better,” he ...

Tomorrow we will celebrate Bastille Day, the French National Day which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. A military parade is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris. But this day is also about communal meals, dances, parties and most of all, fireworks. The Champs-Élysées are decorated with flags, and the 14 Juillet (the fourteenth of July) being a public holiday, almost everyone can enjoy a day off and meet with ...

Last week, we did celebrate the return of two French journalists, Stéphane Taponier and Hervé Ghesquière. They were abducted in December 2009 and had been held by the Taliban for more than a year; it was a relief to have them back in France, in good health. But many questions immediately raised about the negotiations and a supposedly paid ransom. The New York Times writes: A spokesman for the Taliban also said Thursday that part of the reason the men ...

The finance minister of France, Christine Lagarde, was voted yesterday to the post of managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She will succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested in May in New York on sexual assault charges. The first female head of the International Monetary Fund will be hard at work on Europe’s debt crisis and balance the demands of fast-growing emerging nations with the needs of a recovering developed ...

Irreverent sense of humour. Irreverent attitude towards politics (read more on Wikipedia). Michel Colucci died 25 years ago at the age of 42. Colucci, also known as Coluche, was a French comedian and actor. On Sunday, many people across France commemorated together the day he died, on June 19, 1986. A quarter of century after he died in a motorcycle accident, Coluche is still very much alive in all memories and even people who were too young to have ...

Airbus is a European aerospace company based in France, and it recently unveiled its Concept Cabin, a whole new flying experience inspired by nature. We were very surprised by the design, with walls which would become transparent. You can watch the sky while you’re on the plane, look at the stars and enjoy a beautiful moment… But not until 2050! Here is the news from Airbus Website: While taking a hop between destinations, according to ...

French take sometimes unexpected if not incomprehensible decisions. Last example to date? Banning the words ‘Twitter‘ and ‘Facebook‘ from television and radio. For the law (according to a 1992 decree) mentioning services (such as Twitter or Facebook) by name is an act of advertising. Even though France’s Conseil Superieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) disagrees. TechCrunch writes about this ban: Instead of referring to ...