When you...
have an Opinel or three know that seeing and hearing a rumbling mass of military planes and helicopters in the Paris sky around July 11 is not an invasion but a rehearsal for the Bastille Day parade... that Bastille Day not only is not the name of the holiday in France but are words that mean absolutely nothing to a French person find creative, inspiring solutions to any problem…but only at the last minute know what Système D is (and what the D stands for!) have at least two pairs of espadrilles in your closet know what PSG stands for, the full name of the SG in question, what OM has to do with PSG, and what OM stands for iron your plain white t-shirts and jeans-then wear them with outrageously expensive perfume make the last item on your grocery list a gigantic bouquet of flowers have underwear items that match not only each other but also what you’re sporting on top…SOME OTHER PARIS – A totally different look at the City of Lights (Streaming on YouTube)
An unconventional look at current life in the City of Lights, Some Other Parisexamines everything from the Yellow Vest protests to the Parisian art scene through the eyes of expats, immigrants and French citizens. The documentary takes viewers far beyond the Eiffel Tower, past the fancy fashion houses and the haute cuisine. It is an immersive journey through the Paris of artists and intellectuals; inhabitants of a densely populated, expensive city, dodging around the cost of living, tightly packed public transportation, pollution and dog poop on the sidewalk.Directed by James H. Jewell III and executive produced by Kara Jewell, thisdocumentary film features twenty interviews with artists, musicians, poets,novelists, playwrights, radio personalities, a journalist, a real estate broker, a gamer, a charity worker, a costume designer/refugee worker, a sign language tour guide, and a rabbi. Residing in Paris is perhaps the only common denominator this diverse cas…
BBI Boulogne-Billancourt Information talks about Bill & Rosa’s Book Room
BBI Boulogne-Billancourt Information - it's a pretty dull title for a magazine, but a really nice municipal publication just like Boulogne-billancourt is a really nice town. We read it every month to see what is going on in sports, culture, politics, business and best of all the history pages of our city. Julie Fagard, the journalist who interviewed us, clearly enjoys her job. She was lovely, interested and asked some great questions. She very much liked the concept we have put forth. The Book Room is rather unique in Boulogne as there are no English book shops and no used book shops in this town of nearly 110,000. The article has already brought in a dozen customers on the first day we were open after publication! I looks like we've hit a chord. We're happy to give back to Boulogne-Billancourt, the second largest city in Ile de France after Paris (and 30th largest in France), as it is a great place where people are friendly and smiling. There's great shopping on the vibra…
BEWARE THOSE FAUX AMIS
Planète Gascogne by Perry Taylor
If you are headed to south west France for your summer vacation or if you've already been smitten by the area or if you appreciate rural France you'll get a kick out of the drawings by Perry Taylor - as he interprets life in Gascony through a whimsical British lens.
Perry Taylor was born in Oxford, England. He was a graphic designer and art director at design studios and advertising agencies in London and Amsterdam for 25 years. He now lives with his wife and chickens in the Hautes-Pyrénées, at the edge of the Gers. The tender and amusing observations of this renowned ‘Anglo-Gascon’ artist, capture the spirit of South West France in his warm and witty drawings, that always contain mischievous details of the locals, their lifestyle, culture, heritage and sports. Drawn in Indian ink and watercolor, his pen strokes provoke smiles from the French, who recognize themselves, as well as the international visitors who have discovered this special part of …
Moving to Paris or France
Moving in France?
This article is about moving WITHIN France, if you are moving TO France see our other article. www.fusac.fr/moving-to-paris/
If you're moving from Briaire to Le Falgoux or Limoges to Salers or some other place change within France a very practical website offered by the French Public Service allows you to officially update your address with public service and administrations when you're moving in France. In one fell swoop and a few clicks you can inform the EDF, vehicle registration, tax, social security, carte vitale, retirement, unemployment offices and other administrations of your new address.
Plus this form works not just for moving in France and your physical address but also for updating:
email address, landline phone number, mobile phone numberThey call this service The Teleservice of Service Public.
You'll need certain ID numbers (client numbers, social security number, carte grise...) …
LOOFE 2020 is out! It’s free, fun and interesting
LOOFE, which stands for Light & Lively Observations on France Extraordinaire, is an annual magazine about life in France. Inside you’ll find short articles about different facettes of France and French society. You’ll find history, books, culture, people, language, photographs and nature explained helpfully with a touch of humor.Think of it as a manual for life in L’Hexagone! (L’Hexagone, incidentally, is one of France’s nicknames due to the nearly hexagonal shape of metropolitan France)
The third edition, which is out for 2020, contains articles called
Small is Good: Les Petits Plaisirs [of France], Laughter in France Rosa Bonheur, Broad with a Brush Photo essay Paris is not the Eiffel Tower Food Focus on Pâté en croûte See Paris and Die The Senate and of course there is a Culture Quiz, a Speak Easy Puzzle and "In Every French Household" Plus classified ads and advertising of places you should know in Paris …Interview: authors of 90+ Ways You Know You’re Becoming French
FUSAC: You two created 90+ Ways You Know You’re Becoming French, a very popular book that grew out of Shari’s article on the same subject. You have since received, read, listened to, overheard, gathered “becoming French” examples from countless non-native Francophiles, including residents of France, would-be residents, tourists, language teachers, students wishing never to leave, culture mavens and many people who have battled it out with each other in our comments section as to who has racked up more Becoming French badges of honor. But wait! What about YOU? You’ve both been here since the 1980s. It’s Turn the Tables Time! What are several ways that YOU know YOU’ve “become French”? (Or not?)
HAVE NOT BECOME...Shari Leslie Segall: They say that one’s “formative years” end at the age of two--that after merely twenty-four short months on this earthly orb, you already are who you’re gonna be. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that, since my father …