https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The French language is famous for its expressions... and hair is used in a lot of them. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260416/10-everyday-french-expressions-inspired-by-hair Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:31:49 +0200 10-everyday-french-expressions-inspired-by-hair France heads to the polls on Sunday, March 15th for the first round of the 2026 municipal elections - here are a few key words and phrases you will need to know. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210615/granny-hugging-to-crowd-bathing-the-essential-vocab-to-understand-french-politics Tue, 15 Jun 2021 11:58:19 +0200 granny-hugging-to-crowd-bathing-the-essential-vocab-to-understand-french-politics French is a very colourful language - sometimes literally. From yellow laughter to having the blue fear, here are some of the language's best colour-related idioms and expressions. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260302/10-everyday-french-expressions-inspired-by-colours Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:53:49 +0100 10-everyday-french-expressions-inspired-by-colours Talking about money can be a bit awkward, especially if you do not know the correct words or context to use them in. Here is your guide to financial terms in French: https://www.thelocal.fr/20220907/the-essential-vocabulary-guide-for-talking-about-money-in-french Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:33:01 +0200 the-essential-vocabulary-guide-for-talking-about-money-in-french Nearly three months after his release from an Algerian prison, French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal was on Thursday elected to become a lifetime member of the Académie Française, the intellectual guardians of the French language. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260130/novelist-sansal-elected-to-academie-francaise-after-prison-ordeal Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:04:30 +0100 novelist-sansal-elected-to-academie-francaise-after-prison-ordeal If you are looking to take a French language test - whether that is for admission into French university or for residency/ citizenship purposes, here is what you can expect in terms of prices and where to find exam centres. https://www.thelocal.fr/20240131/how-much-do-french-language-tests-cost-and-where-can-i-take-them Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:30:11 +0100 how-much-do-french-language-tests-cost-and-where-can-i-take-them If you are practicing your French on Duolingo, you might be asked to translate a sentence with the word 'soit' used multiple times. No, this is not a typo. Here's how to express 'either, or' and 'neither, nor' in French. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251103/french-grammar-tips-how-to-say-either-and-neither-in-french Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:41:02 +0100 french-grammar-tips-how-to-say-either-and-neither-in-french It's not just 'sacrebleu' - unfortunately your French textbooks might have included quite a few phrases that will make your French friends laugh at you (affectionately, of course). https://www.thelocal.fr/20251027/9-french-expressions-that-make-french-people-laugh-at-you Mon, 27 Oct 2025 15:25:17 +0100 9-french-expressions-that-make-french-people-laugh-at-you From the legally defined to the casual term of endearment there are a lot of ways to describe your significant other/romantic partner/love bunny in French - here's a look at the most common terms and when to use them. https://www.thelocal.fr/20251006/conjoint-copain-and-cheri-how-to-describe-your-partner-in-french Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:26:32 +0200 conjoint-copain-and-cheri-how-to-describe-your-partner-in-french If you are spending time in France it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that you will be caught up in a strike - here's the French vocabulary you will need. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191216/twelve-french-phrases-to-use-if-you-get-caught-up-in-a-strike Mon, 16 Dec 2019 11:43:49 +0100 twelve-french-phrases-to-use-if-you-get-caught-up-in-a-strike September 2025 in France means a busy schedule of strikes with the possibility of widespread disruption - so you might need some good words for chaos. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250915/nine-french-words-to-help-you-complain-about-chaos Mon, 15 Sep 2025 13:42:25 +0200 nine-french-words-to-help-you-complain-about-chaos From offensive swear words to polite requests, here are 10 ways to say 'pipe down' in French. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250818/10-ways-to-shush-someone-in-french Mon, 18 Aug 2025 15:56:03 +0200 10-ways-to-shush-someone-in-french Getting to grips with French grammar is not easy - which is why this series offers tips and tricks for French learners. This week we are looking at the slippery word 'droit' and its various uses in French. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250804/french-grammar-tips-all-of-the-uses-of-the-word-droit Mon, 04 Aug 2025 14:14:01 +0200 french-grammar-tips-all-of-the-uses-of-the-word-droit It's one of the best known French phrases abroad, even people who speak no French at all will know it, but do the French themselves use 'deja-vu' to talk about the disquieting sense of having already witnessed a scene or a conversation? https://www.thelocal.fr/20250801/do-the-french-say-deja-vu Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:42:36 +0200 do-the-french-say-deja-vu There are plenty of ways to give commands and instructions in French. The Local has grouped them into a few categories so you can pick the right option based on the scenario you find yourself in. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250530/french-grammar-tips-different-types-of-instructions-for-different-situations Fri, 30 May 2025 14:30:33 +0200 french-grammar-tips-different-types-of-instructions-for-different-situations When proper French and modern, casual French clash, it can be challenging for language learners. Here's why you might hear two different ways of saying 'I went'. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250509/french-grammar-tips-should-you-use-je-suis-alle-or-jai-ete-or-both Fri, 09 May 2025 11:54:15 +0200 french-grammar-tips-should-you-use-je-suis-alle-or-jai-ete-or-both The French language is always evolving and modernising, and for its 2026 edition, Le Petit Larousse dictionary will add 150 new terms. Here are 15 of them - try to see if you can guess their meanings. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250424/test-guess-the-15-new-words-added-to-french-dictionary Thu, 24 Apr 2025 14:20:53 +0200 test-guess-the-15-new-words-added-to-french-dictionary At the start of March, the 'immortals' published their latest book - intended to help both French natives and language-learners alike avoid common mistakes, from mispronunciations to misspellings. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250325/academie-francaise-unveils-bible-of-correct-french-language Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:05:27 +0100 academie-francaise-unveils-bible-of-correct-french-language While France's secret "back-to-front" slang language may bamboozle the elderly (and the language learners), it's here to stay so you better get used to it. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160712/verlan-frances-backwards-language-you-need-to-learn Tue, 12 Jul 2016 19:11:52 +0200 verlan-frances-backwards-language-you-need-to-learn Getting to grips with French grammar is not easy - which is why we're starting our new series offering tips and tricks for French learners. This week we're hoping to give you some confidence to keep attempting to get the gender right for French nouns. https://www.thelocal.fr/20250320/french-grammar-tips-dont-worry-french-people-mix-up-gender-too Thu, 20 Mar 2025 12:41:47 +0100 french-grammar-tips-dont-worry-french-people-mix-up-gender-too