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 French conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré came under attack from dozens of authors on Thursday at one of his flagship publishing brands, as he continues to reshape the country's media landscape. https://www.thelocal.fr/20260416/french-billionaire-bollore-sparks-turmoil-at-top-publisher-grasset Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:48:47 +0200 french-billionaire-bollore-sparks-turmoil-at-top-publisher-grasset Whether it's the art of strolling along an elegant boulevard or having an all-comers verbal brawl, there are some French phrases that just don't translate - and which reveal some interesting things about France and its culture. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210607/13-unique-french-words-that-tell-us-something-about-france Mon, 07 Jun 2021 16:54:47 +0200 13-unique-french-words-that-tell-us-something-about-france The daring heist at Paris' Louvre museum has drawn comparisons with the hit TV series Lupin - if you missed it the first time round, here's what you need to know about the French thriller. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210119/french-series-lupin-tops-queens-gambit-views-on-netflix Tue, 19 Jan 2021 15:27:26 +0100 french-series-lupin-tops-queens-gambit-views-on-netflix As we arrive at la rentrée, here's a look at this French word which, while it's often translated as merely the start of a new school year, in fact has a cultural significance that goes much deeper. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200828/why-la-rentre-means-so-much-more-in-french-than-a-new-school-year Fri, 28 Aug 2020 18:11:53 +0200 why-la-rentre-means-so-much-more-in-french-than-a-new-school-year If you're listening to everyday French chat there is one four-letter word that pops up repeatedly, in a bewildering array of different meanings. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200525/the-french-word-that-can-mean-a-drink-a-punch-a-helping-hand-and-much-more-beside Mon, 25 May 2020 14:44:10 +0200 the-french-word-that-can-mean-a-drink-a-punch-a-helping-hand-and-much-more-beside French is the language of love and when it comes to expressing your affection - for a lover, a friend or a family member - you are spoiled for choice for phrases. Here are 15 of our favourites. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200413/terms-of-endearment-14-of-the-best-french-phrases-for-lovers-and-friends Mon, 13 Apr 2020 18:00:00 +0200 terms-of-endearment-14-of-the-best-french-phrases-for-lovers-and-friends You might think saying hello and goodbye is pretty basic French, but there are lots of social nuances to greeting people and bidding them farewell that newcomers often get wrong, as French language expert Camille Chevalier-Karfis explains. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210409/the-french-greetings-and-farewells-that-foreigners-commonly-get-wrong Fri, 09 Apr 2021 16:18:31 +0200 the-french-greetings-and-farewells-that-foreigners-commonly-get-wrong As an incomer in a foreign land it can be disconcerting when the locals stare at you - have you done something wrong, have you done something brilliant, are you about to be arrested? Here are some of the reasons that French people might be staring. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200925/9-reasons-why-a-french-person-might-be-staring-at-you Fri, 25 Sep 2020 12:40:21 +0200 9-reasons-why-a-french-person-might-be-staring-at-you It's regularly named as the 'sexiest' accent for men, women and even cartoon skunks - but is there anything intrinsically attractive about the French accent? Linguists say it's all in our imagination. https://www.thelocal.fr/20131030/why-french-is-the-worlds-sexiest-language Wed, 30 Oct 2013 16:21:00 +0100 why-french-is-the-worlds-sexiest-language Like most Brits, I learned French at school for around five years. But like many others I found that when I moved to France I was barely comprehensible to French people. Here's what I wish I had learned at school. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200716/six-things-i-wish-my-french-teachers-had-told-me Thu, 16 Jul 2020 11:27:31 +0200 six-things-i-wish-my-french-teachers-had-told-me Famed as the language of love, French is also rich with friendly terms that men use between themselves. Here’s a few. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210120/le-bromance-8-terms-french-guys-use-to-express-affection Wed, 20 Jan 2021 11:32:51 +0100 le-bromance-8-terms-french-guys-use-to-express-affection From Hollywood stars to world leaders, the list of famous people who speak le français is long (and their accents are sometimes to die for) - let's take a look at their overall competence. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210323/rated-the-french-accent-and-vocab-of-these-11-celebs Tue, 23 Mar 2021 12:51:48 +0100 rated-the-french-accent-and-vocab-of-these-11-celebs Mention French cinema and people tend to think of serious arthouse fare - but actually France has produced some great funny, romantic or even trashy films that nonetheless tell you something about the country. Here's a few of our favourites. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200630/the-12-popular-french-films-that-teach-you-about-france Tue, 30 Jun 2020 16:15:44 +0200 the-12-popular-french-films-that-teach-you-about-france If you’ve ever wondered why French people seem to love moaning about their northern/southern counterparts, these light-hearted maps will shed some light on the matter. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191023/nine-maps-that-explain-frances-north-south-divide Wed, 23 Oct 2019 15:49:52 +0200 nine-maps-that-explain-frances-north-south-divide France has a bit of an international reputation for being very protective of its language - but how easy is it to move here if your French is still at beginner level? https://www.thelocal.fr/20201104/how-easy-is-it-to-move-to-france-if-you-dont-speak-french Wed, 04 Nov 2020 09:28:41 +0100 how-easy-is-it-to-move-to-france-if-you-dont-speak-french From drinking games to good luck, one-night-stands to political scandals, the French language has a long list of expressions based on the word 'cul' (arse/ass). (Careful, some of these are pretty rude..) https://www.thelocal.fr/20210409/cool-cul-13-of-the-best-french-butt-expressions Fri, 09 Apr 2021 14:08:03 +0200 cool-cul-13-of-the-best-french-butt-expressions We take a look at some of the videos of celebrities speaking French - and see who really is fluent (and who might be just reading off a cue card). https://www.thelocal.fr/20161228/video-13-celebs-you-never-knew-spoke-great-french Wed, 28 Dec 2016 11:26:21 +0100 video-13-celebs-you-never-knew-spoke-great-french The French have something of a reputation as complainers - but really they are very positive, if the number of phrases for something being 'good' is anything to go by. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200215/bon-bon-why-everything-is-good-when-youre-speaking-french Sat, 15 Feb 2020 16:00:00 +0100 bon-bon-why-everything-is-good-when-youre-speaking-french Many anglophones will find France more formal than they are used to, especially in matters of address, so we asked French language expert Camille Chevalier-Karfis how you know when it's time to get friendly. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200817/when-can-you-drop-the-monsieurmadame-and-use-first-names-in-france Mon, 17 Aug 2020 13:14:53 +0200 when-can-you-drop-the-monsieurmadame-and-use-first-names-in-france Ever noticed how the French will refer to the English-speaking world as 'les Anglo-Saxons', even though historically-speaking the Anglo-Saxons haven’t been around since medieval times? French academic Emile Chabal explains why it says more about the French than it does about the Anglos. https://www.thelocal.fr/20181102/why-do-the-french-insist-on-still-calling-us-all-anglo-saxons Fri, 02 Nov 2018 17:31:40 +0100 why-do-the-french-insist-on-still-calling-us-all-anglo-saxons