French connections

This week, we take a deep dive into a love affair that rivals France’s passion for wine, cheese and fashion: the French and their pets. Whether furry, feathered or scaly, the affection runs deep. More than half of French households own at least one pet, adding up to an astonishing 75 million animals across the country – meaning pets actually outnumber people in France! While many owners lavish att...

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Located in the heart of the Right Bank, it’s one of the most vibrant parts of the capital. A lot of people enter Paris through the dixième, thanks to the city’s two biggest train stations, the Gare de Nord et Gare de l’Est. They, along with the m...

If you've spent any time in France recently, you'll have noticed it has gotten warmer – especially in French cities. Why do cities suffer more, and what are big urban areas doing to combat the effects of climate change? Finally, how do people keep cool during a heatwave, and why are the French so resistant to air conditioning? We take a closer look in this edition of French Connections.

This week, we step away from the headlines and out of the city to focus on French villages. There is a deeply rooted romantic image of village life: a stone church, a sleepy square, a small café. But what is life really like in French villages today? Like in many countries, rural France has seen populations decline, and many residents say daily life can be challenging. While some villages rely on...

This week we’re taking a look at a much-loved pillar of French culture: apéro. This ritual gathering takes place before dinner, typically between 6pm and 8pm, it’s a moment when friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues meet for drinks and snacks. A majority of French people say it’s part of their national heritage. So what do people drink and eat? And what are the etiquette rules to this beloved...

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the most underrated district of the capital: the 14th arrondissement. Calm and residential, most tourists won't make the journey to this southern edge of the Left Bank, but it's definitely worth a trip if you want a delightful taste of behind-the-scenes Paris. Here you'll find a...

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in a massive Parisian arrondissement – the 17th! We get a behind-the-scenes look at Napoléon's iconic Arc de Triomphe and discover the man who helped shape the 17th and most of Paris: Baron Haussmann. Whether it's Haussmannian apartment blocks or a giant glass tower dominating the l...

This week we take a step back from the news and focus on something a little different: French inventions. But we're not just talking about gadgets. Beyond the baguette and beret, France is behind some very impactful inventions, in fields as varied as medicine, fashion and transport. We bring you a glimpse of the wide variety of things we owe to France.

This week in French Connections we take a step away from the news and focus on France's love for a specific type of musical ensemble, known as a fanfare. Somewhere between a marching band and a brass band, "la fanfare" is an institution in France and it says a lot about the country because its history partially mirrors the history of France. Join us for a closer look inside the country's loudest t...

In this week’s show, we turn the spotlight on France’s appetite for nuclear energy. It is one of the most nuclear-dependent countries in the world, with atomic power at the heart of its national energy strategy. When – and why – did France decide to bet so heavily on the atom? For decades, nuclear energy has been seen not just as a source of power, but as a cornerstone of national sovereignty. But...

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in one of the French capital's oldest and most influential neighbourhoods: the 6th. Le sixième arrondissement has quintessential Left Bank (Rive Gauche) energy. It's intellectual, romantic, sophisticated and no doubt a little smug, but definitely worth a stop on any visit to Paris....

Nerd Alert! This week we focus on France’s contribution to knowledge and ideas. If French philosopher René Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am,” then “we think, therefore we are” could be said of the French. Over the years, France has produced a wide array of world-leading thinkers at the forefront of dazzling theories about knowledge, liberty, justice, the human condition – and, of...

This week we get festive with a look at Carnival. People tend to associate Carnival with places outside France, like Rio de Janeiro and Venice. Yet France boasts its own famous celebrations. Where do these festivals come from and what is their purpose? While carnival is celebrated all over the country, a few events stand out, like the elegant carnival of Nice in the south of France, or the wild an...

When it comes to romance, the French have the reputation of being passionate, first-class lovers. But is this just a cliché? What's it really like to go out with a French person? Are dating rules different? And what about French attitudes to marriage, divorce and infidelity? This week we focus on the ins and outs of the game of love à la française.

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the most central arrondissement of the French capital: the 1st. Le premier, as it's known in French, is absolutely packed with bucket-list attractions like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and Monet's water lilies in the Musée de l’Orangerie. But in this show, we take you through some...

France has a rich media landscape, offering a wide range of TV and radio stations, newspapers and magazines. The French media ecosystem is a mix of public service entities and private commercial players. Currently, about a dozen billionaires own or co-own most private media organisations. So what impact does this have on the content offered to the public, as well as editorial independence and medi...

This week in French Connections, we focus on wealth in France. According to traditional macroeconomic measures, France is a rich country. It has the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP, high levels of human development, broad infrastructure and a robust social welfare system. Yet beneath that headline prosperity lies a growing gap between perception and reality, as poverty and inequalit...

France is known around the world for its delicious food: not only wine and cheese, but also countless mouth-watering regional dishes. So what do the French like to eat? Do they have a favourite food? Is it even possible to choose? As a bonus, we teach you how to make boeuf bourguignon , the king of classic French cuisine.

In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the French capital's most populated arrondissement: the 15th. Located in the southwestern corner of the capital, the 15th doesn't boast a lot of tourist attractions. In fact, Parisians love to joke that this residential and family-friendly arrondissement is the capital's most bor...

This week we turn the spotlight onto prostitution in France. For years, prostitution laws were chaotic, but in 2016 there was a major change in French legislation. Lawmakers decided to shift the criminal burden from prostitutes to clients: selling sex is legal, but buying it is now illegal. While many anti-prostitution groups hailed the new law, others including many prostitutes said it would simp...

France's particular brand of secularism, known as "laïcité", is considered a backbone of the French Republic. And yet this separation of church and state is a touchy subject and often misunderstood. Its backers say it's the glue that lets the French live together in harmony despite their differences, but critics say it's anti-religious and increasingly used to stigmatise Muslims. In this show, we...

In this French Connections Plus, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the elegant ninth arrondissement . The district is known for its many theatres, like the incredible Palais Garnier, home to Paris's historic opera house. The ninth stretches from the opera house to the foot of Montmartre in the north and it's a shopper's paradise in between. You'll fin...

This week, we take a step back from the news to focus on a French institution we talk a lot about in the news: the justice system. This might sound like a snooze fest but it is actually very interesting and useful because we talk about the justice system and the courts and trials all the time. We take a look at how it works and walk you through some of the particularities about the French system.

In this French Connections Plus, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot continue their tour of Paris with a stop in the little-known 11th arrondissement. It's off the typical tourist track, but a favourite for locals. That's because the 11th is undoubtedly one of the coolest parts of town, full of trendy cafés, a dynamic food scene and wild nightlife. It's been a magnet for revellers for centuries,...