Since Christmas Eve, the Eiffel Tower is sporting a strange new green appendage.
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Maîtres mots
Il y a longtemps que notre pays est beau mais rude.
--Newspaper editor Olivier Séguret, 25 January 2012
The USA are entirely the creation of the accursed race, the French.
--Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), writing to Nancy Mitford, 22 May 1957
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French Freedom of Speech
- Latest person being sued in France for saying what he/she thinks
The mayor of Calais is suing Marine Le Pen of the Front National for saying "repeatedly" that citizens in Calais need a pass issued by the mayor to get to their own homes (because of the number of migrants in the town). In fact, the passes are issued by the police prefecture.
Today the cheminots are:
"À nous de vous faire préférer le train!"
"Voyager autrement"
"Avec le SNCF, tout est possible"
--Former ad slogans of the SNCF (French national trains), each in turn quickly dropped
Fun French words
- ouistiti
(literally: marmoset)
Etymology: onomatopoeia from the sound a marmoset makes. Actual meaning: this is what you say in France when you want people to smile for the camera.Selon une étude réalisée par le fabricant d’appareils photo Nikon, le « ouistiti » utilisé en France au moment de se faire prendre en photo est le petit mot le plus efficace pour s’assurer un joli sourire.
Who's en colère today?
Private sector
First strike in 43 years at an aeronautics company in Toulouse, Latécoère
Public sector
The SNCF (toujours eux), regional train employees in the Lyons area guaranteeing unpleasant travel from the 17th-21st December
Also yet another strike by Sud-Rail, a particularly truculent SNCF union in the south of France, this time five days in January: 6,7, 21, 22 and 23. "We have no choice." Right.Marseilles trams on strike until February
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The Irish College is hundreds of years old and offers music, drama, lectures, and courses to Parisians in English. You can learn Irish here too. - Open University (U.K.), distance learning in English
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« The holidays: A good time | Main | The laughing bureaucrat »
Eiffel Tower, upside-down Christmas tree
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Today's quotation
In Paris, the purest virtue is the object of the filthiest slander.
–Honoré Balzac (1799-1850), in Scènes de la vie privée
À Paris, la vertu la plus pure est l'objet des plus sales calomnies.
Le petit aperçu d'Ailleurs
Annual Geminids meteor shower (shooting stars!) coming this weekend, if it's not too cloudy out at night.
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shitpoop capital of the world -
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"Because we all like reading blogs about life in France"Keith Eckstein also has a new book review site, Books About France
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Beautiful photo-blog by two professional photographers. They each have their own blog as well (La Panse de l'Ours and Le Pieton de Charonne). In French
It must be in fashion:
http://clesnes.blog.lemonde.fr/2006/12/25/upside-down/
Beautiful picture btw.. it looks cold in Paris!
Happy new year :)
Posted by: M | 28 December 2006 at 17:40
Can you provide any context for this?
Is there any special significance or symbolism?
Is this simply an artistic expression?
Posted by: William Smith | 30 December 2006 at 01:31
According to the city: "A gigantic conifer 25 meters high, specially brought in from the Massif Central, will be planted at the center of the parvis of the tower. As a mirror effect, a cone of light of the same dimension, a symbolic and graphic [Christmas] tree, will be hung head down between the 2nd and 3rd floors of the monument."
That's all I know. It looks better at night or early morning, when the green really shows up against the darkness.
Posted by: Sedulia | 30 December 2006 at 10:43
beautiful photo, sedulia. bon fete and bonne anne
Posted by: richard | 31 December 2006 at 19:32
I was wondering what the heck that thing was when I drove past...
Posted by: Jennifer | 02 January 2007 at 16:30
Man, Paris and the Eiffel Tower looks cool!! I really don't get why they thought it was ugly and that they wanted to knock it down!
Posted by: | 06 October 2007 at 06:41