Diana Vreeland, legendary editor of Vogue, once famously said that pink was the navy blue of India. (Navy blue is the navy blue of France.)
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
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.
"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
(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.
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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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.
Annual Geminids meteor shower (shooting stars!) coming this weekend, if it's not too cloudy out at night.
Keith Eckstein also has a new book review site, Books About France
Oui, the founder of the Dutch Royal Dynasty: Wilhelm Graf von Nassau inherited the 'Principauté Orange' from his cousin René de Chalon in 1544.
French King Louis XIV took Princypality Orange away from the Dutch royal family in 1711, but left them the title Prince of Orange. This family adopted the family name 'Van Oranje-Nassau' and choose orange as there royal colour which was subsequently adopted by the dutch people as their national colour.
Recently I learned that the name of the city Orange has nothing to do with that colour, but stems from the river Araus.
This word changed over time into Aurasio, Aurensis, Aurengis, Orengis, Orenges, Orenge and finally Orange.
seen on another blog:
http://www.schrijverinfrankrijk.nl/?p=105#more-105
Posted by: Henri Bik | 18 July 2010 at 12:33