Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Art Eckstein's avatar

As someone who goes to France often to visit my nieces (and not just to Paris), I found YM’s comments really on the mark. (Though the ordinary restaurants in my glauque 15th A are pretty good!). What was missing was any discussion of the immigration issue and especially the Islamists. French Anger, yes—French anger over this situation is the origin of the expanding electoral power of Marine LePen. This month is actually the 10th anniversary of the slaughter of cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo. My nieces could easily have been at the Bataclan—they went there all tbe time—the tenth anniversary of that massacre is this year too, in November.

Expand full comment
Guy Bassini's avatar

There are so many great points here. My own are that the food is rarely great, but buying food for cooking at home is terrific. Many service workers are not actually French and prefer to speak English. I have met a lot of Ukrainian waiters, waitresses, and taxi drivers lately. French public broadcasts have always been far better than American ones. There is a great little book on this by Tamara Chaplin called Turning on the Mind. France Culture’s Le cours de l’histoire, among many others, keeps the tradition alive. Finally, there are way too many English words now.

The observation that hit me the most was « Unlike their American counterparts, for example, French elites still believe in something » I think about this almost every day lately. I can’t take one more essay about « what the Democrats should do to regain power. » I find myself wanting to scream « just believe in something and articulate it! » The parties, in general, only represent a means to acquire power for individual strivers. There is nothing there otherwise. At least the French still offer meaningful and interesting debate.

Expand full comment
39 more comments...

No posts