France
Portrait of the week
Home After the killings in Paris, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said that seven terrorist attacks on Britain had been…
François Hollande hasn’t seized the moment. Marine Le Pen might
Hollande isn’t seizing his chance. Marine Le Pen might
The strange death of Louis XIV
At the beginning of the summer of 1715 Louis XIV complained of a pain in the leg. In mid-August gangrene…
How they tried (and failed) to make ‘La Marseillaise’ nicer
Friendly words England football fans sang ‘La Marseillaise’ in a friendly match at Wembley. The anthem has not always been…
Meet the intellectuals leading France to the right
The nation’s intellectuals are being roiled by issues of immigration, sovereignty and freedom of expression
Heathrow’s third runway could still be halted – here’s how
The Great British Runway final between Heathrow and Gatwick is beginning to look like a game of two halves. The…
Euroscepticism is growing all over Europe
Europhiles have warned us for years of the dangers of Britain leaving the EU. But all the while a different…
Merkel’s grandstanding on Syrian refugees will lead to many more deaths at sea
By making them more likely to attempt the perilous journey to Europe, the German chancellor is luring would-be migrants to their deaths
France’s divided centre-right must delight Marine Le Pen
The leaders of the Républicains avoid Le Pen’s coarse language, but many offer similar immigration policies
Outdoor piano bars can be dangerous things — especially when one is under the influence
These are the languid, sensuous days of summer, and I’ve had another birthday, which is the bad news. But it’s…
The triumph of nuclear weapons – and the defeat of nuclear power
‘I visited the black marble obelisk which marks the epicentre of the explosion, and I saw the plain domestic wall-clock…
François Hollande could still win. And this is why
How France’s wobbly pudding of a president could still win again
The other terrorists we have trouble naming
Naming terror David Cameron and the BBC argued over what to call the terror group most papers refer to as…
Susan Hill’s French notebook: My struggle to avoid local cuisine
An overnight stop on the Ile de Ré taken between the St Malo ferry and the Quercy, where we always…
Portrait of the week
Home At least 30 British people were among 38 shot dead at a beach resort at Sousse in Tunisia by…
The true France in a bottle
‘There lies the dearest freshness deep down things’ — and also the dearest Frenchness. It is easy to be rude…
Portrait of the week
Home Tens of thousands took part in a demonstration in London against austerity, and thousands more in other cities. Russell…
Liberty, philosophy and 246 types of cheese
The French have always favoured grand, elegant abstractions about the human condition, says Ruth Scurr. It’s part of their national identity
How the French won Waterloo (or think they did)
The French would still prefer to think of Napoleon’s last defeat as a moral victory
Beauty, tragedy and black pudding: the delights of Normandy
I am compiling a list of the best black puddings. It began in Spain when I encountered my first morcilla…
Nigel Lawson’s diary: Escaping election tedium in la France profonde
I have escaped this rather depressing election campaign by retreating to my home in la France profonde — to be…
The pleasures of getting lost in Marseille
If you haven’t been lost in Marseille then you can’t have been there. As Alexandre Dumas wrote, this is a…
A fingertip symphony in a deeply rural French ladies’ hairdresser
Two stylists work at this deeply rural French ladies’ hairdresser. Christelle is a gorgeous 17-year-old point-of-lay pullet, so lithe and…
Carl Jung meets David Icke (and writes a book of bonkers business-speak)
What do you get if you cross renegade psychoanalyst Carl Jung with lizard-men conspiracist David Icke? It is a question…
How Helge Lund’s humungous salary helped Shell to a bargain
Helge Lund was widely expected to go into domestic politics when he ended his successful tenure as head of Statoil,…
