The Olympics head from Paris to LA
The passing of the Olympic torch from Paris to Los Angeles was a fitting end to this summer’s games. It shed a light, so to speak, on just how much the games have become Disneyesque.
Read MoreThe Organization of Aid
During a recent visit to the Mémorial de la Shoah (Holocaust Museum) in Paris, I caught a temporary exhibition on the role of foreigners in the French Resistance. It was a discovery of some of the people born outside France who helped save those persecuted inside it during the Occupation. Many of these champions of freedom are probably unknown to most Americans, but two of those featured in the exhibit were in fact American: Varian Fry and Tracy Strong, Jr.
Read MoreFrance’s New Prime Minister, essentially
When news broke out earlier this month about Gabriel Attal becoming France’s latest prime minister, the headlines made two things about him stand out.
Read MoreFrench literary giants come to the US
Rare is the pleasure to meet two literary giants in one week. Even rarer is that they are the latest recipients of the Prix Goncourt, a top French literary award that has been recognizing exceptional prose for last 120 years, who just happened to be in New York at the same time.
Read MoreColorblind in France
While American opinions pour in about what France should do better to confront its racism, it is worth remembering the adage about people in glass houses throwing stones. Many Americans admit that racism persists and should end. What they are increasingly asking for to achieve that goal is something closer to the colorblind French model.
Read MoreA crime no longer in France, but once again in the US
In 1974, Simone Veil, made a fervent speech before the National Assembly to decriminalize abortion in France. Abortion was once a crime in most of the United States just like it was in France. Today, however, abortion is becoming a crime again in the United States.
Read MoreLost in Translation: French Séparatisme and American Separation of Church and State
“France is grappling with séparatisme, which the government has targeted as
incompatible with French republican principles and is now sanctioned
under a new law. Crucially for scholars and teachers of French, debates
about séparatisme reflect substantial cultural differences between France
and the United States that can, without sufficient context, lead to errors in
translation. This article proffers the meanings of séparatisme, its close
cousin laïcité, and related terms based on cultural insights into French
society. The lexical history and legacy of these terms are further considered
in comparative context, namely regarding American separation of church
and state.“
Photo: Michele Neylon (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mneylon/6561474487)
Read MoreA crack in the mirror of democracy
With the French presidential election of 2022 now over, a look across the Atlantic is like looking into the mirror. We see a country torn apart, led by a centrist president who’s barely popular who managed to beat out his populist rival. We see a president uneasy about the upcoming legislative elections and what they mean for implementing any coherent policies. We wonder if this president will be able to stitch the country back together, let alone heal the economy, put Covid behind us for good, confront Russia without starting a world war, provide leadership among allies, and still hold up the nation as a beaming example of democracy. It’s a tall order.
The demographic divide is real, both in France and in the United States. And it’s looking a lot like a crack in the mirror.
Read MoreEmily in What Paris??
From the creator of Sex and the City, Emily showcases an idealized version of Paris much like Carrie’s New York. Still, there is something irresistible about Emily and all its Insta-ready images of Paris.
Read MoreTom Paine vs. Edmund Burke
David Brooks romanticizes Edmund Burke in an Atlantic essay, but is he really our hero for a bygone conservatism? Tom Paine also reminds us that the only countries of the late eighteenth century that had real liberty were America and France.
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