juin 2026 - FUSAC Paris Classifieds

Light of Liberty at Versailles

On the south side of the Chateau of Versailles you’ll find the street named “rue de l’Indépendance américaine”. Why? The Palace of Versailles served as the political and diplomatic epicenter of the American Revolution. Ever since the disastrous Treaty of Paris in 1763, which entailed France's loss of Canada and the Indies, France had been seeking revenge against England. It was at Versailles that King Louis XVI recognized the United States in 1777, officially allied with the rebellion committing vital financial and military assistance in 1778 and in 1783 signed the preliminary peace articles ending the war. In the summer of 2026, to mark the 250th or semiquincentennial anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, the Palace of Versailles will open its doors for a brand-new immersive experience. Visitors are invited to step back in time and discover the fascinating links between Versailles and the birth of the United States.

A n…

Horse puzzles – Horseplay!

One of the most famous horse races is the Kentucky Derby. It takes place each year in May. The horse racing season in Paris opens in the spring as well at the Hippodrome de Longchamps. Somehow both events have become associated with the most beautiful hats with attendees out doing each other. But that's another story.

Here are 2 horse puzzles, games based on Horses that we put together for the kids next door to whom we were "teaching" English over the garden wall during confinement. I stood up on a ladder to see over the top and they were in their front court. It was pretty funny to see. They enjoyed having some authentic conversation although they had trouble with my "odd" US accent as opposed to the British one they hear in school. It was a welcome distraction for us all. It was tricky to select a "program" as there are 3 girls ages 10 to 17 to entertain and challenge. They have such different levels of English amongst themselves and of course there is the age di…

Playing pétanque by l’Américaine

A recounting of a typical Sunday playing pétanque by l’Américaine, Niky Compton, le 9 juillet 1980 à Besançon C'est aujourd'hui dimanche. Vous rencontrez vos amis dans le parc pour jouer à la pétanque. Vous apportez avec vous la petite boule qui s'appelle le cochonnet, et deux grandes boules lourdes. Saluez vos copains en leur serrant la main. Les Français se donnent un coup de main pour saluer même les bons amis tandis que dans une telle situation décontractée, les Américains diraient simplement "Hi!" aux copains. Divisez-vous en deux équipes de deux personnes. Mettez-vous d'accord sur les limites du terrain de boules. Marquez avec le pied une ligne au sol. Prenez vos places derrière la ligne. Lancez le cochonnet. Lancez (à tour de rôle) une boule vers le cochonnet. Votre boule est la plus proche au cochonnet et alors, c'est vous qui commencez. Allez ramasser votre boule et reprenez votre place derrière la ligne. Lancez-la encore une fois…

History, Politics and… Camemberts

by Bernard Richard, Historian

Camembert is one of France's gastronomic emblems along with the baguette, champagne, coq au vin, wine and many other products that make up the French identity.

According to a well established, but undocumented, legend the cheese called camembert was created in about 1791 by a certain Marie Harel, a milkmaid whose statue was inaugurated by the French president in 1928 in the town of Vimoutiers, which is the administrative center down the road from the village of Camembert. Vimoutiers is in the Orme department in Normandy. The story goes that Marie, during the chaos of the Revolution, gave refuge to a priest who came from Brie, east of Paris, and that to show his gratitude the priest gave Marie the famous cheese recipe. But in fact much earlier, around 1705, Thomas Corneille, brother of the playwright Pierre, already wrote of the good cheese from Camembert.

The round boxes…

Bessie Coleman, pilot

In honor of the 125th anniversary of obtaining her pilot's license we present Bessie Coleman the first black woman and first Native American to earn a pilot’s license. Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas. The tenth of thirteen children, Coleman was born in a one-room cabin to parents of African American and Cherokee ancestry. Her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas when she was two and became sharecroppers. Coleman walked four miles each way to go to school. Her favorite subjects were reading and math. She spent one term at the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University before moving to Chicago to stay with her brothers in 1915. There she worked as a manicurist. Her brothers served in the military during World War I and came home with stories of their time in France. Thrilled by stories of World War I pilots, Bessie dreamed of learning to fly. She got a second job managing a restaurant to raise money for flight schoo…

From Visitor to Resident with EasyFranceNow

From Visitor to Resident: How to Make the Leap Without Losing Your Mind You came to France on a visitor visa, or maybe you have been stitching together long stays, and somewhere between the boulangerie runs and your first real Paris winter, it stopped feeling like a visit. Now you want to stay. Going from visitor to resident in France is absolutely doable, but it is less a single decision than a sequence of administrative moves, each with its own timing, its own paperwork, and its own small ways to trip yourself up. The good news is that the path is well marked once you know the order. The catch is that France rarely explains it to you, and 2026 added new requirements that caught even long-settled Americans off guard. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute immigration or legal advice. Rules change, and your situation may differ: always verify current requirements with the relevant French authorities or a licensed immigration professional. What…

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Mois: juin 2026

Light of Liberty at Versailles

Horse puzzles – Horseplay!

Playing pétanque by l’Américaine

History, Politics and… Camemberts

Bessie Coleman, pilot

From Visitor to Resident with EasyFranceNow

BILL & ROSA's BOOK ROOM