Our latest articles about life in Paris

A humorous WWI story – The Square Egg by Saki

The Square Egg by H.H. Munro (SAKI) Hector Hugh Munro, 1870–1916, better known by his pen name Saki, was a British-Scottish writer celebrated for his witty, mischievous, and often macabre short stories. It is unknown why he chose that pen name, but one theory links the name to the South American saki monkey, to go along with his mischievous, exotic character that comes through in his writing. He served as a private and Lance Serjeant in the British Army during World War I, ultimately losing his life on November 14, 1916, during the Battle of the Ancre (part of the Somme offensive). Munro was sheltering in a muddy shell crater near Beaumont-Hamel, France. According to accounts of his final moments, Munro chided a fellow soldier with the famous warning, "Put that bloody cigarette out!" fearing the smoke would draw enemy fire. The movement or sound attracted a German sniper, and Munro was killed by a single bullet to the head. His name is inscribed on the…

Being Yourself in France: Embracing Your Identity Abroad

Being Yourself in France: Embracing Your Identity Abroad and Jacques’s Garden Salsa Recipe Dear Friends, I hope this letter finds you all in good spirits, ready to embrace the colorful autumn season ahead. As someone who holds both French and American citizenship, I often think about what it truly means to be yourself—especially when you’re living across an ocean from where you began. After moving from the genteel American South to the rugged West, and eventually to France, I’ve become a hybrid of all three. Each place shaping me, overlapping new perspectives over roots that were never deeply planted—shaped by not knowing my grandparents very well (they all died when I was young) or my Dad’s extended family. And by moving across the entire country as a teenager. Such early experiences of change and movement! France is a country that values individuals (think René Descartes, Sartre, Gainsbourg, etc.), but is also steeped in tradition. At first, I fretted about blending i…

Learn French! Bear! Espèces d’ours!

Bear! Espèces d'ours! After being charged by an adult male grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park (2026 marks the 10 year anniversary of this dangerous incident) and shouting "Bear!" John and Lisa (read about it here or listen to John tell the story here) were amused to return to Paris to find an exhibition entitled The World of Bears or Espèces d'ours! at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. So they trotted right over to see what the museum had to say about bears. It turns out there are 8 species of bears in the world. The grizzly bear John and Lisa encountered, called Ursus arctos horribilis in scientific nomenclature, is a subspecies of the brown bear. It is also less commonly known as the silvertip bear. Scientists generally do not use the name grizzly bear but call it the North American brown bear to distinguish it from the European or Asian brown bear. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark called it "grisley". They were notoriously bad spellers and perhaps m…

Protests in Paris and Martine Frank

Protests in Paris and Martine Frank Images, Press and Feminist Struggles Photographic exhibit until March 7, 2027 In the 1970s, Martine Franck (1938-2012) photographed feminist struggles, primarily in Paris. As a woman photographer, the attention she paid to the mobilizations of the Mouvement de libération des femmes (MLF) protests in Paris and elsewhere shaped her outlook on the social world and would durably orient her body of work. The question of images became central to feminist struggles in reaction to media representations within a dominant visual culture, one that objectified women’s bodies and could distort or discredit their demands. As a founding member of the Viva agency (1972), Martine Franck shared this vigilance toward images. Viva was conceived as a "refuge for photographers who understand the reach of the image, know its informative power, refuse the uses that could be made of it, and do not want to escape their social reality." This exhibition …

484,000 Trees in Paris and counting

There are more than 484,000 trees in Paris! This makes Paris one of the most treed cities in Europe and here we’re only counting the «public» trees. trees lining public streets (96 500); trees in parks and gardens (36 500); trees in cemeteries (34 000); trees along the Péripherique (8000); trees in school yards and sports areas (9 000); trees in the bois de Boulogne et Vincennes (300 000) for a total of 160 species. Most trees in public spaces and lining streets live to just 60 to 80 years. Trees have a tough time dealing with pollution and other incidents of city life. But there are still 222 remarkable trees in Paris that have been classified by the city. The 222 are remarkable either for their beauty or fantastic shape, their history or their rarity. Here are a few of the trees deemed remarkable in our fair city. A list and map of 60 trees worth seeing is available on http://www.paris.fr Brochure: https://cdn.paris.fr/paris/2019/07/24/c99…

Hogtied in the Hexagon? understand France part 2 of 3

Hogtied in the Hexagon? understand France Part 2 Our choice of 15 Books to help you better understand France. Part 1 of this article Part 3 of this article First of all what is "hogtied"? To hogtie is an Americanism that goes back to about 1890 literally meaning to tie an animal, in particular a hog, with all four feet together. Figuratively the phrase mean to thwart or hamper. So here is part 2 of our list of 15 books that'll help you feel less bewildered and understand France. What is the Hexagon? The Hexagon is a nickname for France! (due to the mainland's nearly hexagonal shape) Memoirs of Hadrian Marguerite Yourcenar Memoirs of Hadrian is a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar, the first woman ever elected to the Académie française (1980). It is about the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The book takes the form of a letter to Hadrian’s cousin and eventual successor «Mark» (Marcus Aurelius). The emperor meditates on militar…

Palais Galliera presents A WARDROBE OF ONE’S OWN Dissident Femininities in the 19th Century

The Palais Galliera, the city of Paris' fashion museum, is presenting an exhibition titled A Wardrobe of One’s Own: Dissident Femininities in the 19th Century until February 2027. The exhibition shines a light on a still little-known phenomenon: the appropriation by nineteenth-century women of the male dress codes of the day. Rosa Bonheur, the painter and inspiration for the name of our Book Shop Bill & Rosa's Book Room was one of the women who had a permit to travestir. (In 19th century France it was interdit for women to wear pants.) For her, dressing in pants was practical especially in the early days when she visited meat packing plants to observe the muscular structure of animals, particularly of cows, one of her favorite painting subjects. To learn more about Rosa see our article A Broad with a Brush. The exhibition boasts a remarkable and previously unseen collection: the wardrobe that once belonged to Rosa Bonheur, shown here in its entirety. A War…

Hogtied in the Hexagon? comprehend France part 1 of 3

Hogtied in the Hexagon? comprehend France Part 1 Our choice of 15 Books to help you better comprehend France. First of all what is "hogtied"? To hogtie is an Americanism that goes back to about 1890 literally meaning to tie an animal, in particular a hog, with all four feet together. Figuratively the phrase means to thwart or hamper. So below is the beginning of our list of 15 books that'll help you feel less bewildered and more comprehend France. What is the Hexagon? The Hexagon is a nickname for France! (due to the mainland's nearly hexagonal shape) Part 2 of this article Part 3 of this article Dictionnaire amoureux de l’Histoire de France Max Gallo Max the historian works the alphabet from A to Z with entries ranging from Alésia to Jean Zay, touching along the way on Bernard de Clairvaux, Dreyfus, François Ier, Gambetta, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Henri IV, les intellectuels, la laïcité, le maquis, Saint Louis and Verdun. When Monsieur Gallo says he lov…

What I read this summer

What I read this summer was about another summer. What’s a summer? A few months. How can just a few months change the world? When it’s 1945 and war is finally declared over the four months of summer that follow are intense and important, like no other summer. Summer of Freedom, How 1945 Changed the World by Oliver Hilmes (The Other Press) is a combining and weaving together of letters, agendas and diaries by several different personalities as well as ordinary people. Hilmes begins by looking at how they were spending their day on May 8, 1945 the day the war in Europe was declared finished. The Russians wait until May 9th when Stalin fired a thousand cannon shots to usher in a new era where the world was free again… or was it? The book goes on to follow through the summer these same people and events all across Europe, as occupiers and occupied, the victors and the vanquished try to sort things out and get the world back to cooperative functioning. The people, soldi…

French literature quiz: 13 extracts

French literature quiz: 13 extracts Identify the French authors of the following 13 French literature extracts. This quiz was first published on page 13 of FUSAC 513 in 2013 - and today is September 13 - hence our theme of 13!

Try this mneomic device (un moyen mnémotechnique) to remember the names of 6 important French authors from the 17th century:

La Corneille, perché sur la Racine de Bruyère, Boileau de La Fontaine, Molière.

Score : 0 – 3 pas terrible / 4 – 6 read on ! - better yet attend Felix Libris Master class next spring / 7 – 10 impressionnant ! / 11 – 13 prix littéraire for you! Extra point : Which author is not French ? Answers on the bottom of page. q 1 - Ah ! Mon Dieu, Madame, que je suis affligée ! Que je suis malheureuse ! Qui me consolera dans mes peines ? Qui me conseillera dans l’embarras où je me trouve ? Ce M. de Valmont... et Danceny! Non, l’idée de Danceny me met au désesp…

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