Practical Paris

First of all who the à#@H!! is Marianne? She is one of the symbols, one of the incarnations of France! If you take a minute to look around you'll find her everywhere. On coins, stamps, a bust in every town hall, in sculpture such as in the Pantheon, on official stationery and tax documents as part of the logo of the Republic. There is even a magazine called Marianne, which is independent from the government. She is a version of Lady Liberty and wears a phyrgian cap and sort of Grecian robes usually over one shoulder. The capped female allegory was first used in France at the time of the Revolution to symbolize Liberty. How she got to be called Marianne is uncertain. We do know though that Marie and Anne were very common first names during the 18th century and the contraction often referred to “the people”. Under the Third Republic (1870 and forward) statues and busts of Marianne popped up in nearly every town hall. Sometimes she was sculpted with a diadem or crown rather…

Theft in Paris?! Break in?! Pickpocketed? Emergency?! Bike stolen?!

Were you the victim of Theft in Paris? Was your apartment or vehicle broken into? Your bag or car stolen? Your home tagged with grafitti? We certainly hope not, but sometimes it is necessary to make a police declaration for theft or damage. The good news is that you can do a pre-declaration online and avoid waiting at the commissariat. Not only will you save time by not having to personally go to the station and wait in line, you can also fill out the form calmly in your own home with a dctionary handy and without pressure to speak French. Once the pre-declaration is transmitted you will be contacted within 24 hours by a police agent who will process the complaint then ask you to stop by to sign (within a month) and finalize the complaint. www.pre-plainte-en-ligne.gouv.fr I can personally vouch for the efficacity of this system. I used it when my bike was stolen. It makes making a complaint quite si…

What is the European Parliament? Answer that question in our companion article.

The European Parliament Election (June 6-9 2024) is the second biggest election in the world in terms of number of voters, only India has more. The objective is to elect the 720 members of the European parliament, thus it concerns 27 countries.  Since France has 81 seats, each list in France from each of the 38 parties (or lists) presenting candidates must have 81 members alternating strictly between men and women, for a total of 3078 candidates in France alone. The lists are organized vertically following their leader.

This is a proportional election. First a list must achieve at least 5% of the vote (in 2019 that was 6 lists of the 34 total).  Then according to the percentage of the vote won by the party the first X% of candidates from each list will go to parliament. The French lists are required to have 81 members each just in case one list sweeps the vote and thus wins all …

Support for Anglophones affected by Cancer in France Cancer Support France (CSF) is a charity that offers personalized support to English-speaking people in France touched by cancer by providing practical, emotional and linguistic support to patients and their families. Our aim is to help them to navigate the French healthcare system from diagnosis through every phase of their journey. Our volunteer team of “Active Listeners” are bilingual and trained to provide empowering support via phone, video call or in person, all free of charge and confidential. Let’s meet one of the volunteers of Cancer Support France, Kate Ogden. Q) Hi Kate, can you tell us a little about yourself? I have strong roots in England but I’ve been a resident in France for over 20 years. I work in the humanitarian field as a nutritionist and had been working internationally in Paris before transferring to Rome. Q) What’s your relationship with cancer? Ten years ago, while my work in Rome was in f…

European Parliamentary Elections are a hot topic. But What does the European Parliament do? The European Parliament is an elected body of 720 members proportionally from each of the 27 European states. France has 81 deputies. They are elected for 5 year terms. As of the last election in 2019, the youngest MEP was Kira Marie Peter-Hansen of Denmark, who was 21 at the time. She is also the youngest person ever elected to the European Parliament. The oldest MEP ever was Manolis Glezos (see tidbits below) from Greece who was 92 when elected in 2014. The Parliament is an important forum for political debate and decision-making at the EU level and acts as a co-legislator, sharing with the Council the power to adopt and amend legislative proposals and to decide on the EU budget. It also supervises the work of the Commission and other EU bodies and cooperates with national parliaments of EU countries to get their input. The European Parliament is the guarantor of freedom, equality and…