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Archive for February, 2007

Aids awareness promotion - the French way

In France, showing sex and nudity in public media is a lot less of a problem than in most other countries.
This animated video (3:34), created by AIDES, is quite explicit, so don't play it if that sort of images shocks you.
The message is clear: Live long enough to find the right one. Protect yourself.
Created […]

Posted: Wed 28-Feb-07 under Society, Video & Audio

French wine innovation ready for the world

It's not all bad wine news from France: French wine starlet set for UK launch
One of France's fastest rising wine brands, Fruité Catalan, is set to launch in UK supermarkets later this year. The move will enable UK wine drinkers to sample one of the most successful and more controversial brands to emerge from the […]

Posted: Wed 28-Feb-07 under Food, Drink & Smoke

Things you shouldn't do in France

France may be a liberal country in many respects, but some people go just a bit too far:
Dentist makes two million euros declaring crowns he didn't sell
A dentist billed the national health service (aka Secu) for dental prostheses his patients never received. Patients who came to see him for a few cavities, went on record […]

Posted: Wed 28-Feb-07 under Oops

Video: everything you want to know about French wines

A good find on The French Journal: French wine videos
Here's "Bordeaux's Key to Greatness":

There's also an instructive video about decoding wine labels: "Bordeaux Label Lingo".
Source | View all videos

Posted: Wed 28-Feb-07 under Food, Drink & Smoke, Video & Audio

Death penalty back, kids in prison?

Heads will roll again - if Le Pen has his way.
Just when it looked like the old man had mellowed down: Le Pen wants the death penalty back
French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen launched his fifth bid to become president last Sunday, promising to reintroduce the death penalty.
His timing is a bit unfortunate, though. Just […]

Posted: Tue 27-Feb-07 under People, Politics

Pharao's locky day

Ramses II will look a lot better when he has his hair back.
Remember the story of the man who tried to sell pharao's hair? The lock is on its way back home.
France is to hand over to Egypt a lock belonging to the mummy of Ramses II that was put on sale on the Internet […]

Posted: Tue 27-Feb-07 under History, Oops

Sarkozy's Testimony now out in English

Sarkozy in his own words: in France, in the UK and in the USA.
Nicolas Sarkozy's book Temoignage, which was an incredible bestseller in France last summer (over 300,000 copies sold), is now out in English under the title Testimony. Here are some quotes from the book:
On stability:
In 27 years Great Britain has had three prime […]

Posted: Tue 27-Feb-07 under General

Dear old Jacques, he doesn't get it, does he?

Chirac to Blair: "Leo will not thank you if you take Britain into war."
Revealed in BBC documentary: Blair ignored Chirac's warning of Iraq 'disaster'
A top aide to Tony Blair said the British PM ignored French President Jacques Chirac's warnings that invading Iraq would have "disastrous" consequences.
Stephen Wall, formerly Blair's chief policy advisor, said Blair deliberately […]

Posted: Tue 27-Feb-07 under People, Politics, History

Interactive game: Will you take on the streets of Paris?

"You don't need to look. You just need to drive…"
A well-made interactive promotion for a Nokia multimedia car kit:
A mysterious femme fatale is in need of your services. She has to reach three addresses in Paris in a short amount of time. It's going to take all of your driving talents to let her reach […]

Posted: Mon 26-Feb-07 under Web

Elections? What elections?

Who is who in the French presidential elections?
A majority of people in other Western countries are unfamiliar with the leading candidates for the French presidency, according to a recent survey.
The survey, which was carried out online in six countries, found that a whopping 88% of Americans had never heard of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Socialist […]

Posted: Mon 26-Feb-07 under People, Politics

Donnerwetter! BMWs powered by Peugeot diesels?

Frog-powered: the new BMW Series 1.
Is this BMW's admission that the French make better diesels?
German carmaker BMW is for the first time to install engines made, not in Germany, but in France, according to a report in the newsmagazine Der Spiegel.
According to the report, BMW is to build a new range of four-cylinder diesel engines […]

Posted: Mon 26-Feb-07 under Economy & Biz, Created in France

Free printable subway maps

Fragment of the Paris metro map.
Travel site Amadeus.net has put together a useful page full of printable maps of subways from all over the world, including Paris.
Each map can be downloaded and printed in PDF or Micrososoft Word format.
Subway maps | Paris Metro map | Via

Posted: Mon 26-Feb-07 under Country & Travel, Web

'Lady Chatterley' sweeps French film awards

"Lady Chatterley", a steamy but critically acclaimed version of D.H. Lawrence's classic novel of passion and deception, won the best film and four other top prizes at France's Cesars film awards yesterday.
The film, directed by Pascal Ferran beat the main favourite, World War II saga "Indigenes" ("Days of Glory"), to take the premier award for […]

Posted: Sun 25-Feb-07 under Art & Heritage, Created in France

Surreal photo art by Jean-Marie Vives

These pictures - and much more photo art - on the website of French artist Jean-Marie Vives.
Via

Posted: Sun 25-Feb-07 under Art & Heritage, Web

World's tallest bridge: how it was built

On Dark Roasted Blend: Construction of the Millau Bridge in France
The Millau bridge over the River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains is more than 300m (984ft) high - taller even than the Eiffel Tower. With its concrete and steel pillars soaring high above the morning fog in the Tarn Valley, the construction makes a […]

Posted: Sun 25-Feb-07 under Created in France

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