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France by Numbers: 450,000

france by numbers2.jpg Each day, French internet users download 450,000 movies illegally. In the first five months of the year, 62 million illegal film downloads took place, while the number of sold cinema tickets was 90 million. Two out of three downloaded movies are American, one in five is French. Top French downloads are Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (682,000 so far), Persepolis (675,000) and La Môme (287,000). Favorites from Hollywood are Transformers (3.7 million) and Next (3.2 million). Source (in French)

Be White, Be Happy, Be Worthy

Another charmingly racist and politically incorrect drawing from the 30s:

Try that in today's rainbow nation! Click pic for bigger. Via Agence Eureka

Napoleon Crossing The Alps, Day 6

Rodeo Bonaparte

Click for source. (What is this about?)

How do you want your French toast?

Welcome to the International Online Toaster Museum. From the man behind it:

The revelation that somebody collects toasters often leads to the same reaction: awkward pause, nervous laugh, then: "…Toasters?" The problem is not, to collect toasters. The problem is, to have hundreds of them. The result: They simply call you crazy. Well, and sometimes I think they are right!

One of the rarest toasters in his collection is this early-1920s French SEM toaster, made from nickel plated metal, and black bakelite. Notice the original old cord with the unusual three plugs (one is bigger) and the adapter.

Class Gym & Some More

A clip named Petit Cours de Gym dans la Classe from the 1984 movie Vive les Femmes. No wonder those kids love to go to school!

The clip features French actress Catherine Leprince. In the same movie (but without the kids in sight) she shows quite a bit more flesh (NSFW):

HT Filles Souries
See also French Actresses in the Flesh (NSFW)

France by Numbers: 56 Million

france by numbers1.jpg Over 56 million French, or 88.1% of the population, own a mobile phone. In the last three months alone 300,000 new customers were registered. Two in three French chose a subscription over prepaid cards. On average, each French mobile phone users sends 48 SMS's per month.
Source (in French)

Another Day in France (Tuesday Edition)

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Links for Tuesday 5 August 2008:

Like a bomb: [More pics]
Prepare to drown: No spot in the Med safe from tsunamis
Sky-high costs: Fuel costs hit Air France profits
Blackmail works: French bank cedes to pressure from Corsican militants
Marine STD: Untreatable herpes threatens French oyster harvest
Are we safer now? Sarkozy's office to take over control of French secret services
Hyperprez again: French media reforms spark controversy
Friendly neighbors: French Willing to House Wallonia if Belgium Splits
Junk de luxe: Paris sizzles anew, with burgers
Deceitful husband: I fantasise about murder to save my marriage
Fine little scandal: A Scooter, a Sarkozy and Rancor Collide
Cruise course: On board avec le French lesson

Why the French never suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome

If working at a computer is your bread and butter, then you owe it to yourself to upgrade to this deliciously plush French baguette. Made from futuristic gel foam, this helpful loaf alleviates wrist-strain and makes typing more comfortable. Bon appetit! Get it here for $24.

Napoleon Crossing The Alps, Day 5

UFO sighting

Click for source. (What is this about?)

Bruni: 'The Real Me Is Much More Simple'

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (Carlita for the intimi) talks to Barbara Walters of ABC. Here's a fragment of the interview. Find a transcript and more video (with annoying advertising) on the ABC site.

Via Le Post

The French Poodle & Other Dogs of War

From the always wonderful BibliOdyssey blog: Satirical Maps of the First World War

Click for bigger

Discover a great collection of Europe maps from 1914 and 1915, drawn as satirical cartoons. The image above is part of a British map, entitled "Hark! hark! The dogs do bark!" and features a French poodle, German dachshund, English bulldog and a little Servian. Click here to discover the many other maps. Most of them can be downloaded in large format.

Another Day in France (Monday Edition)

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Links for Monday 4 August 2008:

Made in France (sort of): Meet Vivienne & Knox Jolie-Pitt
Explosive excitement: French Riviera beach evacuated after mine found
Obituary: Pierre Beres - king of French booksellers
Crucial test: France battles to reform the EMU
Rare phenomenon: Mini-tornado hits France, kills one
Cardinal Cahal Daly: A wonderful odyssey through the majesty and beauty of France
Holiday spirit: Paris airports offer free dance lessons
Kerviel's camouflage: Bank was unaware of rogue trades, police say
"Single most important contribution"
What was painted when? Many hands painted Lascaux caves
Divided over power and the Jews: Aux barricades! France and the Jews
Wanting answers: Greenpeace to sue French Nuclear Industry
Fluffy but fearless: Alpine tourists attacked by Pyrenean dogs brought in to save the sheep (Winner of today's alliteration award: "he had been bitten badly in both buttocks")

'Ollandais Go 'Ome

I often mock the Dutch for driving over 1,000km for their annual dose of French weather. It seems they can just as well stay where they are. According to this map, the temperatures in Holland are now as high as they were in France just 10 years ago:

Click image for original Dutch article

Holland Warms To France (on Strange Maps)

France by Numbers: 64,250

france by numbers.jpg In July, the number of detainees in France hit 64,250 people—the highest number since WWII, when jails were crowded with Nazi collaborators. Worse: the prisons are operating at 126 percent of capacity—far higher than the European average—with some French jails housing twice as many inmates as there is room for. Newsweek calls it Incarceration Nation.