This French Life

From Mozart to punk with Anaïs et Rebecca

REBECCA Handley and Anaïs Le Marchand (Anaïs et Rebecca) are doing to French music what Rage Against the Machine did to rock: they’ve created a statement-fuelled mélange of genres that gets one truly thinking about the world in which we all live, writes Zach Spittler.

But even so, they’re not exactly trying to change it. "I don’t think that artists really change the world," Anaïs Le Marchand said. "But the way you live sometimes changes the world."

Flights to Chambéry from Air Southwest

TWO new flights to France from Air Southwest have been announced, although they don't take off until winter 2008.

The airline will offer flights from Newquay and Plymouth to Chambéry, which will operate every Saturday between December 20 next year and March 28, 2009.

The cost of fuel in France

THE impact on the cost of running your car and heating your house will be being felt by practically everyone as oil prices rise.

So having an awareness of past prices and what average costs are may help you with planning for the future, and ensure you won't be ripped off.

The Finance Ministry has put together a database of fuel prices for both petrol and domestic heating that you can check by date.

Browsing French bookshelves

IF you enjoy reading the translated works of French authors then you may want to spend a little time browsing the virtual shelves of the French Publishers' Agency.

Their website details the authors they represent in the US and offers up short introductions to many titles and a biography of the writer of the book.

For example, one of the authors featured is Irène Némirovsky, whose book, Suite Francaise about life in France during World War II, has become a best seller more than 60 years after her death.

Sarko in the headlines

A COUPLE of interesting stories involving Nicolas Sarkozy have been doing the rounds in the past couple of days.

The first involves him being interviewed for 60 Minutes on CBS News in the US, but there has been much criticism of the way the show was edited.

And French newspapers are reporting that the budget for the Elysée palace is set to be tripled, with Sarkozy's wage packet rising from €101,488 to €240,000 a year.

Can trust prosper whilst poverty prevails?

MANY French people have little trust in the mechanisms of government, the judicial system and employer/employee relations according to a recent study.

A number of websites have followed up on a report La Societe de Défiance, published by the Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications (see a list of sites).

Linking up with a love of France

I'M sure you will have heard of My Space, where users have the chance to discover people with similar interests, but there are some websites that look to connect people based on the subject itself.

One such site is Francophilia, which has recently launched, and aims to bring together people with a love for all things France.

Sarkozy flops, while Potter tackles Thatcher

HAS President Sarkozy failed to take the opportunity he had to change France and does J.K. Rowling have a love for the country which has come out in her Harry Potter books?

Prospect Magazine journalist Tim King has written two very interesting articles, the first of which looks at how people in France believe that Sarkozy has missed his chance to bring change to the country, as his reforms have been watered down.

Tim King writes: "There is a surprisingly strong piece in yesterday’s Liberation saying 'it’s not yet rupture but there’s a real disenchantment'. If it is true, it is a tragic waste of probably the best opportunity France will have for a generation."

Le mur anti-pipi

THE mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, has had enough of men "leaving their mark" on the walls and down the side streets of the city, so he is going to fight back.

Council workers have to clean an average of 56,000 square metres of urine-splashed surfaces a month, but the authorities have come up with the answer - le mur anti-pipi.

The rippled wall will fight back, by splashing back on anyone relieving themselves. What a great idea.

And for the female view on the problem, and the ingenious solution, see Agnes Poirier and Red, White and Bleu.

Le Havre celebrates la Transat Jacques Vabre

LE Havre, France: usually a quiet, industrial harbour town in Normandy. Heck, they don't even really celebrate Halloween, writes Zach Spittler.

But starting today, the city transforms into a bustling port metropolis, showcasing art, music, and of course, boats.

The biennial Transat Jacques Vabre places 60 sail boats in a – you guessed it – transatlantic boat race to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

The nine-day fête culminates in a grand send-off of the smaller boats on November 3, followed by the bigger boats on November 4.