This French Life

Tales from the bicycling gourmet's table

WHAT are the French really like? A fair question to ask someone who has experience of their likes and dislikes, writes Christopher Strong.

Timetable for analogue TV switch off

IF you have an older television that is not able to receive digital channels, then from next year there is a good chance it will no longer work.

A provisional timetable has been published by Le Comité Stratégique pour le Numérique (CSN) outlining when analogue signals will be turned off.

The first region to lose its signal will be Alsace on February 2, 2010, with a number of other regions in the north switched off by the end of that year.

Boost for fruit and veg sales

IN an attempt to help fruit and vegetable producers the government is to allow special sales of products in the coming weeks.

In a statement the Ministry of Agriculture said producers will be able to sell their stock at supermarkets, and other retail areas, at weekends on July 24 and 25, July 31 and August 1, as well as August 7 and 8.

The products available on promotion are melon, nectarines, summer pears, apricots, leeks, courgettes, artichokes and tomatoes.

Promotional events are set to take place to raise awareness of the sales, so it is most probably worth checking to see if your local store is taking part.

Twitter 101 for Business, tips from Twitter itself

Learn not to mix your tweets with your DMs with this business guide to Twitter

IF you are still wondering if Twitter can help your business in France then maybe their Twitter 101 for Business guide will help you decide.

I am seeing more and more people sign up to the service as they not only look to promote their holiday home or business, but also to connect with others in France or beyond l'hexagone.

Leisure guide to Poitou-Charentes region

A WEBSITE has been launched for holidaymakers and people looking for short-break ideas in the Poitou-Charentes region of southwest France.

Discover Poitou-Charentes features local beaches, insights into towns and villages, plus ideas for what to do and see in the area.

Written by journalist Rachel Loos, who is also involved with the recently launched The French Paper, the site has a What's On section as well as details of accommodation, restaurants and leisure attractions.

News headlines from France

HERE is a look back over the past few days at some of the major news stories that have made the headlines. For regular updates throughout the week drop in on the news section of the site.

Take a virtual tour through the Lascaux caves

YOU can take a virtual tour of the Grotte de Lascaux in a great 3D representation of the famous caves.

Travel through the Hall of the Bulls, and see the deer, bison and men painted on the walls thousands of years ago.

GPs to be first point of contact in Grippe A fight

THE Ministry of Health has said that local doctors should be the first point of call for people who believe they are suffering from H1N1 swine flu, or as it is known in France Grippe A.

From July 23, 2009 people are being asked to call their GP, bringing to an end the advice to call the emergency telephone number 15 which it is now being stressed is only for urgent medical problems.

Work will also continue on stockpiling vaccines with an order for 94 million doses currently in place, with preparations being made ahead of a suspected increase in cases as winter approaches.

There is also an extensive government website at Info’ pandémie grippale.

Business boost from l'auto-entrepreneur

I SUPPOSE it shouldn't come as any surprise, but it would appear that if you make it easy for people to register a small business they will.

The launch of the l'auto-entrepreneur business registration service is being seen as the main reason behind a dramatic rise in start ups, June saw a 5.8 per cent increase on the previous month.

Figures released by the statistics office INSEE show a 76 per cent increase in the start up rate of small businesses over the past three months.

Enter the Paris to Cuba CD competition

IF you are a fan of the jazzy sounds of Paris, with a dash of vintage Cadillacs from Cuba, enter the latest This French Life competition.

All you need to do is leave a comment to be in with a chance to win a copy of the Paris to Cuba CD by Mario Grigorov on the competition page.

And you can get a quick taste of the music by listening to a short clip of Snake Eyes, which features on the album and is sung by Melissa Newman.