No, listen, I think we should hear these guys out . . . www.thelocal.fr/20260408/exp...

Labelling political parties might sound boring & theoretical, but what we're seeing in 🇫🇷 is a concerted effort from right-wing media & politicians to paint Le Pen's party as politically mainstream, and Mélenchon's hard left La France Insoumise as the extreme - with big consequences for 2027 election

Morning. On with rebaiting the office mousetraps. Exactly how I dreamed it would be to be an editor and live in Paris 🐭🪤

For anyone stuck with endless préfecture delays (which I think is most foreigners in France) there might be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, maybe . . .

For anyone who ever considered lying about their tax residency - the French taxman is well-resourced, diligent and vengeful!

Fantastic Matisse exhibition at Grand Palais, all works created when he was 70+. Something to aim for in old age!

This is probably a terrible indictment of my dreadful personality - but I quite enjoy watching my bilingual colleague struggling with the more obscure aspects of French grammar . . . www.thelocal.fr/20260403/opi...

Taking a note for my next holiday (as a big kid who also loves the novelty of sleeping on the train!)

Good Friday in France - no holiday for most of us, but if you look carefully you might see a flying bell . . .

Here's Emmanuel Macron saying that Donald Trump's snarky comments about his marriage to Brigitte are "neither elegant nor up to standard", which is a pretty good description of Trump himself, imho

Extremely dark 🇫🇷 comedy and let's just say that it is not a morality tale (Released 2024, now on Netflix)

We were given a pitch by some AI firm and their line was 'all US media use this' Asked for some names, 'we can't say, that's confidential'. Uh huh. Et mon cul c'est du poulet, as the 🇫🇷 say

I mean, sure... (Seen in Woodsmoor)

There's a certain irony in a minister in Sweden's far-right government - which is never done telling immigrants they need to integrate more - demanding special exemptions for its own citizens living overseas . . .

In 2020, Paris allowed cafés to expand terraces into the street & parking spaces Then people realised that sitting chatting with pals while drinking beer is a much better use of the public space than storing a car there Now temporary terraces come back every summer (with some form-filling). Santé 🍻

About time, this man has faced racist slurs ever since being elected mayor of Saint-Denis on March 15th, from the news anchor calling Saint-Denis 'Blacks Town' to the senior politicians who seem unable to remember his name, and of course the appalling C News segment

New podcast episode 🇫🇷 Lorry blockades and why the government is very worried about the cost of fuel 🇫🇷 Is France really 'sleepwalking into a far right presidency'? 🇫🇷 And why the French go nuts for Céline Dion

Such a lovely piece, perfectly encapsulating the fan mindset of still 100% believing in your team, despite abundant evidence that this is very unwise

This is pretty much as good as it gets for French PM Sébastien Lecornu

Striking how different the framing of the IOC's decision is in France - where trans rights are not a culture war issue - and the UK, where they are

This is gold-medal winning athlete Violette Morris, who was banned from the 1928 Olympics for 'immorality' due to her habit of wearing trousers. 100 years later and women will need a certificate of femininity to compete at the Olympics

I really cannot recommend this podcast more highly for those wanting to understand sex testing in sport.

Very interesting read. The plaques are one of my favourite things about Paris too - I still remember the day I decided to take a slightly different route home and discovered that Marie Curie used to live round the corner from my office

This is a great film; telling the true story of 2 high-profile 🇫🇷 collaborators during WWII, it has some extremely on-the-nose modern parallels. Recommend

This is spot on by @emmapearson.bsky.social The Local is such a good source of journalism, and the podcast is a must listen for me too

I wrote about how it feels, as an immigrant in 🇫🇷, to dread each election and fear the success of the far right www.thelocal.fr/20260325/opi...

New life goal just dropped 🥂 www.thelocal.fr/20260325/rev...

Danish Social Democrats reacting to the exit poll yesterday, which was the party’s worst result since the 1900s. Huge drop in the atmosphere after the poll was revealed. “Three! Two! One! …oh.”

This headline is much more funny to anglophones . . .

Well I had an opportunity to pass through St Pancras. No further progress with EES. All three areas still locked up. Details in the alt-text. One unconfirmed source saying staff have been hired for the kiosks & are being used elsewhere while everyone waits for the French govt authorise their use.

OPINION: Local elections show French far right is beatable - but not by this fractured and squabbling opposition

One 🇫🇷 election ends, another immediately begins - will no-one think of my poor nerves?!

Sure, he cycled to his victory speech on a hire bike, but who is the new mayor of Paris really? A quick sketch in the form of three interesting things to know about Emmanuel Grégoire millefeuilleparis.substack.com/p/three-thin...

Here's the election special episode of Talking France 🇫🇷 Results from yesterday's local elections 🇫🇷 The big talking points, including about the far right 🇫🇷 What, if anything, all this means for next year's local elections (I didn't get much sleep last night so please forgive the odd verbal stumble)

Here's new Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire expertly combining cycling with giving a press conference, while on his way to his victory party. He remained on-brand by taking the Metro home

Ultimately, Parisians decided that they like; 🌳 Trees 🚴‍♂️ Bikes 🚶‍♀️ Pedestrian areas 🕒 the 15-minute city 🏊‍♀️ Swimming in the Seine and have elected the Anne Hidalgo continuity candidate who has pledged to keep/expand all these things

After nerve-shredding, knife-edge races the left/green have won in Paris, Marseille and Lyon, provisional results show. The most important of these is Marseille where the far-right was neck-and-neck after round one

Edouard Philippe retains his seat as mayor of Le Havre while 🇫🇷 rugby legend Serge Blanco is the new mayor of Biarritz . . . follow the latest updates from France's local elections 👇

My column this week, on 🇫🇷 local elections www.thelocal.fr/20260321/ins...

Anyone who was in France 6 years ago will remember this form

Weekend ahoy! 😎

Squeaky bum time in Paris . . .

It's easy to forget when things happen slowly, but Paris really has seen an astonishing change in the last decade

Where to find English-language help services for victims of domestic violence in France

7 years ago today I moved to Paris to start work at @thelocalfrance.bsky.social - definitely one of my better decisions and thank you to all the wonderful people who have helped me along the way 🇫🇷🥂

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I (a massive nerd who finds elections very exciting) am impressed by this bold parallel between the 2nd round of voting in French local elections and the stunning 🇫🇷 victory over 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in the 82nd minute in the Six Nations final last weekend

Just got a pitch for an AI company aimed at journalists and their big selling point was 'it summarises reports/surveys so you don't have to bother reading them'. Here's why I think journalists actually should read reports, even if they're really boring and written in that terrible EU speak 🧵

Here's the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis remaining extraordinarily calm and polite as the news anchor calls his town 'Blacks' Town'. Saint-Denis is known as the 'ville des rois' because it is the traditional burial place of French kings - 'ville des noirs' is a far-right slur