Paris Street Rambles

Matthew Lancit’s new documentary film « Flâneurs – Street Rambles » will be screened at Paris’ Mac-Mahon Theater (Friday, March 3, 8:30PM). Between film projects and following the birth of his daughter, a Canadian in Paris must confront his slacker lifestyle and decide if there is something in it worth passing on to the next generation, or if he is better off getting a job. In search of the remaining traces of flâneurs (19th Century wanderers of Paris), he takes his daughter on a series of poetic strolls in which he assumes the role of a contemporary flâneur and crosses the path of people who help reveal the relevance of such a figure today. Continuer la lecture de « Paris Street Rambles »

Coluche Revisited

Paris’ Hotel de Ville pays homage via video clips, photos and memorabilia to the beloved French actor and comedian Coluche (1944-1986) with an exhibition marking the thirtieth anniversary of his death. The exhibition (until January 7, 2017) revisits his stage, television and movie career up to the announcement of his presidential candidacy. His « campaign » was supported by « Charlie Hebdo » with slogans such as « Before me France was divided in two, now it will be folded into fourths. » He wasn’t taken seriously until the Journal du Dimanche published a poll showing he was supported by 16% of the French voters. Under pressure from serious politicians he withdrew.

Coluche’s trademark humor incorporated an irreverent attitude towards politicians and the French establishment in general.  He won the Cesar Award for Best Actor for his role in Tchao Pantin, one of his few dramatic roles. With his signature comic persona he dressed in an outffit of white tennis shoes, blue striped workers overalls, a bright yellow T-Shirt and round glasses. He was fired by two radio stations for vulgarity.

« I have a little idea »  said Coluche. And that idea in 1985 was to launch the « Restaurants du Coeur, » which continues today. These « restaurants with a heart » distribute food and hot meals to the needy. The goal of the « restos » for Coluche and the founders was to give away 3,000 meals a day. The first winter it distributed 8.5 million meals.

The exhibition includes the Yamaha motorcycle Coluche rode when he set a world speed record (252Km/hr) at Nardo, Italy. He died a year later when his motorcycle crashed into a truck in the south of France. He was 41.

Coluche, until January 7, 2017, Hôtel de ville de Paris, 5, rue de Lobau, Paris. Free admission.

British Expats Get New Voting Rights

The British government recently announced plans on how it will deliver on its commitment to allow all expats to vote in parliamentary elections. The Minister for the Constitution, Chris Skidmore, announced the new policy which sets out how the government will remove the current 15-year time limit on British citizens who live abroad registering as overseas electors.

The changes would give all eligible British citizens who have lived in the UK a lifelong right to vote in parliamentary elections. Chris Skidmore,  said: « This statement shows how we will introduce ‘votes for life’, scrapping the 15-year rule. British citizens who move abroad remain a part of our democracy and it is important they have the ability to participate. Following the British people’s decision to leave the EU, we now need to strengthen ties with countries around the world and show the UK is an outward-facing nation. Our expat community has an important role to play in helping Britain expand international trade, especially given two-thirds of expats live outside the EU. »

« Expats retain strong links with the United Kingdom: they may have family here, and indeed they may plan to return here in the future. Modern technology and cheaper air travel has transformed the ability of expats to keep in touch with their home country. »

This new policy is the latest in a series of measures to make it easier for overseas voters to take part in British elections. During the last Parliament, the government introduced online voter registration, making it easy to register anywhere in the world. The government also took steps to extend the electoral timetable for postal ballots to be issued earlier to ensure that as many electors as possible can participate.

Frenchilation Takes « Five »

Lost in Frenchilation presents « Five » with English subtitles Friday May 20th. The film is a 2016 French comedy film, written and directed by Igor Gotsman and starring Pierre Niney. « Five » is about a group of five childhood friends who take up the opportunity to live together in an expensive Paris apartment. In order to fund the group’s lifestyle, Pierre Niney’s character, Samuel, becomes a drug dealer.

« The Hollywood Reporter » compared the film’s humour to that of recent American comedies, calling the film « a lively and often rather funny affair, dishing out oodles of sex, drugs and hip-hop, with plenty of below-the-belt humor a l’americaine.

The screening is an English-speaking community project that begins with conversation (8pm) with friends and a film-themed cocktail (€5) at the historic Studio 28 theater. The screening is 9:15pm. Studio 28, 10 rue Tholozé, Montmartre 75018 Paris Tickets: €7.50.

Best Baguette in Paris 2016

The prize for the best traditional style Baguette in Paris (Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris) was recently awarded to Mickaël Reydellet and Florian Charles from La Parisienne bakery at 48 rue Madame, Paris 75006.

The word « baguette » was not used to refer to a type of bread until 1920, but what is now known as a baguette may have existed well before that. The word simply means « wand » or « baton. « Though the baguette today is often considered one of the symbols of French culture viewed from abroad, the association of France with long loaves predates any mention of it. Long, if wide, loaves had been made since the time of Louis XIV, long thin ones since the mid-eighteenth century and by the nineteenth century some were far longer than today’s baguette.

A standard baguette has a diameter of about 5 or 6 centimetres (2 or 2⅓ in) and a usual length of about 65 centimetres (26 in), although a baguette can be up to a metre (39 in) long. Rules for the contest stipulate that a baguette weigh 250-300 grams and not contain more than 18 grams of salt per 1 kilo of flour. In addition to earning 4000 Euros prize money the bakers won the chance to provide bread for a year to French President Francois Holland’s at the Elysee.

On the jury this year was American in Paris blogger Jennifer Greco. Describing how she came to be selected for the jury see said: « Every year, in addition to a handful of industry professionals, the Mayor of Paris chooses 6 members of the general public to sit on the jury. This year the Mayor decided to use Instagram as a way to select the lucky 6. Two weeks ago they put the word out, asking the public to post a photo of their favorite boulangerie, baker or baguette with the hashtag #MeilleureBaguetteDeParis. I guess someone at the Mayor’s office liked my photo… I was ecstatic, to say the least! » For more from Jennifer Greco http://chezlouloufrance.blogspot.fr/

 

Parisians… Guinguettes and Revolutions

Musée CarnavaletThe Musée Carnavalet takes a look at working-class Paris from the end of the French Revolution to the First World War with an exhibition titled « Le Peuple de Paris au XIX Siecle, des guinguettes aux barricades » (The People of Paris in the 19th century. Guinguettes and revolutions). The exhibition, with illustrations, photos by Eugene Atget and Charles Negre, objects and instruments, period clothes, and paintings and drawings by Honoré Daumier, examines 19th century Parisian daily life.

Via a series of themes we get to know the living and working conditions of ordinary Parisians: What kind of accommodations did they have? What did they eat? How did they dress? And how did they enjoy themselves? The exhibition is a chance to discover a social group that has obtained nearly mythical status in notions of Paris since the 1789 Revolution. We learn that by 1846 Paris had over a million inhabitants with many living in small rented rooms without running water. Far from setting out to provide a picturesque, idealized portrait, this exhibition looks into such aspects of Paris’ history as abandoned children, fear of hospitals, life in the slums and finally with times when the Parisian working-class revolted (the « Trois Glorieuses » of 1830, the uprisings of 1848 and the Pairs Commune of 1871).

Le Peuple de Paris au XIX Siecle, des guinguettes aux barricades, to Febuary 26, 2012. Musée Carnavalet, 23, rue de Sévigné, 75003, Paris http://carnavalet.paris.fr