French Language Blog

Only three more days to go before we know the name of the leader of France for the next five years.

The close interest paid to this year’s French Presidential Elections, pitting François Hollande vs. Nicolas Sarkozy, seems to go beyond the borders of l’Hexagone (as France is nicknamed, after its hexagonal shape.)

Nearly 18 millions of French people were au rendez-vous yesterday evening to watch the two candidates meet face à face on TV, to confront their ideas “LIVE“: Sarkozy defending le bilan (the assessment) of his five years at the helm of the French Republic, and Hollande putting forward his new propositions.

Many feared the worst a few hours before the debate was launched, especially after media reports relayed the verbal threats leveled by Sarkozy against his Socialist opponent: “Je vais l’exploser” (“I’m gonna blow him up”), he allegedly said to his friends!

Of course, telling you in detail all what has been said in yesterday night’s debate would be tantamount to une mission impossible.

That is why today’s post will kickstart a *bullet point summary* of the main ideas and positions defended by the two French candidates, as well as the solutions they suggest in order to solve the tough problems faced by the country: le chômage (unemployment), la crise financière (the financial crisis), l’immigration, and la corruption.

This summary will certainly help you get to know the two French politicians better, get acquainted with the French political system overall, and, last but not least, will be a great French language exercise for you: Improving both your listening and reading comprehension!

LE GRAND DÉBAT PRÉSIDENTIEL: HOLLANDE vs. SARKOZY:

• 00:00:00 – 00:01:30:

• Hollande:
• Monsieur Sarkozy, you have not been a President of le rassemblement (gathering): You divided the French according to many criteria: Private workers vs. public workers, “real workers” vs. “unreal workers”, French of native origin vs. French of non-native background, etc. “Nous sommes tous Français“ (“We are all French”), and we need all to be united.

• 00:01:30 – 00:03:10:

• Sarkozy:
• My proof that I have been a rassembleur (a gatherer): There was no major violence erupting for the past five years. No mass demonstrations against my reforms, especially les retraites (retirements.) Compare that to the violent reactions spurred by reforms initiated by previous French presidents, such as Mitterrand‘s “Mouvement de l’École Libre“ (the “Free School Movement”), or the CPI and the CPE under Jacques Chirac. I am actually proud of that.

• 00:03:10 – 00:04:25:
• Hollande:
• Heureusement (Thank God) there was no violence, but that is also due to the action of les syndicats and other social partners who worked very hard to appease the situation.
• Yes, you introduced tough reforms, but à quel prix (at what price)? More injustice, more inégalité (inequality.) We were patient, we just waited for le suffrage universel (universal suffrage) in order to start changing things around.

• 00:04:25 -00:06:40:
• Sarkozy:
• I may not be the only one who has the merit, but I am not the only coupable (guilty) party either.
• Speaking about les syndicats: The leader of la CGT broke with objectivity and decency to openly support your campaign.
• People of your party compared us to Nazis and you never said a thing: Our meetings are said to look like a Nuremberg Rally! I am compared to Spain’s Franco, to le Maréchal Pétain, and maybe to Hitler, why not? I’m called a “Bernie Madoff” by your colleague, deserving 183 ans de prison (183 years of prison), and you never said a thing either! Your silence means that you approve what was said, and even fully endorse it. You are too weak to criticize it.

• 00:06:40 -00:12:05:
• Hollande:
• Monsieur Sarkozy, you’ll have a hard time playing the poor victim here. How about me? How have I been called by your own friends? I was compared to tous les animaux des zoos (all the animals of the zoos.)
• Should I mention the words that you personally said, which hurt France, which aimed to divide France? It wasn’t one of your lieutenants who said those words, it was you!
• I condemn all forms of excess. This debate is the best opportunity for us to confront our ideas. No need for either of us to play the victim.
• So what if la CGT supports me? You too had the leader of le patronat (employers) praising you while criticizing me!

Hey! Salut les amis! Ça va bien…?

Tell me, what is the difference in French between “ça“, “çà“, and ”sa“?

Today’s post will talk about that avec les détails:

Whether or not you’ve been fully diagnosed with a desperately incurable case of “coulrophobie” (that -please, try not to laugh- is the serious medical term that describes the “phobia of clowns“), using “ça” in French grammar should not be as terrifying of an experience as, say, watching all alone in the grim darkness of your home’s basement a director’s cut version of Stephen King‘s cinema adaptation of “Ça” (as the French faithfully translated the original “IT.“)

W are considering today the homophone terms: “Ça“, “çà“, and “sa.“

Just take a good look at them. All three se prononcent exactement de la même façon (are pronounced in exactly the same fashion.)

That being the case, you may wonder, how on Earth you are to tell them apart—especially if you are to run into them in the middle of a conversation, par exemple?

The answer, mes chers amis (my dear friends), is in fact simple, and holds in one beautiful word: Contexte.

It is all about the context, indeed.
Or if you prefer, “le contexte est roi“ (“The context is king.”)

* First “Çà“, as un adverbe (an adverb):

As an adverb, it is easy to recognize “çà“, since it invariably occurs in the expression “çà et là“, meaning “here and there”, and can alternatively be expressed by ”par-ci, par-là.“

• Here’s un exemple: “Il voulut prendre le pont Saint-Michel, des enfants y couraient çà et là avec des lances à feu et des fusées.” (“He wanted to take the Saint-Michel bridge, where kids were running here and there with flamethrowers and rockets.”) (Victor Hugo)

* Then “Ça“, as un pronom (a pronoun):

The “ça“, without an accent, is easily recognizable.
The best way to identify it is looking at the context of the sentence to see whether you can replace it with “cela“, of which it is a shorthand.

* Finally, ”Sa“, as un déterminant (a determinant):

• Example: “Il a bien retenu sa leçon” (“He learned his lesson well.”)
• It can alternatively work for “J’ai bien retenu ma leçon” (“I learned well my lesson”)

Et “ça”? (And “this”?) Well, rest assured, he is no professional clown, and is otherwise completely “inoffensif” (harmless)—Just ask his rival Holland if he feels too worried—less than 3 months before the Presidential Elections.
A moins que (unless)…

Although it is un nouveau venu (a newcomer) to the crowded Hall of Fame of les fromages français (French cheeses), Camembert quickly rose to the lofty prominence of most popular cheese in France, and by far the most famous throughout the entire world: Now, wouldn’t you say that deserves some r-e-s-p-e-c-t for Monsieur Camembert?

According to his autobiographical “Secret Life”, the now iconic “Persistence of Memory” painting was suggested to early surrealism enthusiast Salvador Dalí by observing a Camembert cheese slowly melting under la chaleur (the heat) of a Summer day

One tenuous story claims that its ascension fulgurante (meteoric rise) traces its roots back to the shaky times of la Révolution française (French revolution), at the eponymous village of Camembert in Lower Normandie, dubbed “the largest small village in France.”

Marie Harel

In fact, the name Camembert can be broken into to parts: “Camp-Membert“, or “Membert field” (“camp” meaning “field” in Norman, which sounds close enough to the same French word, “champs“, as in “Champs-Élysées.”)

To this day, the village of Camembert proudly boasts a statue of the one woman officially credited as the mother of the soft creamy milk-based product: Madame Marie Harel.

“Dites fromage“ (“say cheese“)! Commercial for the French Cheese “PRÉSIDENT“—A feature that applies to all kinds of “Presidents” as well (Keep scrolling down, you’ll get it)

Camembert is famously tasty with a baguette de pain (bread.) It can be enjoyed with nuts or even fruits. Culinary connaisseurs advise that it is best savored at température de chambre (room temperature.)

“Ze Small Urge to Merge“:

 Notwithstanding la crise financière (the financial crisis) plaguing the whole Euro zone, French President Nicolas Sarkozy remains a “big” fan of les fusions et acquisitions (the corporate finance term in French for “mergers and acquisitions“), hence the widely spread rumor of him urging the two famous Camembert brands “Le Petit” and “Président” to merge their operations at once (With Nicolas, of course, making a perfect fit for the mascot of the thus newly-created milk-based food delicacy: “Le Petit Président“)