The last few weeks have been busy in France. There are a number of notable passing and other news updates that I thought would be good to share this week. Some are happy, some sad, but all are making waves on the French airwaves over the last few weeks.

Paris sous l’eau (Paris beneath the waters)

Paris (and many parts of France) has seen record levels of rain over the last weeks. As a result, the Seine river, which flows through the heart of the city, has overflowed it’s banks. Les quais de la Seine (The quais along the river) are submerged and river traffic (including the famous Bateaux Mouches and the newer Batobus) has come to a halt. On a walk through the city this past weekend mon beau-frère (my brother-in-law) took the pictures above showing just how high the water has risen.

Passings

Janvier fut un triste mois (January was a sad month) not just because of the la pluie (rain), but also because two giants of French culture left us this month. La chanteuse (singer) France Gall died on January 7. Known for such hits as Ella, elle l’a and Poupée de cire, poupée de son, Gall’s career spanned more than 30 years from les années soixantes (the 60’s) to the mid 90’s. In addition to her pop hits, Gall won the 1965 Eurovision competition (representing Luxembourg) and starred in the 1970’s era rock opera Starmania.

January 20th was marked for many by the death of Paul Bocuse, one of France’s most famous chefs. Bocuse, who gave his name to the annual Bocuse d’or (the golden Bocuse) cooking competition, was known throughout France and the world not only for his own cooking but for training some of the best chef’s alive today.

Speaking of Eurovision

I’m a late comer to this European song competition. It was never something my French family paid much attention to. And while the finals are still months away, I did happen to see that France held their finals this weekend and selected their entry for the annual European song competition. Josh has made it an annual tradition to feature France’s song in a spring post, so I won’t steal his thunder. But if you want to start gearing up … and see what other countries are bringing to the show … you can enjoy a whole world of international songs on the official Eurovision Youtube channel.

Image / Photo Credits:
Paris flooding photos courtesy of Fabrice Arnould, 2018.
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