We’ve moved
Just a reminder that the blog is now available on our new site, www.thetimes.co.uk. Posting continues there…. Read More
French football in toxic pit
This post can now be viewed on our new site here. You need to register — see last post. Read More
Paris and the new Times
I promised an update about the blog and our transition to the new Times site. We’ve already had some discussion here on the touchy matter of paying for access. I’ll get to that, but first the practical stuff. The Paris… Read More
Villepin plays de Gaulle against Sarkozy
After the deluge of Gaulliana this week, France today hears a call from a new would-be saviour. Dominique de Villepin, a former Prime Minister and arch rival of Nicolas Sarkozy, is launching a brand new Gaullist party. His dream is… Read More
Football anger in France
This picture says it all about France’s abysmal performance in last night’s World Cup match against Mexico. The 2-0 loss, which is almost certain to eliminate France, has unleashed a torrent of contempt in the press for the hapless team… Read More
Sarkozy wants a friendly Monde
Nicolas Sarkozy wants to become master of le Monde. That is the fear among journalists on France’s most august newspaper after the President flexed his muscles over its imminent acquisition by outside investors. This is not just about another media… Read More
The French village that wants to forget
Sixty-five years on from the Nazi occupation of France, memories are still too painful for some to make peace with the Germans. I’ve just come across an example in a little village near the western town of Châtellerault. A German… Read More
In court with Jérôme Kerviel, the man who lost five billion
Watching the trial of Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader, I have been struck once again by the informal atmosphere of French criminal courts. There is plenty of majesty in the Palais de Justice, on the site of the old royal… Read More
Cut back on the guards, French watchdog says.
France’s state auditors have blown the whistle on one of the perks enjoyed by France’s power elite: police bodyguards. In its latest attempt to curb the tax-funded high life of the governing class, the Cour des Comptes complained about the… Read More