Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Enjoy browsing through this charming boutique in Brittany called "La Dilettante." There, you'll find an eclectic range of objects and paintings on driftwood, linen, and traditional canvas, all with a distinct nautical or country theme.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
This Parisian poetry fair sees poets young and old, from all walks of life. Perhaps poetry is, as one attendee says, a link extended across space, time, and people.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Bruno Légeron tells us about his family business of making artificial flowers and feathers for fashion houses and the movie industry. The Maison Légeron dates all the way back to 1727.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
In this video, Lucette teaches us how to make some delicious, homemade apricot jam. She also skillfully recites an apricot-related tongue-twister!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Lionel shows us around a family farm that spans three generations. This traditional dairy and cattle farm takes good care of its animals, which enjoy a special "cow wash." Nursing cows are allowed a break from milk production prior to calving, and nothing is left to chance as the sex of the newborn calf is predetermined thanks to artificial insemination.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
The Restos du Cœur, founded by comedian Coluche in 1985, are still going strong. The non-profit organisation Restos du Coeur have distributed over one hundred twenty-eight million balanced meals to the disadvantaged in France. Since Coluche died in 1986, volunteers have continued his legacy and helped thousands of people.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Canada
For more than ten years, Les Héritiers [The Heirs] restaurant in Montreal, which specializes in French cuisine made from Quebecois ingredients, has been concocting dishes like risotto with marinated ginger and rack of lamb with garlic and rosemary sauce. But the food isn’t the only reason for the popularity of Les Héritiers: you can bring your own wine!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Canada
Ever heard of a pleurotte mushroom? Lacking as we are in mushroom expertise, neither had we—until we visited the kitchen of Les Héritiers, that is! What’s better than getting to watch a scrumptious dish of pleurottes, brie, escargots, and garlic, all together in a puffed pastry, be prepared before your eyes? Getting to eat it, of course!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
René-Marc Cohen, a very fine artisan, will show us how to upholster a squat armchair, "un fauteuil crapaud" (literally a "toad armchair").
Difficulty: Advanced
Canada
In the first episode of this documentary on Quebec, a young Frenchman shares his impressions on Canada. As the interviewees in the film demonstrate, the Quebecois have conflicting attitudes toward the French—some see them as "snobs," while others see them as just "polite."
Difficulty: Advanced
Canada
In the second episode of Le Québec parle aux Français, we learn more about the complex relationship between the French and the Quebecois throughout history. We also learn about the evolution of the French language in Quebec—according to a former Prime Minister of Quebec, the province even "spoke French before France"!
Difficulty: Advanced
Canada
The situation of the French language in Quebec is controversial and complex. Montreal was an English-speaking city until 1920, and it wasn't until the passage of Law 101 in 1977 that French became the official language of Quebec. According to some of the interviewees in this video, Québécois French is in a precarious position once again, with municipal signage and corporate names in Montreal reverting to English, as well as shopkeepers who refuse to speak French.
Difficulty: Advanced
Canada, France
One might think that the push to remove anglicisms from the French language would be stronger in France, but the larger movement to "purify" French is actually happening in Quebec. Many Québécois worry that the French language is endangered in Canada, and the Quebec government has taken measures to preserve it by inventing new words instead of borrowing from English. That's why an email is still un email in France, but un courriel in Quebec.
Difficulty: Advanced
Canada, France
French Canada is a cultural mosaic that is still exploring its identity. Some French Canadians feel more American than French, while others feel more of an allegiance to their French roots. Somehow, a Quebecois nation is emerging out of all this, but not without some growing pains.
Difficulty: Advanced
Canada, France
In part 6 of Le Québec parle aux Français, the interviewees compare and contrast the immigrant situation in France and Quebec. France, being a smaller country, creates additional pressure for immigrants, while in Quebec, immigrants do rather well. Later, Olivier treats us to a little song he wrote himself.
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