A vide-grenier (“empty-attic”) is a combination of a flea market and a yard sale: a place where anyone can rent a booth and sell all the old things they don’t need anymore. Come see what the residents of this Parisian neighborhood are selling!

Who says that old people don’t know how to party? This event, organized by a local Lions Club, brought together a number of senior citizens for a day of dancing, schmoozing, and even romance.

Interviewees on the streets of Paris protest the banning of the burqa in public places in France and offer their perspectives on this controversial issue.

The French Socialist Party held its second Fête de la rose (Rose Festival) in June 2011, thirty-three years after its first. The festival was filled with games and speeches (and cotton candy), in preparation for the French primary elections.

Enjoy a stroll through the Python-Duvernois neighborhood fair, where a lot of activities are going on––food stands, bike rides, and much more!

The Python-Duvernois neighborhood, in Paris’s 20th arrondissement, is having a block party filled with games, music, and food. There’s even a stand on alcoholism prevention, complete with beer goggles!

The locals interviewed at the Python-Duvernois neighborhood fair defend the reputation of their area and compete to win a roll of paper towels (or perhaps something a little more prize-worthy).

In this next installment of Télé Bocal’s coverage of the Python-Duvernois block party, we hear from a group of kids who’ve made a courageous trip down an enormous slide, and from a municipal advisor who shares with us her inspiring message of solidarity.

Did you know that France is the most nuclear-dependent country in the world? These protesters are trying to change that statistic in their demonstration against nuclear energy in Paris’s Place de la Bastille.

The actress Aïssa Maïga talks about her work for UNESCO, which has partnered with Always to promote literacy among women and girls in Senegal and other countries.

Arlette Grosskost, UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) representative and member of the Parliamentary task force on the burqa in France, advocates a law aiming to ban the wearing of the full-body veil in public. What’s your take on this controversial issue? Is it a question of women’s rights? Of religious freedom? Are arguments against the burqa perhaps another type of veil—to cover up underlying racism?

Guy Bouard, a house painter by trade, also happens to be the official double of President Nicolas Sarkozy. Among his duties: balancing the budget (in a coin jar) and meeting with agricultural experts (some sheep). He may be more popular than the President!

Héla Fattoumi, originally from Tunis, has taken her feelings on the full-body veil to the stage, in her dance performance piece “Manta.”

Volunteer Fanny Cardot presents TransForme, an association that promotes organ donation through sport. Happy to hear about the good work TransForme is doing? Don’t forget to register as a donor!

Even though civil partnerships have been allowed since 1999, same-sex marriage and adoption still remain unrecognized in France. As this video demonstrates, the French Gay Pride movement is working tenaciously for acceptance and expanded civil rights.

These brief interviews on the streets of Lille were conducted in order to test the waters of the tricky dispute over the banning of burqa-wearing in public.

Alice is fighting for a great cause: animal abandonment. She rescued her dog, Gadoue, named after the muddy terrain where he was found, through “Réflexe Adoption,” an organization dedicated to animal welfare.

What are the cultural differences between Americans and the French? Hear the opinions of this French family visiting New York. What do you think? Are the French really more attentionnés? Who holds more compelling church services? And most importantly, who has the best hamburgers?

French customs coast guards don’t miss much, whether it’s a freighter carrying drug traffickers or just a casual sailboat. But their main goal is to keep their country’s waters pollution-free.

In this nursing home in France’s Pays de la Loire, musical therapy is used to stimulate the minds of residents suffering from Alzheimer’s and other mental disorders. The directors of the program and the home explain the benefits of this still underdeveloped technique.