Sure, everyone likes to laugh, even the French, but can it really be good for your heart? Scientists seem to believe mais oui!

Microcredit can make a big difference to people on welfare or those without good credit history. Case in point: this fifty-five-year-old man who succeeded in opening up his own pizzeria thanks to the help he received.

Marianne is the symbol of the French Republic and has roots in the revolution of 1789. But are French mayors ready to represent the France of today with a Marianne of color?

Homelessness is difficult for anyone, but for women the dangers can be more acute and the experience even more alienating than for men.

The magic of Nicolas Ghesquière? Innovating, without betraying the heritage of the venerable fashion house of Balenciaga.

Chanel and its “rock star” designer, Karl Lagerfeld; Loewe, the “Spanish Hermès,” and its creator José Enrique Ona Selfa; Yves Saint-Laurent under the direction of Stefano Pilati: each line offers a distinctive and beautiful collection.

Which four designers’ collections are not to miss (if your income is in the seven digits)? Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent, Loewe, and, for your delicate foot, René Caovilla and his sparkling handmade Venetian shoes.

The last in our four-part series on Paris fashion week showcases the latest collections of Lanvin by Alber Elbaz, Christian Lacroix and his luxury ready-to-wear, Louis Vuitton by Marc Jacobs, and Hermès by Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Pain, and how to better manage it, is becoming increasingly focused on by members of the medical community. Some hospitals have even appointed special doctors for pain management and a few are opening pain management centers.

Take a walk with Dominique de Villepin, during the latter part of his term as France's Prime Minister, through Marseilles in the south of France.

There are warnings on cigarettes, warnings on bottles of wine, but do we really need warnings on rich foods? Who doesn’t know that they can make you gros et malsain?

During the 2006 World Cup, and despite criticism from several right-wing politicians, footballers Lilian Thuram and Patrick Vieira invited eighty former squatters from Cachan to see the France-Italy match.

This news report follows up on the squatters in Cachan, who receive good news from the mayor: after six weeks spent in a gymnasium, they're being relocated to a hostel with real accommodations.

Does your textbook ever seem more confusing than enlightening, more wrong than right? A recent study showed that some French textbooks could use a little fact-checking.

This newspaper, called “The Sapper’s Candle” (a “sapper” is traditionally a military man who disarms mines), only comes out on the leap year. But how can a periodical published only on February twenty-ninth be financially sound? Maybe it’s true: less is more.