Difficulty:
Adv-Intermediate
France
People flock to the Repair Café to have their broken devices repaired. The concept was introduced in Holland by a journalist who decided it was much better to fix things rather than throw them away. In a convivial atmosphere, volunteers fix items while you watch or you can fix it yourself with some assistance.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
Adrien talks to us about Paris's Rue des Martyrs [Martyrs Street]. There, a hapless bishop, Saint Denis, was decapitated. He supposedly carried his severed head in his hand all the way up the street. But rest assured, the street has none of this gruesome past. It's filled with restaurants, bars, cafes, and cabarets to keep you entertained and happy.
Difficulty:
Adv-Intermediate
France
After multiple organizations refused to finance his film Un frère comme moi (A Brother Like Me), Alain Etoundi decided to speak out by making a short film called Allez tous vous faire enfilmer! (Go Film Yourselves!). He criticizes the French film industry for not doing justice to suburban black communities, preferring instead to churn out films with stereotypical black characters.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
A black mother who joined the film project launched by Alain Etoundi is critical of movies that don't portray black people accurately and perpetuate stereotypes. She says there's a dearth of good movies with positive role models for young black people.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
Aldo takes us to a very special house on 23 Rue Beauregard in Paris. In that house lived a shady character, Catherine Deshayes, who was responsible for the murder of thousands of infants. She and 36 others were burned at the stake by Louis XIV.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
Saxophonist Alex Terrier talks about how he came to be a jazz musician and shares some photos. Come take a glimpse inside the life of this gifted artist.
Difficulty:
Beginner
France
Alex Terrier’s second project as a bandleader, Roundtrip, is a critically-acclaimed album in the vein of John Coltrane. Listen to it in full (and for free!) here.
Difficulty:
Beginner
France
Alex gives a detailed description of the saxophone and all its different parts. Did you know that, despite its association with jazz music, the saxophone was actually invented in the 1840s for use in military bands?
Difficulty:
Beginner
France
Alex explains the differences between the soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. This is one of those situations where size definitely matters.
Difficulty:
Beginner
France
In this video brought to us by Allons en France, a French government program that encourages students to learn the language and culture of France, young people from all over the world tell us about what learning French means to them.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
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.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
German metal band Rammstein has no shortage of fans. Listen to devotees describe just what it is that makes the band compelling enough to sell out ten thousand tickets in just two days.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
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?
Difficulty:
Intermediate
France
Armande has turned an old farm near Strasbourg into a mouth-watering country store complete with live rabbits and ducks. According to Armande, it’s also one of the few places to get food in her village, so chances are business is booming!
Difficulty:
Adv-Intermediate
France
As in the United States, the price of organic products is relatively high in France. But hopefully this will not be the case for too much longer, as the French Minister of Agriculture has just pledged an investment of six million euros in the organic sector. Learn more about the state of organic farming in France in this video.
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