Meet Jean-Phillipe Talbot, pizza man at Montréal’s F&F Pizza. F&F is a gourmet pizza shop, owned by the multi-talented company Rhinoceros, where Francophones and Anglophones alike can come to savor a slice (those who can afford it, that is).

What’s in a name? Quite a lot, as it turns out! Thanks to changes in what land is covered by the Champagne Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (or AOC, the French method of labeling foods and wines according to region), some farmers will soon be able to start cultivating official champagne. But not everyone is a winner—some farmers will lose this prestigious appellation.

The best way to teach primary school students about the Holocaust is a contested topic in France. (See our Le Journal video on France’s Holocaust memorial.) One idea, originally proposed by Nicolas Sarkozy at a dinner organized by the Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France, has not yet been able to see the light of day.

What is the best way to explain the horrors of the Holocaust to nine-year-old children? France’s Holocaust memorial has taken measures to avoid disturbing children by placing the most graphic photographs out of their line of sight and by offering a tour specifically designed for younger viewers. The idea is for children to learn about this dark moment in our history without being overwhelmed.

It’s common to see photos of celebrities aged forty and up happily pregnant or pushing a pram. But according to most doctors, a woman’s chances of conceiving drop dramatically after age thirty-eight or so. Of course there are exceptions. Modern medical fertility treatments allowed a sixty-six-year-old Romanian woman to give birth to twins in 2005. But unless we’re willing and able to procure such treatments, which can be financially, emotionally, and physically draining, those who want to wait until their forties to have kids will have to take their chances.

We’re back in Central Park! This time, French teens Barbara and Lorraine discuss politics, including the recent controversial Contrat Première Embauche and President Nicolas Sarkozy. (Love him or leave him? The girls don’t quite agree…)

Amadou and Mariam reference a number of West African musical instruments, like djembes, dununs, balans, and tamas, in “Beaux dimanches”—a song about Sundays in Bamako.

The number of French students interested in studying Chinese has soared in French high schools in the last ten years. Though it is currently offered mostly by elite schools, the French government hopes to make it more accessible to all schools in years to come.

All over France, students are protesting the loi Fillon, which they feel does not best represent the interests of students and their schools.

Like the SATs for Americans, or A level in the UK, the baccalauréat exam, or le bac, creates more than its fair share of stress in students, especially on the day when they find out the results, the culmination of an entire school career. Students meet outside the school where exam results are posted, and share the emotion of knowing whether they and their friends succeeded or not.

The Oradour-sur-Glane massacre took place over a half a century ago, but France still remembers.

The Malgré-nous (Despite Ourselves) are the roughly 130,000 young Alsatians from Lorraine, many of them recruited by force, who served under the Nazis during World War II.

Public transport has not always been easy for those who use wheelchairs, but the SNCF (French National Railway Company) has been making changes that make for a much more pleasant trip.

As a gift to journalists looking for a tongue-in-cheek story, French schools have banned kissing. Students ask, “Where’s the harm?”

Excessive algae blooms are causing what is known as “green tides” off the coast of Brittany, affecting ten percent of its coastline. Agriculture is the culprit, due to its extensive use of fertilizers and production of animal wastes, both of which make their way to the ocean and feed the algae.