Patricia brings to life Baudelaire's famous poem "L'horloge" (The Clock). The poet laments the passage of time and life's inevitable conclusion: death. Aside from the gloomy message, this poem is also an invitation to seize the day and enjoy all that life has to offer, including this poem!

In the final installment of his tour of Compiègne, Daniel takes us to the "Haras National" (National Stud Farm), where some of the most prestigious horses in France have been raised since the 1700s. He also shows us the Imperial Theater, built by Napoleon III, and the Museum of Internment and Deportation, which commemorates the prisoners of the Royallieu concentration camp.

Patricia introduces one of France's most renowned poets, Charles Baudelaire. His major work, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), is still the most studied poetry collection in French schools and was as much a source of controversy as admiration in his day. Baudelaire's love affair with his muse, actress Jeanne Duval, was a main source of inspiration for Les Fleurs du Mal.

As Daniel explains, Joan of Arc is a bit of an "obsession" among French people, and tributes to her can be found in many towns across France. Compiègne has particularly close ties to the country's patron saint—after assisting the town in its fight against the Burgundians, she was captured by them in 1430.

It's been said that Paris is the most romantic city in the world. In this video, you will discover the origin of the word "romantic" and learn about the romanticism movement, which originated not from France as one might expect, but from England and Germany and later took hold in France.

This video is all about the people of France, from the ancient Franks and Gauls to the present-day population, which currently numbers over sixty-six million inhabitants.

Lionel takes us to Metz, a city that was once part of Germany, being only some sixty kilometers from the German border. In this video you will learn a few facts about this Germanic city, and you will add a lot of useful terms to your going-about-town vocabulary.

In this episode, Pierre Esparre, a fine mosaic artist, explains how he discovered his talent and how he gets his inspiration from everyday life, whether it's a street scene, a YouTube video, or an Internet page. Watch this video to see how Pierre translates his ideas into quirky, humorous, and eye-catching creations.

In this episode, Daniel Benchimol introduces us to Paris's Asian District and its many fountains, gardens, and fruit markets. In an interesting twist of globalization, the neighborhood also features Paris's only pagoda-style McDonald's.

Annabelle explains her many duties as a marketing and development professional at a training company. She's a busy woman!

The musician Yacine Boularès talks to us about his large family, which spans two continents, and explains the origins of French influence in Tunisia.

Daniel Benchimol visits Fontainebleau, a town south of Paris that many French kings visited. Its magnificent Renaissance style castle was Napoleon's favorite residence.

Daniel Benchimol shows us around Cabourg in Normandy. There, you'll find a casino and the famous Grand Hôtel, where Marcel Proust stayed and found inspiration for his book In Search of Lost Time.

Suzy Le Blanc is a poet, novelist, and short story writer who sets much of her work in the French region of Lorraine. In this video, she talks to us about some of her books and her passion for storytelling.

Thomas is enjoying a new challenge: building his own home. He is making good progress after several months of work on his new project.