Astrid gives us a detailed description of the Toul Cathedral, its history, and its special features. Though its gargoyles may look scary, they serve a special purpose: draining rainwater off the roof. A light and sound show takes place every year, highlighting the gargoyles and the cathedral's amazing architecture.

Still in Toul, Lionel takes a closer look at the Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Toul. Its construction started in the thirteen hundreds and was completed around 1495.

In this video you will hear a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, the most famous fable writer in French literature. "Le Chêne et le Roseau" (The Oak and the Reed) is a lesson in humility. The humble reed belies an inner strength that the oak does not possess. The oak's unbending nature proves to be its downfall.

Jean de La Fontaine's fables are all-time classics that have been in the French school curriculum for many years, at all levels. It's safe to say that every French person knows at least one of his fables.

Daniel concludes his tour of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine by taking us along the quays to see some of the barges that are docked there. Among them, you will find a houseboat that doubles as a chapel and the last tug boat ever built in France!

Lionel shows us some ephemeral art in Paris, including an anamorphic installation on the Louvre Pyramid and a large steel sculpture with a cardboard "cave" inside. Check them out before they're gone!

Daniel shows us around the old quarter of the village of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a charming area that dates from the Middle Ages and contains some beautiful gardens and courtyards. Some of the streets and alleyways have even retained their medieval names, such as the "Rue de la Savaterie" (Cobbler Street).

In the second part of his tour of the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Daniel shows us the Montjoie Tower, a Romanesque dungeon whose walls are still standing today. He also takes us to a beautiful garden filled with rare plants.

The town of Richelieu, named for the famous cardinal, organized a Chinese film festival. Already twinned with the Chinese town of Wuzhen, the town took an opportunity to celebrate both classic and newly released films from that country. The famous French director Claude Lelouch was the "godfather" of this initiative.

Right in the heart of Paris, the Comédie-Française is a major institution. It's a theater where the famous playwright Molière performed his plays over three centuries ago. To this day, the Comédie-Française still captures the imagination of French people.

Daniel takes us to the town of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, located around thirty kilometers from Paris, which is known as the capital of canal transportation. You'll see some beautiful barges and cruise boats, as well as a public toilet that Daniel calls an "aesthetic success"!

A theatrical spectacle called "Je t'aime, un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément" revisited the Oedipus myth, incorporating works on the same theme from twentieth-century French playwrights. The event took place in the Château du Grand-Pressigny, and the public was encouraged to wander around the castle as part of the show.

At the Balzac Museum in the Château de Saché, exclusive period furniture was brought in to illustrate Honoré de Balzac's famous collection of novels, La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy). Balzac was famous for his lengthy, detailed descriptions of interiors in his novels.

Part two of this video on "La Marseillaise" explains how it evolved from a song of war and freedom to its current status as the French national anthem. The fact remains that it still stirs up controversy for its violent content, which some find offensive.

Patricia discusses the history of the the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," explaining how the song traveled from the Rhine region to Marseille, where it earned its final name.
She even sings a few lines of the song for us!