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Le Monde - Joséphine Baker résistante ? - Part 1

Difficulty: Intermediate

France

Josephine Baker, the legendary singer, actress, and cabaret dancer, played a very active role in World War Two in France. Using her celebrity as a cover, she helped with counterintelligence efforts during the French Resistance.

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Voyage en France - Nogent-sur-Marne - Part 3

Difficulty: Intermediate

France

Along the banks of the Marne, Daniel gives us some more insight into the town of Nogent-sur-Marne, including a few real estate tips and a brief biography of Jean Sablon, a famous crooner of French chansons who was born in the town.

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Voyage en France - Lagny-sur-Marne - Part 2

Difficulty: Intermediate

France

Daniel shows us some more of Lagny-sur-Marne. This small town is famous for its battle with the English (or les Anglois in Old French), valiantly fought by Joan of Arc in 1430. You will also find more peaceful sites like the washhouse, where, by municipal decree, everyone had to be silent....

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Alain Etoundi - Allez tous vous faire enfilmer! - Part 1

Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate

France

Viewer Discretion Advised

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.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 11

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada, France

Oliver concludes this eleven-part series with a visit to Fort Chambry, where French and British armies fought over new Canadian territories. How did this affect the present? Olivier leaves us to draw our own conclusions and assures us that he is fond of the Québécois as much as they are fond of him. He shares his final impressions of Quebec in a lovely song at the end.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 10

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada, France

Quebec's current relationship with France is complex. French politicians tend to tread carefully regarding Quebec's sovereignty. For many years France adopted a policy of "neither indifference nor interference," a more neutral stance somewhere between a hands-off policy (which could be seen as complete abandonment) and an overly intrusive relationship. Sarkozy moved away from that policy, but his successor Hollande revived it.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 5

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada, France

French Canada is a cultural mosaic that is still exploring its identity. Some French Canadians feel more American than French, while others feel more of an allegiance to their French roots. Somehow, a Quebecois nation is emerging out of all this, but not without some growing pains.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 4

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada, France

One might think that the push to remove anglicisms from the French language would be stronger in France, but the larger movement to "purify" French is actually happening in Quebec. Many Québécois worry that the French language is endangered in Canada, and the Quebec government has taken measures to preserve it by inventing new words instead of borrowing from English. That's why an email is still un email in France, but un courriel in Quebec.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 3

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada

The situation of the French language in Quebec is controversial and complex. Montreal was an English-speaking city until 1920, and it wasn't until the passage of Law 101 in 1977 that French became the official language of Quebec. According to some of the interviewees in this video, Québécois French is in a precarious position once again, with municipal signage and corporate names in Montreal reverting to English, as well as shopkeepers who refuse to speak French.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 2

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada

In the second episode of Le Québec parle aux Français, we learn more about the complex relationship between the French and the Quebecois throughout history. We also learn about the evolution of the French language in Quebec—according to a former Prime Minister of Quebec, the province even "spoke French before France"!

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Les Héritiers - Les bonnes recettes - Part 1

Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate

Canada

For more than ten years, Les Héritiers [The Heirs] restaurant in Montreal, which specializes in French cuisine made from Quebecois ingredients, has been concocting dishes like risotto with marinated ginger and rack of lamb with garlic and rosemary sauce. But the food isn’t the only reason for the popularity of Les Héritiers: you can bring your own wine!

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Voyage en France - Sceaux - Part 3

Difficulty: Intermediate

France

Sceaux is full of many historical treasures, including a castle and an orangery, as well as an esplanade that became famous more recently as the site of a historic concert by Madonna in 1987. Watch the video to find out which French president was there (and the legend attached to his attendance!).

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Alain Etoundi - Allez tous vous faire enfilmer! - Part 3

Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate

France

Viewer Discretion Advised

In the final segment of Alain Etoundi's Allez tous vous faire enfilmer! (Go Film Yourselves!), Etoundi denounces the French criminal justice system, which tends to punish poor people of color more heavily than affluent white people who commit similar crimes.

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Le Québec parle - aux Français - Part 9

Difficulty: Advanced

Canada, France

Quebec may never answer the vexing question: Should Quebec remain part of Canada or not? While opinions are divided, Quebecois don't necessarily show the same passion as the French when debating hot issues.

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Le Monde - Joséphine Baker résistante ? - Part 2

Difficulty: Intermediate

France

Josephine Baker was inducted into the Pantheon in recognition of her outstanding service during World War Two. Yet scholars have only just begun to study her contributions to the war effort.

Matches in Transcript

Caption 24 [en]: this new provisional government of the French Republic
Caption 24 [fr]: ce nouveau gouvernement provisoire de la République française

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