Fate works in funny ways. Melissa’s tale of how she came to be in Mozart, l'opéra rock shows us that some things are just written in the stars. We’re glad she agreed.

Melissa tells us how the music video for “Army of Love” came to be. She produced and directed it herself, with the help of animator Thomas Guerigen. It was a labor of love—one that paid off!

Melissa is truly multi-talented. You’ve heard her sing and watched her clever, creative music videos. Did you know she also has a role in the mega blockbuster From Paris with Love, with John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers? We’re starstruck!

Nicola Sirkis, head of Indochine, the new wave French rock band that’s been popular since the 1980s, has a few things to say about some of his fellow artists. (Could he mean megastar Johnny Hallyday?) Nicola’s strong voice (in many senses) is clearly one of the reasons Indochine has so much staying power.

Frenchman Jean-Marc takes a trip to the seaside and lets us know how the beaches of New York’s Long Island compare to those in France. (Though clearly he’s never been to Long Beach on a holiday weekend!)

It’s the perfect day for a stroll along the Atlantic. Jean-Marc shows off more of his hospitable surroundings. Check out the sun, sand, and cold, cold water.

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.

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?

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.

These brief interviews on the streets of Lille were conducted in order to test the waters of the tricky dispute over the banning of burqa-wearing in public.