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.

Ever driven a car you like so much that after six hours on the road, all you wanted to do was keep on going? Jean-Marc was lucky enough to find that in his Audi A3.

Not only does Jean-Marc have a totally sweet ride, he also gets to ski on some of the coolest slopes in France. Lucky guy!

Tarte flambée is a specialty of the Alsace region of France that resembles a pizza. Typically made with crème fraîche, onions, and bacon, the traditional tarte flambée has also undergone many variations. Flam’s, a restaurant franchise based in Strasbourg, has dedicated itself to perfecting this Alsatian delicacy.

Alex gives a detailed description of the saxophone and all its different parts. Did you know that, despite its association with jazz music, the saxophone was actually invented in the 1840s for use in military bands?

Alex explains the differences between the soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones. This is one of those situations where size definitely matters.

At nightfall in Gstaad, the preeminent ski resort in the Alps, a privileged few among the stars and high society can listen to the most popular classical musicians in the world…

Just how did Jean-Marc get the money for that beautiful car and those fancy ski trips? The answer involves a roundabout trek to the open outcry auction market of the French stock exchange (“la Bourse”). So could we say that Wall Street too resembles a “playground for grownups”?