Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Canada, France
In part 8 of Le Québec parle aux Français, Olivier discusses the cost of maintaining a high standard of living. Is France living beyond its means? Heavy taxation and full employment would go some way toward balancing the national budget and covering the cost of welfare programs.
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.
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.
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.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Students taking the baccalaureate exam must complete an essay, choosing amongst several possible philosophical and political themes. France 2 talks with some students about the experience, and asks some prominent politicians what they might have written if presented with the same task.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Meet a group of students as they prepare to take their baccalaureate test, a rite of passage for young French people on the cusp of adulthood. It can be a stressful time, but the students are pacing themselves well.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Like the SATs for Americans, or A level in the UK, the baccalauréat exam, or le bac, creates more than its fair share of stress in students, especially on the day when they find out the results, the culmination of an entire school career. Students meet outside the school where exam results are posted, and share the emotion of knowing whether they and their friends succeeded or not.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
As a gift to journalists looking for a tongue-in-cheek story, French schools have banned kissing. Students ask, “Where’s the harm?”
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Ten months of training go into learning to fly a helicopter, but less time is being spent aloft. More and more flight hours are logged in a hyper-realistic simulator that allows young pilots to hone their skills without ever leaving the earth.
Difficulty: Beginner
France
The number of French students interested in studying Chinese has soared in French high schools in the last ten years. Though it is currently offered mostly by elite schools, the French government hopes to make it more accessible to all schools in years to come.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Does your textbook ever seem more confusing than enlightening, more wrong than right? A recent study showed that some French textbooks could use a little fact-checking.
Difficulty: Newbie
France
Joanna shows us her tiny but surprisingly compact apartment. Her kitchen fits in a cupboard, and she has to climb a ladder to her cozy bedroom.
Difficulty: Beginner
France
Joanna is proud to show us her neighborhood. Follow her around her new apartment, her favorite bar, the pretty little garden where children love to play, and learn some useful everyday vocabulary.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
We’re back in Central Park! This time, French teens Barbara and Lorraine discuss politics, including the recent controversial Contrat Première Embauche and President Nicolas Sarkozy. (Love him or leave him? The girls don’t quite agree…)
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Meet Françoise, a social worker specializing in animal mediation. She visits children with developmental disabilities and introduces them to her four-legged friends. Health management students Noémie and Clémence work alongside Françoise and enjoy seeing the children flourish.
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