Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Workers for the power company in the city of Lille aren’t happy and want management to know it. So they sabotaged the grid, cutting off power to thousands of businesses and residences. Despite the inconvenience, the mayor, and even many residents, support the workers.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
As Laurent Voulzy is walking down the beach, he chances upon a fan, and sings a little duet with her. At his concert that night, she’ll be in the front row. Can that “change the face of the world”?
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Though we reported that some of the residents of Lille support the power workers and their blackout strikes, it turns out that not all of them do. Office workers shout from balconies to give the strikers a piece of their minds, and the workers respond in kind.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
It’s common to see photos of celebrities aged forty and up happily pregnant or pushing a pram. But according to most doctors, a woman’s chances of conceiving drop dramatically after age thirty-eight or so. Of course there are exceptions. Modern medical fertility treatments allowed a sixty-six-year-old Romanian woman to give birth to twins in 2005. But unless we’re willing and able to procure such treatments, which can be financially, emotionally, and physically draining, those who want to wait until their forties to have kids will have to take their chances.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Marion Cotillard was not a superstar when she landed the role of Edith Piaf in La Môme. But, already a formidable actress, she had an impressive set of roles under her belt, and the film’s director had no doubt she was “the one.” He was right: Marion took home the Oscar for best actress in 2008.
An interesting note: The USA release title for the film – in French, ironically enough – is La Vie en Rose, the name of a famous Piaf song, which basically means, “life through rose-colored glasses.” The French title comes from Piaf’s nickname: “La Môme Piaf,” which can be translated as “the little sparrow,” but also means “little kid Piaf.”
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
The town of Nîmes goes all out for Christmas, with thousands of lights and giant candy canes all along the streets. It might just be the most festive city in France!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
You might already know that the euro looks slightly different from country to country. But France has also released a series of limited edition euro coins for each of its twenty-six regions. Remember when collecting state quarters was all the rage? Now you can move on to regional French euros!
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Say you’re writing a poem in French, and you need to know how to compare your love to a beautiful sunny summer day. Unsure of the vocabulary? Listen to this weather report from local station Alsace 20 (covering the Alsace region of France) to pick up some useful weather lingo.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France, Tunisia
Young Tunisians take to the streets on May 1 to voice their discontent about Sarkozy's inflexible stance on refugee resettlement, which many see as racist.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Five of the nine districts of Lyon, the second largest French city, are being monitored for the H5N1 virus, better known as “Bird Flu”.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Birds aren't the only ones who might feel their lifestyle's been a bit restricted lately. France’s rural cats enjoy a good hunt. But the avian flu has put the lid on sporting felines living in affected areas.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Did you know that France is the most nuclear-dependent country in the world? These protesters are trying to change that statistic in their demonstration against nuclear energy in Paris's Place de la Bastille.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
The Marseille-based rap group IAM is back after a six-year hiatus with their new album, Arts Martiens (Martian Arts), which is already topping the charts in France. Check out a preview of their song "Notre Dame veille" (Our Lady Watches) in this video.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Alessandro Di Sarno takes us behind the scenes of the highly controversial French newspaper "Charlie Hebdo." After due consideration and in honor of the victims of the tragic attack on the magazine, Yabla made the decision to keep this video.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
"Un Petit Noir" (or "A Small Black," a slang term for a small black coffee) is the bookstore café in Lyon specializing not only in gourmet coffees, but also in detective novels and thrillers. Besides crime fiction and caffeine, the store also serves some great jazz concerts to add to the "noir" ambiance.
Difficulty: Advanced
France
In this Alsace Vingt episode, Caroline interviews eco-friendly clothes designer Louise Geber, who owns a store in Strasbourg. There, you will be able to shop for fashionable garments and help the environment at the same time. To find out more, visit the store's website, www.vetementbio.com.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
This news clip features the multi-talented Louane Emera, who recently won her first César Award for her role as Paula in the movie "La Famille Bélier" (The Bélier Family). She is also a young singing talent who was a semi finalist in the talent show The Voice.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
In this episode of Micro-Trottoirs, people are asked what they think of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Their opinions run the gamut: some of them agree with the UK's decision, while others believe it will have catastrophic consequences.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
A very unpopular labor law caused Parisians to protest near the Bastille before it was passed in 2015. President François Hollande invoked Article 49-3 of the Constitution to force this law through. The protests continued after the law was successfully enacted in 2016. For more information, you can visit the Nuit Debout and Convergence des Luttes websites.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
This video takes us to Chinon to discover the creations of Cameroonian designer Lamyne M. His exhibition features three-meter-high dresses honoring the female sovereigns of France. He adds his own personal touch to the dresses, inspired by his travels around the world.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Martine Aubry, the mayor of Lille, is part of a vast citizen mobilization to stop the massacres in Syria. Aubry's deputy director of human rights reflects on the mayor's speech during an official ceremony at the Lille city hall.
Difficulty: Advanced
France
Journalists spent a week in Aulnay-sous-Bois interviewing young people about ongoing issues and clashes with the police. In the Cité des Trois Mille district, which includes 3,000 public housing units, cultural and sporting organizations are stepping in to make up for the lack of public services.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
In the suburbs of Paris, women have formed an association called "Femmes-Relais" (Women's Relay) to support each other and their children in times of difficulty. Some parents worry their children are being held in police custody whenever they're late coming home. Politicians like Daniel Goldberg are taking an interest in the situation.
Difficulty: Advanced
France
Many residents of Aulnay-sous-Bois have been reporting instances of police hostility in the town. In this segment, journalists show testimonies gathered from residents to a police official, who hopes that both sides will be able to rise above the situation and seek a permanent solution.
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