Good news for lovers of luxury footwear—but even more so for the work force of the French town Romans: the factory of designer brand Charles Jourdan will reopen its doors (after being forced to close several months prior) thanks to an investment from a Costa Rican firm.

What do Charles Baudelaire, Simone de Beauvoir, and the architect of the Statue of Liberty have in common? They are all buried in the Montparnasse cemetery, home to the graves of some of the greatest figures in French history. Here are some of its other famous souls.

Talk about service: a hospital in Nantes has devoted an entire department to making sure deaf patients receive the same medical attention as everyone else. Of course, all of its medical workers are fully proficient in French Sign Language. Did you know that most languages of the world also have their own sign language?

Come meet the owner of the bistro Parigot (French slang for “Parisian”). This charming restaurant is a French oasis at the intersection of Manhattan’s Chinatown/Little Italy and Soho districts.

Opening night in Casablanca for the movie Indigènes (English title "Days of Glory") provided a special opportunity for some of the subjects of the film to reflect upon their past, and for Moroccans and the French to talk about their future.

Come take a trip to St-Jean-de-Luz, a beautiful resort town along the Atlantic in the Basque country of southwest France. Don’t forget to bring a towel!

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…

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

Guy Bouard, a house painter by trade, also happens to be the official double of President Nicolas Sarkozy. Among his duties: balancing the budget (in a coin jar) and meeting with agricultural experts (some sheep). He may be more popular than the President!

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?

The French lumber market sees a long-awaited recovery, after “the storm of the century.” Time to heat up that new log cabin with a crackling fire in the fireplace.

A blade fell off a wind turbine, causing a bit of alarm amongst nearby residents. Perhaps it’s time for an upgrade?

Héla Fattoumi, originally from Tunis, has taken her feelings on the full-body veil to the stage, in her dance performance piece “Manta.”

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.

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.