Every year, a portion of Paris turns into a miniature beach where people of all ages can play games and bask in the sun.

Lionel shows us some ephemeral art in Paris, including an anamorphic installation on the Louvre Pyramid and a large steel sculpture with a cardboard "cave" inside. Check them out before they're gone!

While the Rio Olympic Games were taking place, the Paris Mayor's Office installed a beach volleyball court complete with real sand in front of the city hall building. Parisians relished the opportunity to practice a sport that is not readily available in the heart of the city.

Lionel gives us the latest updates on France's Nuit Debout protest movement. Though the movement is no longer centered around Paris's Place de la République, it's still gaining traction online.

Lionel shares his opinions on French President François Hollande's first term and on the upcoming presidential elections in 2017. He predicts a "new triangle" of presidential candidates: Hollande, Marine Le Pen, and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Lionel tells us about the Seine's recent flooding, caused by severe weather conditions in Paris and surrounding areas. A statue of a French soldier below the Pont de l'Alma acts as an indicator of the river's water level.

Lionel discusses the French government's recent decision to invoke Article 49-3 of the Constitution in order to push through a controversial labor bill without a parliamentary vote. He also gives a brief description of the differences between the two houses of the French Parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly.

Lionel L introduces a new social phenomenon called "Nuit Debout" ("Up All Night" or "Rise Up Night"). It's a protest movement born from a general discontent regarding politics, labor laws, and other issues. At 6 p.m. every day, people take to the streets of Paris to discuss ideas and air their grievances. The movement is gathering momentum in other cities and countries as well.

According to Lionel, we hear far too much about Charlie Hebdo and not enough about Le Canard Enchaîné, which is about to celebrate its centenary in 2016. This quality satirical newspaper is in a similar vein to Charlie Hebdo. Both papers even shared the same cartoonist, Cabu, who sadly did not survive the January attack on Charlie Hebdo. Le Canard Enchaîné was no stranger to extremist threats either.

Lionel shows us that sometimes there are better things to do than stay all day in an office building to pay rent for an apartment we can’t even spend time in. (And yes, the word “travail” really is related to the word “torture.”) Remember, the revolution starts with you!

Tired of stuffy old grammar exercises in text books? Come along with Lionel and learn something about the use of gender in French. This one’s fun, we promise — and no boring rules to memorize!

Lionel explains a special prononciation feature of French called a liaison. Listen carefully to his many examples and you will get the idea!

Lionel explains the concept of homonyms and homophones in French, using the examples of leur, leurs, leurre, l'heure and l'heur.

In this video, Lionel will explain how the French presidential elections work and who the 2022 candidates are.

Lionel will explain the difference between "matin" and "matinée", which both mean morning in English, and "soir" and "soirée" which both mean evening. You can read more about this distinction in our lesson Morning and Evening.