Manet vs Monet

Monet

Not sure you could pick a Manet from a Monet? According to this article, it couldn’t be more simple: Manet is people, Monet is spots.

If you need a bit more to make it stick, the trick may be in their names. The ‘man’ in Manet represents the people and the ‘o’ in Monet, the dots.

Voilà* (for a start, at least).

MANET

*There you go.

The first Tour de France

Given many of you will be collés* to your TV screens from the 1st July as the Tour de France 2022 kicks off, we thought it timely to take a look back at how it all began.

If you have cinq minutes* and an interest in le cyclisme* or even simply like history, you’ll really enjoy this short video from TV5 Monde Plus.

By the way, you can choose English or French subtitles, or, if you’re really courageux*, none at all.

*glued | *five minutes | *cycling | *brave

TV5 Monde

With a fresh set of students enjoying the Club de Culture Cinéma series this term, there has been a lot of talk of les films français*.

We were recommended the TV5 Monde Plus site for its enormous gamme* of French content, from movies to series to docos, and there is even a French language section. A word of warning though: I couldn’t click on that option fast enough, but noticed it was pitched more towards native French speakers, so while interesting, it’s probably something to strive for rather than likely to offer any immediate solutions to your French défis*.

That said, there’s a great little animated series called Quelle Histoire* (we’ve mentioned the books in a previous post) which are a fun watch. There is also a brilliant four-season series called La Grande Explication* which serves up five minute bites explaining iconic moments in history.

La meilleure nouvelle*? There are English subtitles on offer, giving you the choice to follow along, or turn them off for a more immersive experience.

*French films | *range | *challenges | *What a Story/History | *The Big Explanation | *The best bit of news

The Olympic Games of Words

With Paris set to host Les Jeux Olympiques* in 2024, thoughts have turned to the safeguarding of French as the official language.

While in Australia it’s fair to say we’re a nation obsessed by sport, in reading this article you may come to the conclusion that the French drive that passion towards leur langue* instead.

A read that had me giggle at the get-go, frown a few paragraphs later, pause in contemplation au milieu* before feeling queasy at the closing sentence, I couldn’t recommend this piece more highly.

Bonne lecture*.

*The Olympic Games | *their language | *in the middle | *Happy reading

Four wheels under an umbrella

If you’ve studied French for a while or had at least a passing interest in French culture, you’ll most likely have heard of the Citroën 2CV.

It may have cropped up when you learned about the tréma accent it contains (and if you’ve forgotten its impact, here’s Katrina explaining it) or perhaps you’ve heard people reminiscing with beaucoup d’affection* about their travels around France in the 70s and 80s behind the wheel of one of these très petites voitures* or TPVs as they were known in the Citroën factory.

André Citroën had dreams of being the Henry Ford of France but this politically ambitious man was unfortunately also un joueur invétéré*, and soon ran into financial difficulty.

Fortunately, the newly installed patron*, Pierre Boulanger (who, had he been born on British soil would have been plain old Peter Baker) inherited a talented team of engineers. Pierre enjoyed walks in the countryside, and was taken by the pace of the farmers in horse-drawn carts who kept gentle rhythm with their chevaux*. He decided to replace the deux chevaux with deux chevaux-vapeur*, and the idea for the 2CV was born.

A simple edict to the engineers followed:

I’m no engineer, but with only 2CV under the hood, you’d imagine the Citroën 2CV is not exactly at risk of getting away from you on the open road. James Bond, however, would disagree, and a nun with a lead foot gives Louis Funès a lift he’ll never forget in this charming petite vidéo*.

*lots of affection | *very small cars | *chronic gambler | *boss | *horses | *horsepower | *little video

More French Cinéma - Jacques Tatie retrospective in May

The Brisbane multi-cultural cinema scene se porte de mieux en mieux* !

With the curtain only just coming down on the 2022 Alliance française French film festival, Dendy Cinemas have taken up the relais* with the announcement of a Jacques Tatie retrospective from the 11th - 22nd May.

While Tatie is known to French cinema fans as a comic genius in the vein of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, he was a man of many talents….et professions*. We have two tickets to give away. To win, be the first to éliminez l’intrus*. The question: which of the professions below can Jacques Tatie not claim as his own?

Bonne chance* !

*is going from strength to strength | *reins | *and professions | *find the odd one out | *Good luck!

Papier dominoté

If you have an eye for design, you’re going to love indulging in your own research à propos du papier dominoté*. So what is the name of the craft behind it and what is it exactly anyway?

The charmant* website Madame Décore gives this definition:

Dominoterie : désigne la conception, la fabrication ou le commerce de papiers peints et imprimés en couleur de motifs géométriques ou floraux que l'on trouve fréquemment à l'intérieur des coffres, des armoires, des tiroirs, mais également dans les cartons à chapeaux et même les cheminées. Très en vogue au XVIIIème et début du XIXème siècle, le papier dominoté servait de garnissage pour les livres et le mobilier, en ce temps où chaque détail avait son importance.

Dominoterie : refers to the design, production or trade of colour-printed and painted paper in floral or geometric design which one often finds on the inside of chests, wardrobes and drawers, but also in hatboxes and even chimneys. Very fashionable in the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, papier dominoté was used as the trim for books and furnishings, at a time when every detail mattered.

Le papier dominoté is experiencing a resurgence in popularity actuellement*. Not sure you're ready to commit to a whole wall of pattern? How about framing a more modest échantillon* as a nod to this fine craft? Start here.

Source: site web Madame Décore

*about papier dominoté | *charming | *currently | *sample

The new Call My Agent?

If you’re anything like us, the wait for the fabled fifth series (and film!) of Call My Agent commence à traîner*, so if you’re casting about for a stand-in, why not try Standing Up instead?

The latest offering from Fanny Herrero (who also happens to be the showrunner of Dix Pour Cent*) is available on Netflix right now.

Here’s what she has to say about it:

“Drôle, il faut le prendre dans tous les sens. “Drôle” comme ce qui fait rire, évidemment, mais aussi “Drôle” comme ”étrange”, “singulier”, qui ne ressemble pas aux autres.”

— Fanny Herrero, créatrice de Stand Up.

Picture : ft.com

“Funny, you have to take it in all senses. ‘Funny’, as in, something that makes you laugh, obviously, but also ‘funny’ as in ‘strange’, ‘different’, that which is unlike anything else.”

Jetez un œil*…

*is starting to drag | *literally ‘Ten Per Cent’ | *Take a look…

Chanel

The Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria inspired us to do a bit of digging into her back catalogue.

For a period of time in the 80s, the Chanel brand was considered fusty and démodé*. The arrival of Karl Lagerfeld in 1983 quickly put paid to that, but what is so striking is that her iconic designs, many of which appeared for the first time in the 20s, feel so fresh and contemporary today.

Jetez un œil*.

*out of fashion | *Take a look

La Piscine

A few of us went to see la version remasterisée* of Plein Soleil* recently, starring Alain Delon as the duplicitous Tom Ripley and Maurice Ronet as his favourite frenemy, Dicky Greenleaf. If the characters’ names sound familiar, it’s likely you saw the 1999 American remake called The Talented Mr Ripley starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and our own Cate Blanchett.

In the same vein and once again pairing Alain Delon and Maurice Ronet is the 1969 classic La Piscine*. The movie also stars the stunning Romy Schneider and an extremely young Jane Birkin (mother of Charlotte, wife of the inimitable Serge and the inspiration for the Hermès Birkin bag).

La Piscine is un film à huis-clos, meaning a movie that takes place in one location. Huis is a literary word for front door and clos means closed, so it is literally a film (or theatre piece) where the plot unfolds behind closed doors. Despite the languid beauty of the holiday home in the hills of the Côte d’Azur, there is a foreboding sense of claustrophobia which leads to mounting tension and culminates in a very uncomfortable scene in the titular piscine.

The plot is well-executed and there are some very strong performances, and as noted in the bande annonce* below, it stars four of the most photogenic actors ever, and for that alone it is worth a watch. Recommandé*.

Le film entier* is available here on Youtube.

Attention*: there are no English subtitles, so this is the perfect opportunity to simply let the language wash over you, si vous me pardonnez ce jeu de mots*.

*the remastered version | *literally Full Sun but called Purple Noon or Blazing Sun in the English title | *The Swimming Pool | *trailer | *Recommended | *The whole film | *if you’ll pardon the pun

The Parisian Agency

Ils sont de retour*! The French series that epitomises what it means to be photogénique* is back for a second season on Netflix.

This time, the family is trying to extend their influence beyond le périphérique* so expect some tantalising glimpses of regional France, notamment* the uber-chic Cap Ferret near Bordeaux as well as a trip to a magnificent ski lodge in Les Alpes*.

The luxury quotient reaches its summum* when the family pulls out all the stops to try to win the business of the improbably named Daniel Daggers - a James Bond type who is the king of the UK luxury property market.

À voir pour le pur plaisir*.

Read on…

*They’re back! | *photogenic | *the ring road around central Paris | *notably | *The Alps | *peak | *To watch for the pure pleasure of it

En Vogue

FLASH INFO* !

After more than 100 years, Vogue Paris has undergone a name change.

Continuer à lire*…

PS: Merci à Jillian pour le tuyau*.

*NEWSFLASH | *Read on… | *Thanks to Jillian for the tip-off.

Napoleania?

Imaginez* if instead of learning French, we trying to get our heads around l’anglais* instead!

This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Those of you who have done a trip with us to Akaroa in New Zealand to attend the. bi-annual French Fest know that the French explorers were only days away from claiming the Banks Peninsula as a colony before les Anglais* swooped in and planted the Union Jack.

According to this article from The Guardian, a very similar story could have been played our here in Australia during the height of the Napoleonic Wars.

Très intéressant*…

Nicolas-Martin Petit and Charles Lesueur were crew members of Le Geographe. They were among the first Europeans to portray the land, people, animals and plants of South Australia. Lesueur’s ‘Le Wombat’ was sketched on King Island, Tasmania. Photograph: State Library SA

*Imagine | *English | *The English | *Very interesting

Papier Tigre

For many, a love of language goes main dans la main* with an appreciation of fine stationery. There’s a sense of vast possibility in a blank page and a freshly-sharpened pencil that’s hard to replicate.

Imagine my excitement, then, when I came across the website of Papier Tigre*, une petite papeterie* in the heart of the Marais in Paris.

L’angoisse* soon followed, though, as I fretted that their gorgeous bloc-notes*, cartes postales* and crayons* would be unavailable to us, here at the other end of the world.

Happily, this micro-story has une fin heureuse* - Papier Tigre is available right here in Brisbane.

Bons achats*!

*hand in hand | *Paper Tiger | *a little stationer’s shop | *Anguish | *writing pads | *postcards | *pencils | *a happy ending | *Happy shopping!

*

Académie française

C’est possible* that in recent times, I may have lightly mocked the Académie française* for its somewhat anachronistic tendencies.

Set up in in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII, its raison d’être* is to protect the purity of the French language.

It’s actually one of five académies, that fall under the auspices of the Institut de France*. While the Académie française is concerned with language, the others take care of literature, pure sciences, fine arts and the social sciences.

*It’s possible | *French Academy | *reason for being | *academies | *French Institute

There are forty members of the Académie at any one time, who are called the immortels*, since they are elected for life. So serious are they about this life-long tenure, that when Marshal Pétain was sacked for collaborating with the Nazi regime in occupied France during WWII, his post was left vacant until his death in 1951.

The Académie bears the responsibility for producing the dictionary of reference for the French language and let’s just say they’re not exactly rapide*. In 1986, work started on the 8th edition. By 2011, they were up to the letter Q.

In its nearly 400-year history, only nine women have been granted a seat, with the first, writer Marguerite Yourcenar, elected in 1980.

*immortals | *quick

The Interior of Académie Française

So, there are reasons for my failure to wholeheartedly embrace this institution. However, having just read this France 24 webdoc (brand new word for me in English, by the way), I am rempli d’humilité.

Fusty or not, the history and practices of the Académie française are so passionnant*, they deserve further exploration, and listening to Sir Michael Edwards, the first native-English speaker elected as an immortal, express his unbridled love for the French language had me racing to other corners of the internet to see what I could find.

Below, a list of my favourite anecdotes*.

*truly humbled | *interesting

1. In their excitement to publish the first edition of the official dictionnaire français*, a very important word was somehow omitted: Français (French). Incroyable, non*?

2. Each immortel is required to foot the bill for their own l’habit vert*, a black or navy blue jacket embroidered with green laurel leaves. No uniform being complete without a sword, bien sûr*, their next job is to commission one, replete with symbolic flourishes and in some cases, jewels. One immortel, Amin Maalouf, said that his induction cost him in the region of $230,000. Luckily for French writer, poet and dramatist, Jean Cocteau, he had a benefactor in Coco Chanel, who gifted him a 2.34 carat emerald (above) which formed the centre of his lyre. Who was charged with putting it all together? None other than la Maison Cartier.

3. Most people hate public speaking, but imagine the pressure of having to write a eulogy for the immortel you’re replacing and deliver it in front of 39 masters of the French language. C’est le pompon*! Eight days later, if all goes to plan, a reception is held for the new member to welcome him (or occasionally her) to the fold. Things did not quite go to plan for Georges de Porto-Riche. His eulogy was deemed unsatisfactory, he refused to rewrite it and consequently, he was not afforded a reception. Maybe not the best work début* in the history of the world.

4. Occasionally, the Académie’s rigid adherence to existing rules means they run the risk of impeding the free use of the language. A recent controversy was kicked off when Lionel Jospin’s government began using la ministre instead of the official le ministre to refer to a female minister. The Académie was not impressed and insisted upon the traditional use of the masculine noun for a minister of either gender. In 2017, 77 linguists retaliated with an opinion column to denounce the “incompetency and anachronism”. Today, use of either form remains highly controversial. Quel cauchemar*.

*French dictionary | *Incredible, isn’t it? | *green outfit | *of course | *It takes the cake | *start | *What a nightmare

Brigitte Bardot

Cette semaine* at Lingua Franca we debuted our brand new Club de Culture classes for our more advanced students.

Each term, we’ll focus on a different aspect of French culture and for Term 1 we’ve chosen le cinéma*.

The courses run over ten weeks and we devote each lesson to a certain acteur ou actrice* and their most iconic film.

Spanning the period just before the arrival of La Nouvelle Vague* all the way up to the present day, we kicked off week one with Brigitte Bardot in Roger Vadim’s 1956 film Et Dieu…créa la femme*, which marked his directorial debut.

With a wafer-thin script and some comedically bad fight scenes, the film nonetheless is credited with introducing le sex-symbol* Brigitte Bardot to the film-going public. An indomitable free spirit, we see her topless, shoeless, braless, pantless and even legless…but never helpless. It’s BB who holds all the power for the majority of the film, until, with a couple of violent slaps to the face, her young husband brings her to heel in what makes for an anti-climactic and uncomfortable ending.

The release of the film coincided with the beginning of the sexual revolution and eerily mirrors the love story between Vadim and his starlet wife, Bardot, which scandalised her conservative parents.

À mon avis*, Et Dieu…créa la femme still merits a watch, if only to marvel at Bardot’s unbridled sexual allure and to reassure oneself that, in the words of one of our students “les temps ont bien changé!*”

Interest piqued? You can watch the entire film ici*.

*This week | *the cinema | *actor or actress | *The New Wave | *And God…Created Woman | *the sex symbol | *In my opinion | *times have definitely changed

La Moustache

---

It may have occurred to you that moustache is a French word, but did you have any idea of the social significance it has carried throughout history?

Moi non plus*, but here's a little wrap up, thanks to the website of France Culture (one of the radio stations we recommend to students of all levels to 'get your ear in’).

Enjoy!

---

*Me neither

A bit of friction...

I’m pretty sure I’m not alone when I say that one of the petits plaisirs* I enjoy when travelling in a French-speaking country is a trip to the local pharmacie*.

There’s something about seeing products that I’ve long considered produits de luxe* being sold to le grand publique* at extremely reasonable prices.

There there are the petites découvertes* involving products we simply don’t have here. One such discovery took place a few years ago when we were on a trip to la Nouvelle Calédonie*. I’m a sucker for a good-looking label, so when I came upon my first bottle of Friction de Foucaud, I couldn’t part with my sous* fast enough.

It was only when I got back to the hotel that Deborah, whom some of you know, told me that it was a French product reeking of nostalgia in the vein of Quick-Eze or Vicks Vapor Rub for those of us who grew up here.

She explained that it was mostly used as a refreshing tonic in hot weather or as a quick and effective pick-me-up for those days that just seem to drag.

it was created in 1946 by Madame Lucienne Merle. Inspired by the climate she experienced living in French Indochina (now Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) this secret formula, which has remained unchanged for 70 year, offered ‘sovereign relief from tiredness’.

Since its creation, and in an effort to penetrate a larger market, the range has been extended to include roll-ons, foot creams and thigh gels. Its popularity was given a boost in the 80s when tennis player Yannick Nosh extolled its virutes.

According to the Friction de Foucaud website:

”Vous serez séduits à votre tour en l’utilisant, par le mariage d’huiles essentielles de citron, d’orange, de thym, de romarin, mêlées à des extraits naturels de camphre et de menthol qui donnent à la friction cet effet rafraîchissant et énergisant.”

”You, too, will be seduced when you use it, by the combination of essential oils such as lemon, orange, thyme, and rosemary, mixed with natural extracts of camphor and menthol with give the friction its refreshing and energising effect.”

*small pleasures | *pharmacy | *luxury products | *the general public | *little discoveries | *New Caledonia | *cash

Chanel exhibition comes to Australia

Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel died on the 10th January 1971 and yet more than fifty years later, the designs from her eponymous maison de couture* scream her legacy.

Until the 25th April, we here in Australia have the chance to appreciate the enormous impact she had, not only on the way women dress, but on how they live their lives.

Plus d’informations ici*

*Fashion becomes out of fashion, style never does | *fashion house | *More information here

C'est délicieux!

If you just can’t wait for the Alliance Française French Film Festival to come to town, there is a stop-gap measure available to you.

Délicieux* was released in Australian cinemas on 26th December and though it is still showing, ne tardez pas* if you’re keen to catch it.

A historical comedy starring Isabelle Carré and Grégory Gadebois, Délicieux tells the tale of a talented and passionate chef, whose mistreatment at the hands of a grandiose duke eventually leads to the creation of France’s very first restaurant.

Enjoy la bande annonce*.

*Delicious | *don’t waste any time | *the trailer