Grands prix 2012 de L'Association québécoise des éditeurs de magazines

Grands Prix 2012 Finalist

Jean-Benoît Nadeau is among the finalists for the Grands prix 2012 from L’Association québécoise des éditeurs de magazines for his article in L’actualité, Plan Nord : un Québec flou, flou, flou…

Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau are bestselling authors of books on language and culture. Partners in life and writing, the couple lives in Montreal, Canada with their twin daughters. Read more »

Section: French / France and Europe

Is Local Government in France Limited?

Excerpt taken from the book  Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong (Ch.11)

Local Government in FranceDuring our stay in France, we met at least half a dozen mayors who explained the various aspects of local administration to us. The most generous was our friend Jean-Marie Marsault, the former sergeant of the First Armored Marine Division, who fought in Algeria. Before retiring, Jean-Marie worked as an insurance salesman. He had had a busy life raising a family of four and acting as mayor of his town, Fresnes (population eight hundred), in the Loire Valley from 1977-89. His biggest accomplishment, by far, was the transformation of a swamp near the village center that used to belong to the local châtelaine (castle owner) into a park with a pond. Read more »

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Sarkozy’s Immigration Strategy: Taking from the Right to give back to the Left

SarkozyThe Toulouse massacres and standoff may have allowed president Sarkozy to score a few points in the run-off for the presidential elections, but he still stands as the loser. Polls show a virtual tie against the Socialist François Hollande, with Mr. Sarkozy showing a 28% lead in voting intentions against Hollande’s 27%. Indeed, Mr. Sarkozy effervescent campaign has overcome Hollande’s 6% lead by blowing hot and cold about immigration or terrorism.

But this will not be enough because France has a two-round system, and it’s the second round that matters. Mr. Hollande is assured that most of the left and even the center will rally to him rather than to Sarkozy on the second round, which is why even if he is in a tie with Sarkozy on the first round, he enjoys a solid 8 to 10% lead for the second round.

Such are the arithmetic and psychology of the two-round system à la française. In the first round, which is slated for April 22nd, the popular vote is split between ten candidates. They range from the Front National on the extreme right to a more varied choice of extremes on the left – between the Trotskyites to communists and greens. Read more »

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The Decline and Fall of the French Language? Huh?

Gary Girod piles up false evidence to support a silly and baseless assumption that the French language is on death’s door. To top it all off, he concludes with Darwinian theory of all things…

Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau tear his argument to bits, point by point.

Last week Gary Girod published an article in New Geography entitled The Decline and Fall of the French language? This article is so loaded with false information, bogus theories and slanted assumptions that we decided to write a point-by-point rebuttal. (We also invite Mr. Girod to read our book The Story of French, which he will find instructive.) Read more »

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The Story of French

The Story of French, Can. ed.

The first biography of the French language.

The Story of French

The Story of French, US ed.

The first biography of the French language.

Story of French

The Story of French, UK ed.

The first biography of the French language.

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong

A voyage through the French mindset.