It’s 10 years since France’s first civil union ceremony was held, and the institution’s popularity is still growing. Just under 150,000 couples signed PACS agreements in 2008, more than five times the amount agreed in the first year of their existence.
The poverty gap between men and women has continued to widen in recent years, according to the United Nations, with women being increasingly disadvantaged. Although the trend has been largely visible in the developing world, developed countries are not immune. AFPTV went to meet one Frenchwoman trying to survive on society’s margins.
During its storied history, soldiers with the French Foreign Legion have fought in many far-flung places. Now it has 750 men operating in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s International Security Force.
New York has long had a vintage fashion show, and now Paris has one as well. Women use vintage clothes to reinterpret current fashion and to express individuality. Top designers look to vintage for inspiration.
Le vintage, ou comment faire du neuf avec du vieux
MODE: Rétro, fripe ou vintage : la mode d’aujourd’hui puise dans les styles vestimentaires d’antan pour se réinventer. Gros plan à l’occasion du salon français du vintage.
The German national anthem was sung on the Champs Elysees - just one symbol of an Armistice Day commemoration that has made history in its own right. Exactly 91 years after Germany’s defeat in the First World War, it is now a firm friend of former foe France. Hence their leaders’ joint rekindling of the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. Angela Merkel’s presence in Paris for France’s principal Armistice Day event is a first for a German Chancellor.
Bicycle Polo, invented in Ireland in the 19th century and substituting bikes for horses, is enjoying a renaissance with teams sprouting up all over the world. In one Paris suburb, enthusiasts meet weekly to train for the European Championships.
A budget table wine (Vin de Pays d’Oc) from Rocbere in Portel des Corbieres, Aude. At under 3€ a bottle, you can’t go wrong. There is a tartness to this wine, but it evens out once its breathed for a while. For the price it is an O.K. plonk. Put a bit of a chill on it and serve it at a BBQ and it is fine. A cheap wine to slash about in warm weather.
Tags: Corbieres Wine, French Wine, Portel des Corbieres, Rocbere
Tottering along on high heels is an occupational hazard for women everywere. But now help is at hand. A school in Paris, for those who want to learn how to walk the walk.
French banks pledged on Thursday to stagger payment of half of all banker bonuses over three years and to pay half in the form of shares, in line with measures agreed at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh.
France
Frances annual winter ban on tenant evictions began on November 1 and will go on until March 15. The measure guarantees some 1.8 million families who struggle to pay their rent an albeit temporary roof over their heads.
French artist Henri Matisse used Auguste Rodin, who was 30 year older, as a constant source of inspiration for his sculptures. The Matisse-Rodin exhibition at the Rodin Museum in Paris until the end of February, revisits the link between the two great masters.
Tags: Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse
France has begun a massive national consultation programme to establish what it is that makes the French so French.
A strike by garbage collectors strike in Marseille entered its sixth day today as talks to resolve the crisis reached deadlock.
In 1859, Frenchman Jules Léotard presented the first ever flying trapeze show at Paris Cirque d’Hiver. 150 years later, the family-ran circus pays a special homage to the impressive act in a new show called “Festive”. The traditional lions, clowns and acrobats are also part of it.
Tags: Paris Cirque d'Hiver
