Paris1972-Versailles2003

This is my latest from my belle France; And it is that time again to tell you my latest rants about some news from France. An eventful post in my blog that I have enjoyed together with you for the last 14 years , And for those non Roman CCCXCV is 395 ! ,Of course, chosen by me; there are many others. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The top 10 French cities where life is good in 2024 by Journalist Maeliss Innocenti from 6Medias: 1. Angers, 2. Bayonne, 3. Biarritz, 4. Anglet, 5. Annecy, 6. Lorient, 7. Rennes, 8. La Rochelle, 9. Brest, 10. Rodez, Not surprising in any list there is Brittany !!

Paris won the silver medal for the most #instagrammable city in the world. It was named 2nd with 141,568,777 #hashtags and 104,200,000,000 TikTok views. 1. London, United Kingdom, 2. Paris, France, 3. New York, United States, Just for the record another ranking,

Valentine’s Day: Paris voted 2nd most romantic city in Europe. To compile this ranking, the Ubuy platform calculated the number of gourmet restaurants, 5-star hotels and romantic visits listed for each city on Tripadvisor ,Paris counts no less of 60 romantic tours listed on Tripadvisor, 1,275 gourmet restaurants, and more than 100 hotels are rated 5 stars. London wins the prize for the most romantic city for couples ; Rome. It is the third most romantic destination to spend Valentine’s Day this year. Madrid is the fourth city best ranked for romance. In fifth place is the very pretty capital of Portugal, Lisbon. Of course ,another ranking but so what interesting me think.

The Minister of the Interior sent a letter to the national police officers, assuring them of a bonus of up to 1,900 euros during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, reports RTL on Tuesday January 30.,Of course, they will have a huge job to do , and unless a diehard olimpian better stay home ! Just saying,

The French organization Airparif, which studies air quality in Paris, has teamed up with Île-de-France Mobilités to reveal to us the metro platforms on which it is the least pleasant to live. Surveys carried out at 44 stations have created a map of the most polluted places, and some may now think twice before taking the metro anywhere. The concentration of fine PM10 particles at 3 stations exceeds 480µg/m3, the maximum recommended threshold. These are Jaurès (lines 2 and 5), Oberkampf (5 and 9) and Belleville (2 and 11), located in the 20éme, 11éme, and 19éme arrondissements respectively. We find there in particular to watch: Bercy (line 6 and 14), Port Royal (RER B), or even Invalides (RER C). Consequences taken very seriously by the networks, which have, for example, already undertaken to change the ventilation on the platforms in Belleville, to guarantee a drop in the concentration of particles. In the same way, new braking systems without fine particle emissions should be deployed very soon on many lines, as is already the case on lines 4, 11 and 14.

Like every year, the ranking of the most congested cities in the world is revealed. 387 cities, 55 countries on six continents, TomTom evaluates metropolis using a precise methodology. If Paris is the most congested French city, almost 120 hours spent in traffic jams by drivers each year, (more as the mayor eliminates roads in Paris !!) ,the podium is completed by Bordeaux (111 hours) and Lyon (89 hours), The average duration of a journey to complete 10 km takes 26 minutes and 30 seconds to cover this distance in the Bordeaux metropolis (the same time as in Paris). For comparison, it takes 37 minutes and 20 seconds to run 10 km in London. Second place is Dublin with a time of 29 minutes and 30 seconds, then Toronto where it takes 29 minutes to run 10 km. Bordeaux, a city of 260,000 inhabitants, traffic saturation raises questions, because the South-West metropolis finds itself ahead of Tokyo, Bogota or New York, megacities with several million inhabitants. In certain cities, the time lost in the traffic jams are divided by two or even three compared to Paris, Bordeaux or Lyon. This is the case for Reims, Saint-Étienne, Le Havre, Le Mans and Tours where each year, the time lost in traffic jams is between 36 and 42 hours. In these cities, it takes between 13 and 16 minutes to travel 10 km. More and more difficult to drive in cities due to restrictions and reduction of driveable roads!!

The Elektric Park festival, usually organized at the beginning of September on the island of the Impressionists, in Chatou, the electro music meeting will finally take place in mid-June due to Olympic conflicts, Webpage : https://www.elektricpark.com/

At the start of 2024, Paris experienced an episode of extreme cold with the appearance of its first snow on January 8. Temperatures then dropped below 0°C. the Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Heritage, History and Culture, Karen Taieb, announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the Parisian fountains had gone into wintering mode. This wintering is not valid for all the fountains: 280 of them will nevertheless remain open throughout this winter specifies Eau de Paris, To find the fountains of Paris see webpage : https://fontaine.eaudeparis.fr/

We are in the midst of a huge agriculture people strike all over and soon the fisherman and building trades due to give away to the UE and a strick ecolo policies which are not good , me think, More to come but the latest show all access to Paris blocked, the City is inaccessible by Autoroute or highway/motorway indicated this Tuesday January 30, 2024 morning on RMC Arnaud Quémard, general director of Sanef (Autoroutes de France). On the A1, the A4, the A6 and even the A13, farmers spent the night in their tractor after starting their blockade on Monday afternoon, At this hour they are the A1 towards Paris: CLOSED between Senlis (60) and Roissy-en-France- A1 towards the province CLOSED near the commune of Épiais-lès-Louvres (95),  A4 towards Paris: CLOSED between Serris and Ferrières-en-Brie- A4 towards the province : CLOSED between Ferrières-en-Brie and Serris, A6 towards Paris: CLOSED at Villabé, A13 in both directions: CLOSED at Mantes-la-Jolie (interchange no. 12, after the Buchelay toll), A10 in the two directions: CLOSED at Dourdan (interchange no. 10 just after the St-Arnoult toll), A15 towards Paris: CLOSED at Argenteuil (exit no. 2 “Argenteuil-centre” Mandatory) – A5a towards Paris: CLOSED at Réau, A5a towards the province: CLOSED at Moissy-cramayel, A16 towards the province: CLOSED at Isle-Adam – A16 towards Paris: CLOSED between Hardivillers (60) and Isle-Adam, N184, slip road access to the A16 CLOSED, near Nerville-le-Forêt, The strike continues and intentified with some arrests already, this is big but not unusual for my belle France, we are the champion strikers !! And it grows as I write, before the European Council on the budget of the European Union Summit Belgians but also French, Germans and even Italians have converged towards the European institution !!

In 2023, in a gloomy economic context for publishing, foreign novels were significantly more affected than French-speaking ones. One bad year following others. Baker Street. The small Parisian publisher named in a nod to Sherlock Holmes was discreetly placed in liquidation on November 29, 2023. “To think that we had just released three books! », saddens Cynthia Liebow, the American who founded the SME in 2007 to make Anglo-Saxon authors better known to the French. Over the years, Baker Street had published texts by Jerome Charyn, Robert Littell, Stephen McCauley, Francine Prose… The year 2023 confirmed it. Overall, the French book market grew by around 1% in value, according to research firm GfK. But this increase is entirely due to a sharp increase in prices (+5%). The number of copies sold fell by 4% in one year. A decline linked in particular to a 10% drop in contemporary foreign literature, excluding “romance”, these sentimental novels which are enjoying clear success. Webpage: https://baker-street-studios.com/product-category/sherlock-holmes/books-sherlock-holmes/

Hérmes. is releasing, for the second time, a Special Edition line. Under the leadership of its artistic director, Nadège Vanhée, this collection produced in limited quantities draws on the traditions of haute couture. In less than twenty silhouettes, the designer offers a vision of the Hermès woman, anchored in the craftsmanship and traditions of French haute couture. Handmade by a dedicated team and supported by a network of craftsmen mastering traditional manufacturing techniques, this wardrobe is committed to bringing to life materials and fabrics that have not found a use, The stitch technique Lunéville, for example, a type of lace dating from the beginning of the 19C on which pearls are embroidered using a specific hook, is only practiced in a workshop in Lorraine. Natural materials are also at the center of the subject: a bib embroidered in raffia and whose shape is inspired by the ironwork of the boutique on rue Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, in Paris, is affixed to an off-white double-faced cashmere coat; buri seeds and jasper beads are stitched onto leather straps structuring a cashmere coat. Keep up with fashion !! Webpage : https://www.hermes.com/fr/fr/search/?s=%C3%A9dition%20speciale#|

The Spring-Summer Men’s Fashion Week 2024/2025 That will be from Tueday June 18 to Sunday June 23rd 2024 will showcase the Maison Louis Vuitton for 2024, heading to the Wild West. The American style, which inspired his phenomenal hat in the music video for “Happy”, is making a comeback with all the major brands From very short. Kilt, culottes, shorts, or even no stockings at all, take your pick, but don’t be afraid to bare your legs. Another vision of Less is more that we all like quite well. This year, we want XXL shoulders. We’re talking about jackets so large that you’ll probably have trouble getting through doors without removing a layer first. we are very happy to know that the tie is making a comeback. It’s clearly the essential thing to make any outfit incredible. Whether it’s total black, full denim or head-to-toe print, you’ll understand, you have to match from top to bottom. Exit the mix and match, what will make you the star of the sidewalk is unity, Official Fashion Week webpage : https://www.fhcm.paris/fr/prochaines-saisons-et-precedentes-editions

In Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Jacquemus’ sculptural fashion show at the Maeght Foundation, Simon Porte Jacquemus pays homage to Giacometti and his work with shapes, in a collection that is as elegant as it is assertive. “Les Sculptures”, a line for spring-summer 2024, some pieces of which are already available in stores and online. Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a village in the Alpes-Maritimes, which became a vacation spot for many personalities of the arts and letters in the 1960s such as the American writer James Baldwin, the actors Yves Montand and Simone Signoret and the painters Marc Chagall or Matisse. It is at the Maeght Foundation, a cult cultural institute on the heights of the village, founded in 1964 by Aimé and Marguerite Maeght and whose garden is decorated with works by Giacometti and Miro, that the 34-year-old designer has taken up residence. Among the approximately two hundred guests, installed in the gardens and rooms of the foundation, we note the unexpected presence of American actresses Julia Roberts and Kristin Davis , Charlotte, in Sex and the City , and those, more expected, of the starlet American Kylie Jenner accompanied by her 6-year-old daughter, Stormi, or even Léna Situations, star of French influencers. With three hundred and fifty employees and a turnover of 200 million euros in 2022, the success of this still independent brand and also queen of communication on social networks is to be welcomed. Now with an eye on America , the brand plans to open a New York boutique by the end of the year, in addition to one in Dubai and another in London ; Simon Porte Jacquemus continues to chart its path with great skill. Webpage : https://www.laprovence.com/article/culture-loisirs/1573007249487516/jacquemus-presente-sa-collection-les-sculptures-a-saint-paul-de-vence

The Salon du Vintage is back on February 3 and 4 for a 100% fashion edition at the Carreau du Temple. On the program: 150 stands selected from the best professionals in luxury fashion, chic second-hand clothes and designers, and signed pieces from the 60s to the 90s. And for REAL fashion fans, an exhibition entirely dedicated to Thierry Mugler will also be visible. In the spotlight? The designer’s Palace years and his vision of the “Superwoman”. Vintage fair, Le Carreau du Temple, 4, rue Eugène-Spuller 3éme Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 February 2024, webpage : https://my.weezevent.com/salon-du-vintage-fevrier-2024-carreau-du-temple-100-mode

From the fishermen’s hut purchased with his wife Gala, in Portlligat, in Catalonia, Salvador Dalí made an extraordinary home. It is today a museum In Daaaaaalí!, in theaters on February 7, 2024, the French director Quentin Dupieux shows less the intimacy of the man born in 1904 and died in 1989 than the mythology of the artist who was, with Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, one of the best known of his time. Daaaaaalí!, with Anaïs Demoustier in the role of the journalist, and a myriad of actors (Gilles Lellouche, Jonathan Cohen, Pio Marmaï, Edouard Baer and Didier Flamand) in that of the painter, was filmed partly in Spain, in Catalonia , where the artist lived for decades. The astonishing atmosphere of his lair in Portlligat, which has become one of the most visited museums in the country, is recreated on screen. Webpage : https://diaphana.fr/film/daaaaaali/

The IMA Comedy Club at the Arab World Institute in its 5th edition, the IMA is doing things in a big way by inviting around twenty 100% queer comedians, French-speaking or Arabic-speaking, and offers unmissable comedy shows. Confirmed or emerging, the stand-uppers will offer you an exceptional festival: Younes Depardieu, Blandine Lehout, Marina Cars, Mahaut Drama and Tony Saint-Laurent. IMA Comedy Club, Institute of the Arab World 1, rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard 5éme, Up to February 4, 2024, Webpage : https://www.imarabe.org/en/node/16762

My Parisian selection of 10 delicious croque-monsieur: Man, Brasserie Bellanger, Sébastian Goudard, Fric-Frac, Halle aux Grains, Faste, Rosie Lou, Alma, Lastre sans Apostrophe, and Maison Mulot,

The Bistrot des Fables, a very École-Militaire district, 139 Rue Saint-Dominique , After two seasons under the Lignac flag, the former Christian Constant café was taken over by one of his former lieutenants, and an expert in the area, David Bottreau. Webpage : https://bistrotdesfables.fr/en/home/

Cooking classes at the Hôtel de la Marine ,The Parisian monument is launching workshops for the general public provided by the Le Cordon bleu institute. By entrusting the Le Cordon Bleu institute with the organization of cooking, pastry and oenology workshops and demonstrations in the former Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, a first in a national monument, the Center of National Monuments is enriching the offer of historical visits and conferences of the site reopened to the public in 2021. Although it remains little known to the French, this school founded in 1895, with 35 institutes in around twenty countries, is a reference abroad. I have to say for me was part of helping the Maison Cordon Bleu in Miami , today the town of Doral with Philippe Dreyfus (great great nephew of Captain Dreyfus historical figure of France), Webpage : https://www.cordonbleu.edu/paris-hoteldelamarine/home/en

The booming town of Saint-Ouen (huh) now welcomes a unique gem of its kind called Communale, a gigantic 7,500 m2 space combining culture, food and fun. Enchanting concerts, captivating exhibitions, dance workshops and sports demonstrations enliven the different floors of this multi-purpose space. Discover 10 stalls of fresh and seasonal products run by passionate professionals, greengrocers, cheesemongers, butchers, charcutiers, fishmongers, Italian caterers, florists… Like a real covered market. Communale, 10 bis, rue de l’Hippodrome , Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine,open Tuesday to Saturday from 8h. to midnight, Sunday from 8h. to 22h30, The Market, Tuesday to Saturday open 9h to 14h. and 16h to 19h30, Sunday 8h to 14h, Les Bouillons (eating places) open Tuesday to Saturday 12h to 14h30 and 19h to 23h, Sunday 12h to 14h30 and 19h to 21h30 Webpage : https://communalesaintouen.com/

A post update: The Galerie du temps at the Louvre-Lens (Pas-de-Calais 62), where more than 200 works are exhibited free of charge, will have new residents, the first since the opening of the museum in 2012. Paintings by Giuseppe Arcimboldo and Francisco de Goya. In its new version, the Galerie du temps will have as its flagship work “The Four Seasons”, a series of four paintings painted in the 16C by the Milanese Giuseppe Arcimboldo, known for his portraits made up of assemblages of plants, animals or various objects. It will remain at the Louvre-Lens for two or three years, including a portrait signed Francisco de Goya, dating from 1791, a triptych dating from the end of the 14C retracing the life of the Virgin, and a panel with facing peacocks, an Iranian work from the 16C. The Gallery of Time will close on September 25 2024 and will reopen once renewed in December, for Saint Barbara, the miners’ day celebrated on December 4, Webpage: https://www.louvrelens.fr/en/the-galerie-du-temps/

There you go folks, my latest round of my some news from France coming to you freely by the road warrior travel guy . Again, hope you enjoy this post as I,

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!