Want to Be on French TV?
Have you changed your driving habits in France to be more environmentally friendly? Do you drive a hybrid or electric car, or have you given up your car permanently? Do you use biofuel? Did you join a carpool? Do you have any other tips related to reducing gasoline consumption? France 5 Television wants to have a word with you. Please call 01 56 26 16 76 if you’re interested in participating in a television show featuring people in France trying to change their lives to live more green.
tags: france, hybrids, peak oil, carpooling, green living in france france 5, television
Dictionnaire Dashboard Widget
Here’s a new, ultra-handy, free dashboard widget for Mac users who speak and write French. It’s a French dictionary that is much easier to use than the tangible leaf through (with your actual hands!) version, as well as even an online dictionary. Install and off you go. Just hit F12 to access your dashboard and your dictionary will be waiting for you. Download it here. If you use it often, please consider donating to the developer.
tags: france, french, widget, dictionary, dictionnaire, dashboard, mac
SNCF Tests USB Train Tickets 
From the rawfeed:
“France’s national train service (SNCF) is offering 1,000 USB TRAIN TICKETS in a trial. The tickets also contain a unique-ID RFID chip that provides wireless “easy pass” access to trains. By plugging the card into a PC USB port, the users’ computers are automatically connected to the SNCF web site, where they can make payments and get schedules. Schedules can be downloaded to the card. The cards work like a debit card — passengers buy some amount — say, 100 Euros — then the fare is deducted each time they ride. The cards also serve as photo ID, with passengers’ pictures on the outside.” Link
tags: france, sncf, train travel, usb train tickets, weneo
Orange Admits to Lowering 3G Network Speed 
From electronista:
“French cellphone carrier Orange has admitted to imposing artificial limits on its 3G broadband network, reports say. The confession comes after complaints from a number of iPhone 3G owners, who in testing their download capacity discovered that they were limited to a maximum of 400Kbps, as compared to the 1.8Mbps possible on T-Mobile’s German network.
Most 3G networks are limited to a peak speed of 3.2Mbps, although some may support 7.2Mbps. Some upset Orange subscribers have been able to get their speeds raised by technicians, who have altered individual accounts to push speeds as high as 3Mbps. Customers have further alleged that the cap may be a violation of Orange’s service agreements, and a petition for proper 3G access has been formed online.
An Orange representative contacted by FranceInfo has stated that the cap is actually pegged at 384Kbps, and applies not just to iPhones but all devices on its 3G network. The limit was aimed at “preserving the stability of the network,” according to the representative, but Orange has since decided it will raise download speeds slightly; by September 15th, the cap should be 1Mbps.”
tags: france, iphone, 3g, 3g network speed, orange is evil
Les Caisses d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) / Child Support for the Jolie-Pitt Brood 
Here’s some kooky celeb trivia in France from bittenandbound:
“Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are eligible to receive $2592.81 in parenting subsidies [for 6 kids] each month as residents of France.
The Jolie-Pitts moved their family into Chateau Miraval in the south of France just before the births of twins Knox and Vivienne.
Pitt registered the family at the town hall in nearby Brignoles, qualifying them for the benefits which are available to all families, regardless of income.
Although it is unlikely Brad and Angelina will cash in, they are technically eligible for a “nanny payment” of $975.84 a month to help with childcare, and an “orphan allowance” of $508.97 for each of their three adopted children. The $2,592.81 total would be payable by check each month.
“We do not discuss individual benefits cases,” said a spokeswoman for the Brignoles council, “But [we] can confirm that all resident local families with young children are eligible for certain benefits.”
Jolie gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne on July 12. The couple have three adopted children – Maddox, six, Pax, four and three-year-old Zahara, and a biological daughter, Shiloh, who was born in Namibia two years ago.”
tags: france, Chateau Miraval, CAF, Brignoles, jolie pitt, child support
Dialogue entre HH The Dalai Lama et Carla Bruni 
Previous dialogues: Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, dalai lama, carla bruni, sarkozy no show, china’s slave
Air Cars Hit the Streets 
From autobloggreen and ecolotrader:
“We heard that MDI, the creators of the AirCar – excuse us, the “Compressed Air Vehicle” – broke off all commercial relations with Miguel Celades, who had been carrying its commercial operations for a while. We tried multiple times to contact Mr. Celades for further explanations, but couldn’t. So, we turned to MDI’s new webpage and other sources for the information.
The good news is that MDI is still working on their vehicle and has taken some steps to get it on the road. The French environmental website Ecolo-Trader has unveiled a picture of the first MiniCAT model with regular car plates, which should mean it’s road-worthy and has received all the legal requirements from the French Ministry of Industry. MDI’s MiniCAT has an range of 80 km while running exclusively with compressed air and, thanks to a system which heats compressed air (using fuel), the range can be extended even further. According to the website, which refers to the Southern France newspaper, MDI is planning a second factory to increase output of the MiniCAT. The model will be on display for the Paris Motor Show and on sale in France at the beginning of 2009.”
Note: The license plates look like they’re from the Var region in the south of France around the cities of Toulon and Draguignon.
[via]
tags: france, air car, mdi, minicat, guy negre
Another Radioactive Leak but it’s in the Same Place, Really 
This time the uranium leak is in Pierrelatte, which actually shares the same nuclear power facilities as Tricastin, where the last two leaks were found, but the media has been suspiciously removing “Tricastin” from this news and are making people think that Pierrelatte is not in the same place. Well, it IS in the same place.
Tricastin and Pierrelatte are villages next to each other and they share the same nuclear power site, referred to as “Tricastin-Pierrelatte.” Pierrelatte happens to be in the Drome department and Tricastin is in the Vaucluse department but they are literally “across the street” from each other. Areva, the company responsible for the nuclear power plants, is the very same company responsible for all of the other uranium leaks in the area, and again is saying that it is a “small” leak and therefore of little consequence.” YEA RIGHT. article (in French)
Links: more uranium leaks, Greepeace suing Areva
tags: france, real estate, uranium, contamination, radioactive leaks, tricastin, pierrelatte, corporate lies
The Village of Cap d’Agde, Where Being Nude is the Law 
Before the weather gets too chilly, I thought I’d mention the village of Cap d’Agde, where being butt naked is obligatory. If interested, you’ll still have time to enjoy the sun à poil (in your birthday suit).
The village of Cap d’Agde, also called, “The Naked City,” is a seaside port and resort along the Mediterranean not far from the cities of Carcassone, Nimes and Montpellier. (in the Hérault department, in the région of Languedoc-Roussillon). It is supposedly the world’s largest naturist village. “Naturism,” which many people call nudism, is legal so it isn’t uncommon to see families walking around naked in supermarkets, shops, banks, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, camp sites, etc. The beach in Cap d’Agde, which extends across 3 kilometers of beach, enforces a “nudity mandatory” policy, which means you MUST be nude there. I’m not sure what happens if you have any clothes on. Do the police rip them off of you? Are you arrested for wearing a sock? What happens in the COLD winter?
So anyway, this is a place where you can literally let it all hang out, perfect for an even tan with no bathing suit lines. Definitely not for everybody, and for the most part, it’s really no big deal – But don’t be led to think it’s entirely a wholesome place to vacation with the kids. Cap d’Agde is a lot of things.
While it IS perfectly okay to vacation here with kids, the place fulfills a whole spectrum of expectations, primarily regarding sexual satisfaction. For example, during the day families and kids are at the beach to have fun in the sun, but at the same time, others may be scouting the territory to find potential sexual partners for the evening or couples will be looking for other couples to switch partners with. Say, you’re invited to a party one night in the village. It would very a rare occasion if that party didn’t involve gratuitous non-committal sex with multiple partners. In other words, it has some innocence but on the other hand, anything goes. So with all the swingers clubs scattered amidst the family shops and restaurants, and the people, voyeurs and all (yes there are naked voyeurs here), it all seems pretty relaxed. For some reason these two incongruous communities: happy family fun and the old school naturists, and the sex motivated swingers with pierced genitals, work harmoniously side by side.
tags: france, travel, nude beaches, cap d’agde, naturism france, naked city
France Bans TV Shows for Babies From AP:
“France’s broadcast authority has banned French channels from marketing TV shows to children under 3 years old, to shield them from developmental risks it says television viewing poses at that age.
The ruling also ordered warning messages for parents on foreign baby channels that are broadcast in France _ such as Baby TV, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., and BabyFirstTV, which has ties to News Corp.’s Fox Entertainment.
The High Audiovisual Council, in a ruling published Wednesday, said it wanted to “protect children under 3 from the effects of television.”
France’s minister for culture and communication, Christine Albanel, issued a “cry of alarm” to parents in June about channels dedicated 24 hours a day to baby-targeted programming. In a newspaper interview, she called them “a danger” and urged parents not to use them to help their children get to sleep.
She was referring to BabyFirstTV and Baby TV, two foreign channels that can be seen in France on cable television.
The council’s ruling aims to prevent the development of such programming on French channels, by preventing them from marketing content as suitable for the under-3 age group.
It also orders French cable operators that air foreign channels with programs for babies to broadcast warning messages to parents. The messages will read: “Watching television can slow the development of children under 3, even when it involves channels aimed specifically at them.”
The ruling cites health experts as saying that interaction with other people is crucial to early child development.
“Television viewing hurts the development of children under 3 years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens,” the ruling said.
When BabyFirstTV began airing in the U.S. in 2006, it escalated an already heated national debate. The American Academy of Pediatrics has said babies should be kept away from television altogether. Critics say such channels are used as a baby sitter.
BabyFirstTV and other companies say their products are designed to be watched by babies and parents together in an interactive manner.
Guy Oranim, chief executive officer of BabyFirstTV, said he “respectfully objects” to the French council’s ruling. He said the channel’s content is carefully screened to ensure it is positive and educational, and that the channel encourages parents to make sure their babies don’t go overboard on TV but include it in a balanced schedule.
“One of reasons we created BabyFirstTV is that we thought there was no good programming for babies on TV, and according to the research that is out there, most of the babies are watching TV anyway,” he said.
The three companies behind BabyFirstTV are Regency Enterprises, a film and TV production company that is a partner of News Corp.’s Fox Entertainment; Kardan N.V., an investment group based in the Netherlands and Israel; and Bellco Capital, a private Los Angeles-based investment fund.”
tags: france, television, france bans tv for babies, baby first tv, baby tv
Organic Raw Milk Vending Machines! 
I wish they had these organic raw milk vending machines in my area, but these are in L’Arbresle situated in the Rhone region, not far from Lyon. The vending machines operate 24/7 and are found in 3 communities nearest a Champion supermarket.
Bring your own container to be filled or use one that is available at the vending machines. One liter costs 1.10, which I think is a great value. The milk has not been treated in any way and is simply stored at 3°C. 300 liters are stored per day, and the container is thoroughly cleaned and filled every morning. You can also get raw organic milk at the farm directly: Le lait de la ferme.
Le Lait de la ferme
Contact: Gerard Gayet
La Gondoliere
69930 Saint Laurent de Chamousset
Tél : 06 80 42 92 44
Mail : ggayet@terre-net.fr
tags: france, rhone, l’organic raw milk,vending machines, l’Arbresle, Gérard Gayet
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Concierge at the Marriott Champs Elysees: FAIL From hotelchatter:
“Picture this: A hotel guest, sleepless after a night spent at the posh Marriot Champs Elysees, asks the concierge for help getting an emergency passport.
She is without hair product or makeup, sports a blotchy face swollen from tears, and is wearing the clothes she went out in last night. Long story short: her purse–ok, fine–our purse containing the key to our rental apartment, cell phone, money and credit cards — and th all-important passport — was stolen the night before.
Also, it was just two nights before we were flying home.
Weeping and wine-muddled after discovering the loss following dinner last night, we had reached my husband back home and asked him to book a room at the Marriott. American-style comfort and help was just what we needed.
All our Marriott points and a couple hundred bucks later we were checking in, relieved and happy to be in a place where they brought us Evian and spoke in English.
The concierge was indeed quite helpful the next morning, seeming not to notice our pitiful appearance, providing the information we needed and a map to find the embassy. Since it closed early in the day and this replacement passport process could take a while, we headed straight there.
Unfortunately, his directions were wrong. The concierge of an American hotel, a five-star hotel at that, had sent us awry. We … “ Continued:
tags: france, paris, hotels, marriott, Champs Elysees
Dialogue entre Michael Phelps et Alain Bernard 
Previous dialogues: Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, michael phelps, olympics 2008, alain bernard, world record
La vie des animaux selon les hommes 
The life of animals according to man. Funny French vignettes here. (You don’t need to know how to speak French to understand these.)
[via]
tags: france, La vie des animaux selon les hommes, comedy, skits, french
Nacho, An Ice Cream Sandwich 
While I’m doing my best to eliminate junk food from my diet, my sweetie, on the other hand, remains true to some “non-foods” that nobody should be consuming. He was eating this so-called ice cream sandwich thing at my parents-in-laws and we joked about the kooky name, “Nacho.” I dunno, but that alone would make me not want to eat it unless it was crunchy, salty, melting with cheesy goodness and bursting with jalapeño peppers. Well, I guess it’s sort of shaped like a taco, which is remotely related. I don’t think there was any actual cream in this “ice cream,” and I’m almost positive it isn’t from France. Was this a bi-lingual dictionary disaster?
tags: france, nacho ice cream, junk food, snacks, calling something it isn’t
A French Baking School that Cares about the Untouchables of India Tucked away in Chennai, India (southeast coast of India in the northeast of Tamil Nadu), you’ll find an usual and unexpected establishment: a French baking school. The school was created by 25-year-old Alexis de Duclas, a graduate of Essec, one of France’s top business schools, and 24-year-old certified French baker, Antoine Soive, who had previously worked in one of Alain Ducasse’s Michelin star restaurants.
Together, they work toward helping the “Untouchables” in India,* (also called Dalits) the very bottom, absolute lowest level of the Hindu caste system. Their objective is to train and certify the untouchables in the production of French baked goods and pastries, so they will later be more fairly integrated into society and regularly employed. The inspiration to found the school came after a fateful meeting with Ducla and Father Ceyrac, a Jesuit missionary who had worked with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charities to support children and people in distress in India. Many, many months later, Ducla launched his baking school.
Ducla’s school is the epitome of corporate social responsibility, with social issues being the very core of the business, while still maintaining the ability to literally and figuratively “make dough.” Ducla wanted to prove that humanitarian projects can also be profitable. The school is run by the Charity Education and Rural Development Trust. Classes are also funded by philanthropists from India and France. Ducla’s business manages to make a reasonable amount of profit by selling their products.
Students are chosen based on their “untouchability” therefore they must be from economically weak areas and they must be motivated. That is the criteria for selection to this unique school. Along with cooking lessons, the students are also required to take English, Tamil and Science lessons. The training is rigorous and students are required to wake up at midnight and work through the night. After two years of intensive training they should be ready and equipped to handle anything from a fancy gateau for a five star kitchen, to petit fours for a high end restaurant.
A couple of years after the launch of the school, Ducla opened La Boulangerie, a French bakery/ cafe in Anna Nagar West in Chennai operated and maintained by Untouchables (15th Main Road, Anna Nagar West, Chennai 10 Tamil Nadu, India), serving, croissants, cakes, breads and sandwiches.
*Who are the Untouchables in India?
Untouchables in india are branded as impure from the moment of birth. Approximately 1 out of 6 indians (160 million people) live and suffers at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. India’s Untouchables are relegated to the lowest jobs, and live in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense.
Nearly 90 percent of all the poor Indians and 95 percent of all the illiterate Indians are Dalits/Untouchables, according to figures presented at the International Dalit Conference.
tags: france, alexis de ducla, la boulangerie, chennai india, Anna Nagar West , untouchables
Beaujolais Nouveau Wines to be in Plastic Bottles Because it’s Good for the Environment??? 
From the Boisset Family Estates press release:
“…….”This year, Boisset Family Estates is the first winery ever to announce that all Beaujolais Nouveau wines imported to North America will be packaged exclusively in lightweight PET plastic bottles,” states Jean-Charles Boisset, President, Boisset Family Estates. “In addition, we will simultaneously debut Fog Mountain, featuring the first organically-farmed California Nouveau in 750ml PET bottles, to highlight our commitment to reducing the wine world’s carbon footprint by producing locally.”
“It is critical in today’s time, with the scarcity of our planet’s resources and the known environmental impacts of human activity, that we consider whether we should still ship thousands of cases of wine in heavy bottles via air throughout the world in order for the wines to arrive on time for their annual release date in November, when we can reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by more than half through a responsible choice of packaging.”
….Boisset Family Estates owns and imports Mommessin and Bouchard Aîné & Fils – two venerable Burgundy wine houses each with deep historical traditions in Burgundy and Beaujolais….”
This California company, importing wines from France, claims to be innovative and eco-minded.
Read the whole press release
tags: france, california, beaujolais nouveau, wine in plastic bottles, landfill problems, PET bottles, toxic
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Hog Pop 
I haven’t given up on my attempts to support indie game and software developers, particularly those in France, so I’m featuring a small, time waster of the day called, “Hog Pop,” just released by Jean-Philippe Sarda, the same guy who brought you that fun yet infuriating Parallel Parking game.
With Hog Pop, your mission is to pop a required number of bubbles, but I haven’t seen any hogs yet.
Pop now!
More games:
How well do you know your world?
Cities Game
How Well Do You Know the World Map?
Ouverture Facile
Jeu chiant
L’expresso empoisonné
Run n Roll
Recyle
The Museum
Parallel Parking Game
Ladybugs
Boulangerie the Game
Solitaire
tags: france, games, hog pop, independent game developers, french, Jean-Philippe Sarda
One of a Kind Leather Handbags Made in France In our world that has unfortunately embraced the notion of “planned obsolescence,” when I encounter quality-made, let alone hand-made items, AND made in France, they stand out like stars amidst the dark universe.
In a small village not too far from where we live, we walked by an unassuming, “blend-in-the-background” studio and I’m happy we actually noticed what was inside because we saw these flowers in pots:
Nope, they aren’t really flower pots, they’re leather purses! Aren’t they totally adorable and original? They are one of a kind and there are several whimsical and unique purses inside this handbag artist’s studio: an haricot purse, carrot purse, and my favorite, an eggplant purse. Sorry, but the photo of the aubergine was too blurry to post.
We talked with Sylvia, an expat from Switzerland, who is the creative mastermind behind these works of art and we chatted a bit. She’d mentioned that she took several purses to a luxury handbag store in the south of France, a fancy store that sells designer handbags. The owner of this store had rejected her purses because he said, “They are too nice and well-made.” He wanted purses that would break in a matter of months so customers would return to buy new purses. Grrr!
Her purses, wallets, etc. – are all made out of high quality leather. They will last forever. These are also unique. As an artisan specializing in purses / wallets (and other maroquinerie / leather goods) in France, she is by law, not allowed to make more than 6 of the same style items. This isn’t a problem, she says, because it gives her more freedom to be creative with new styles.
And creative, she is. Look at this watering can key chain holder.
Here’s her “book purse.”
If you’re not into these playful designs, she does make more “serious” styles as well. Everything is impressive.
I love that these purses are so much fun, different and one of a kind (or at most 6 of a kind). It’s perfect for people who want a designer purse that no one else has. It’s a shift from mass produced to niche unique, which I feel is becoming a nice trend. The “mass market” used to be considered as highly demanded and therefore of quality value, but that is simply no longer the case. In reality, mass produced purses, even if they’re designer brands, represents a recognizable label that exists because of savvy marketing/advertising executives calling out to a shallow, broad appeal.
Niche items, like these purses, have much more value, are beautiful, and they will last a long, long time. Note: You can also order custom made bags from Sylvia. If you’re interested in purchasing any of her works, check out her purses at the following link below:
One of a Kind Handbags Made in France
tags: france, unique handbags,handbags, purses, made in france, leather, niche purses
Ironic News: National Front Selling its Headquarters to China From the nyt:
“The National Front, the French anti-immigration party, is selling its historic headquarters to a Chinese university to raise cash, the party’s leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen, left, was quoted on Monday as saying. Mr. Le Pen, whose slogan in several presidential campaigns was “Keep France for the French,” confounded predictions by reaching the runoff in the 2002 presidential election. But stinging defeats in last year’s parliamentary vote have left the party deep in the red. The magazine L’Express said on its Web site that Mr. Le Pen believed that the university, which he did not name, wanted to turn the building, in the Paris suburb of St.-Cloud, into a French-language school. He did not give the sale price, but L’Express reported that it would be as much as 15 million euros, or about $22 million.” [Link]
tags: france, china owns france, national front, le pen, ironic, greedy, fascists, hypocrites
Dialogue Entre Nicolas Sarkozy et Muammar Qaddafi 
Previous Dialogues: Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
tags: france, dalai lama, gaddafi, sarkozy snubs the dalai lama, china’s french poodle
One “I am Rich” iPhone App was Bought by Someone in France 
A couple of days ago Apple yanked one of the listed iPhone apps from the iTunes store. The app with a $1000 price tag (actually $999.99), brilliant in my opinion and funny to boot, displays an image of a glowing red ruby that would always remind you (and others when you show it to them) that you are rich enough to afford it. That’s all it does. I’m serious.
The kooky thing is: EIGHT people bought it! Really. So the German developer, Armin Heinrich worked for approximately one hour to churn out this app and voila, he made over 5,000 bucks. ($8,000 minus Apple’s commission) And according to the LAtimes, the buyers were 6 Americans, 1 German and 1 French person. (or someone living in France). Did they think they were getting an actual ruby? Or do you think they just wanted it and could kick around a thousand bucks just like that? Did they show it to other people? Are they proud of it?
tags: france, i am rich, iphone applications, ruby, insane
