I couldn’t resist posting this hilarious video. (Click on the image to watch the video.)

From gawker:

Carla Bruni Asks for a Finger Up Her Butt, in Seven Different Languages

France’s first lady is tres embarrassed that an old, raunchy episode of a talk show called Eurotrash has surfaced online. Now the French government is scrambling to get it yanked from YouTube. Here’s what they don’t want you to see.

Apparently the French government fought to remove a longer version of this video—in which Carla showcases a pair of “hot international sex guides” that teach international tramps how to say phrases like “Do you like my titties?” and “Put your finger in my bottom” in seven European languages—from YouTube. Eurotrash hosts Antoine de Caunes and designer Jean-Paul Gaultier (in the hot pink sailor suit, obviously) ooh and aah at the multilingual promiscuity of “Italy’s most elegant export.”

The yanked version apparently showed Carla discussing celebrity affairs with Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. The Daily Mail reports Carla is “shocked and dismayed” at the video’s “sudden reappearance.”

Here’s Marion Cotillard introducing a new, revolutionary product to help women in the work place. Click on the image to watch the video.

If you happen to be wondering who are the famous French Twitterers or Tweeters or Twits…you get what I mean – just take a look at this subjective metro-ish map by Henri Michel. Click on the map to enlarge it.

In Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s most recent TED Talk, he discusses his three most recent projects on humanity and our habitat. You’ll be glued to the aerial photographs in his series “Earth from Above,” personal interviews from around the globe featured in his web project “6 billion Others,” and his soon-to-be-released free movie, “Home (produced by Luc Besson),” which documents human impact on the environment through breathtaking video. Home’s global premiere is tomorrow, June 5, which is World Environment Day.

From variety:

The master of romanticism and rugged grandeur, Charles Aznavour has returned to the Gotham stage for an all-too-brief four-night stand with his unique catalog of French chanson. At the ripe age of 85, the singer-songwriter has lost none of his quicksilver energy, impish humor or trademark sense of musical storytelling. In a nearly two-hour show, he turned the pages of a familiar songbook that brought frequent cheers from a capacity audience clearly packed with adoring fans.

With the added glitter of a sparkling ballroom orb, Aznavour sang “The Old Fashioned Way (Les Plaisirs Demodes)” and danced across the stage with an imaginary woman in his arms. But perhaps the most tender memory was the plaintive scrapbook, “Yesterday When I Was Young.”

Aznavour is a master of gesture, nuance and timing. He accents his songs with a subtle reflection of young love and heartbreak. “La Boheme” is a bittersweet reflection of the passing of spring and lost life, while “It Will Be My Day” is a rhythmic celebration of showbiz savvy, youth and expectation. His performance of “Ave Maria” remains an intensely vivid hymn. “She,” the only song performed in English, is his biggest Stateside hit, featured here as an encore that allowed the singer to toast all women.

For the poignant duet “Je Voyage,” Aznavour was joined by his daughter, Katia; the narrative follows a young girl journeying into her future as her older companion travels through memories.

His daughter is one of two backup singers accompanying Aznavour, along with a nine-piece band with four violins and an accordion that projects a much bigger sound than one would expect. A smartly structured lighting design frames the crooner distinctively.

The New York leg is billed as an extension of Aznavour’s North American farewell tour that began in 2006. The performer is undoubtedly one of the last of a breed of living legends, a cunning crooner who has lost none of his seductive charm.

Charles Aznavour
City Center Main Stage
Apr 29 – May 3, 2009
Tickets: $55, $75, $95, $125, $150, $175, $190

It’s been reported that Pierre Bergé, the long-time companion and business partner to the late Yves Saint-Laurent, began putting up articles for auction, artwork and artifacts owned by the late designer. Proceeds are to be designated to the AIDS foundation he founded. The auction began despite China’s demands to halt it. China claims that two valuable Qing Dynasty bronzes, a rat and a rabbit, worth about $12 million each, belong to China. Chinese officials claim the items were stolen from Beijing’s Imperial Summer Palace by British and French forces in 1860.

Bergé, as the legal owner of these bronzes, will not relinquish the bronzes to China UNLESS China meets certain demands of his own.

Here’s what Mr. Berge has declared, “Moi, je suis prêt à offrir ces têtes en bronze au gouvernement chinois, tout de suite…Il leur suffit de déclarer qu’ils vont appliquer les droits de l’homme, rendre la liberté aux Tibétains et accepter le dalaï-lama sur leur territoire.”

Translation: “I am ready to offer the bronze heads to the Chinese government immediately… They simpy have to declare that they will enforce human rights, give freedom back to Tibetans and allow His Holiness The Dalai Lama entry into Chinese territory.”

If not, Pierre Bergé invites China to say, “ au revoir rat and rabbit heads!”

Pierre Bergé is awesome, tout simplement.

[sources: France Inter, France 2, lexpress]

Hey Carla fans, you might be happy to know that Pardon, a company (brand) from La Réunion, began giving away these bags with a purchase from their stores. The bags sport a nude Carla Bruni on them. The slogan, “Mon mec aurait dû m’acheter du Pardon” (My man should’ve bought me forgiveness or a pardon.)

Want one? Find Pardon in these cities: Marseille, Toulouse, Dunkerque et Besançon.

tags: france, french, carla bruni, pardon

Previous dialogues: 2 Air France Pilots, Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, 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, french, dalai lama, china, sarkozy

In the past, I suppose I haven’t been too kind when mentioning the designs coming from Philippe Starck. My opinion is a matter of subjective taste, which happens to be in the minority and generally, I hate am disgusted dislike immensely his designs. I can’t help it. Let’s say that I WANT to like it, but it just doesn’t happen for me. I mean, c’mon look at what he created for babies here.

I have more examples. A couple of days ago, he was making headlines that corresponded with the opening of a new boutique hotel launched by the founders of Club Med because he designed it. The hotel, called Mama Shelter, is located just outside of Paris. It looks fun and it seems to be a budget hotel that is warm open. I do think they achieved their goal.

Now, the design. It’s not horrible. Alright. I am not too thrilled with the sconces that Mr. Starck designed. They are essentially plastic Halloween masks he bought from Walmart or somewhere, then decided to reassign their function and hang them on the wall. When I saw these, I wanted to laugh and cry and the same time.

That said, Philippe Starck once admitted that he tries to make his life worthy of existing as a designer… and although his designs don’t impress me in the slightest, he was nevertheless impressive, if not entertaining during his 18-minute talk at TED. In some way he and his speech redeemed himself to me in many ways as he explained in a fun and charming way, why he designs, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter if it’s ugly or ridiculous or silly.

[via apartmentherapy]

tags: france, french, paris, mama shelter, philippe starck, mask sconces philippe starck, ted talks

Previous dialogues: Dialogue entre Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, 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, french, barack obama, nicolas sarkozy

From ty.rannosaur.us:

Henry IV
“One of the most popular French kings, Henry tried to provide his citizens with a “chicken in the pot every Sunday.” Even though he believed in changing his shirt every morning, a rarity in 16th century France, he also loved hunting and refused to bathe or mask his odor with cologne afterwards. His mistress often told him he smelled like carrion. His second wife fainted from his stench the first time she met him and doused herself with perfume just to have sex with him on their wedding night.”

Louis XIV
“During the 72 year reign of Louis, France established an absolute monarchy, Versailles was built, and The Sun King waged war with everyone. Possibly hydrophobic, he refused to bathe unless his doctors forced him to and took two, possibly three, baths his entire life. He preferred to be dusted with scented powder and washed his face with a rag soaked in alcohol. Louis refused surgery on a gangrenous foot, leading to his death, and would lose chunks of it around Versailles.”

From 15 Famously Filthy People From the Pages of History

[via]

tags: france, french, dirty, henry iv, louis xiv

Though I’m not much of a fan of her music, I loved Vanessa Paradis in the excellent movie with Daniel Auteuil called, Girl on the Bridge, and I really like this recent photo of her by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (photoshopped and all), which is featured on the November 2008 French Vogue Magazine Cover.

tags: france, french, vanessa paradis, vogue france

Val de Reuil, located just south of Rouen has expressed their Obama love with this hard-to-miss billboard. I thought that was kind of cool.

tags: france, french, obama, val de reuil, yes we can, french billboards

Though she’s been around a while now, her career got a serious kickstart because Apple decided to use her song, “New Soul” for the advertising campaign of the MacBook Air. I didn’t know much about her before that.

I’d heard in an interview with the French-Israeli artist, Yael Naim, that she didn’t even realize Apple used her song for the spot. Aren’t they supposed to ask for permission first? Anyway.

Her second album, Yael Naim, which includes the MacBook Air song and other songs in English, French and Hebrew, is really wonderful and worth a listen. I particularly liked her cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and a song called, “Lonely,” which is beautiful if not impetus to start up drinking.

Listening to my fave radio station, kcrw, I’d heard she and the awesome David Donatien were touring in the U.S. this month and in November they’ll be back in France, so I thought I’d post her concert information:

October 2008
10/14 Seattle (WA) | Triple Door
10/15 Portland (OR) | Aladdin Th.
10/17 Los Angeles (CA) | Troubadour
10/19 Aspen (CO) | Belly Up
10/20 Boulder (CO) | Boulder Th.
10/22 Minneapolis (MN) | Cedar Cultural Center
10/23 Chicago (IL) | House of Blues
10/25 Madison (WI) | Wisconsin Union Th.
10/27 New York (NY) | Webster Hall
10/29 Washington DC | 6th & I Historic Synagogue

November 2008
11/06 Voiron | Le Grand Angle
11/07 Clermont Ferrand | Coopérative de Mai
11/08 Le Mans | Festival Be Bop
11/09 Boulogne sur Mer | Tendance Festival
11/06 Voiron | Le Grand Angle
11/07 Clermont Ferrand | Coopérative de Mai
11/08 Le Mans | Festival Be Bop
11/09 Boulogne sur Mer | Tendance Festival
11/10 Nancy | l’Autre Canal
11/13 Paris | LES FOLIES BERGÈRES
11/14 Paris | LES FOLIES BERGÈRES
11/15 Paris | LES FOLIES BERGÈRES
11/19 Zurich | Kaufleuten
11/20 Fribourg | Fri-Son
11/21 Milan | Rolling Stone
11/24 Rome | Auditorium

Her official website: Yael Naim, her myspace, her facebook

tags: france, french, yael naim, david donatien, concert schedule

From brandrepublic:

“The original James Bond Sir Sean Connery has been photographed by Annie Leibovitz posing on a beach in the Bahamas for Louis Vuitton’s Core Values advertising campaign.

Connery, who recently turned 78, is pictured sitting on a rough wooden landing stage on a beach near his home in the Bahamas with a waterproof version of Louis Vuitton’s Keepall travel bag next to him.

The strapline for the ad, created by Ogilvy & Mather, reads: “There are journeys that turn into legends. Bahamas islands, 10:07″.

It is the sixth in a series of portraits shot by Annie Leibovitz for Louis Vuitton’s Core Values campaign, on the theme of travel as a personal journey.

Louis Vuitton is making a donation to the Climate Change Project, spearheaded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, on behalf of Connery.

Other celebrities to have been photographed by Leibovitz in the campaign include: Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf; Catherine Deneuve; Keith Richards; Sofia Coppola and her father Francis Ford Coppola; and Mikhail Gorbachev, last head of state of the USSR who contributed to the end of the Cold War with perestroika and glasnost.

Antoine Arnault, head of communications at Louis Vuitton, said: “We are extremely proud that an actor of such immense stature should have agreed to participate in Louis Vuitton’s Core Values campaign.”

Pietro Beccari, senior vice president of communication and marketing at Louis Vuitton, said: “Our aim was to broaden the idea of travel beyond its geographical dimension and the campaign has achieved this in a truly remarkable way.

“We are particularly proud of the acclaim it has received from within the advertising industry, witnessed by numerous awards.”

The ad will appear in major international titles from October 30.” [source]

tags: france, french, luxury luggage, sean connery, louis vuitton

I like this cover of Moldy Peaches’ “Anyone Else But You” being sung by Ms. Sarko herself, Carla Bruni and Nouvelle Star winner, Julien Doré. I’m particularly relieved to not have to listen to Julien Doré singing his last hit that had been playing everywhere, all the time. At least, seemingly.

tags: france, Carla Bruni, Julien Doré, moldy peaches, anyone else but you

Today is French singer, France Gall‘s birthday, born on October 9, 1947. Happy Birthday, France! In celebration, here’s a fun video of her first single, which was also her first hit called, Ne sois pas si bête (Don’t be so stupid). It was recorded in 1963, when Ms. Gall was 16 years old. The old video is fun and cute.

Watch the video (youtube)

Links: France Gall on wikipedia

tags: france, gall, Ne sois pas si bête

it would look like Artus de Penguern!

While feeding my chronic insomnia a couple of weeks ago, I was happy to find this late night French movie that actually was not like the variety of French movies where someone (or everyone) kills themselves at the end by jumping out a window. Instead, it was a very silly one called, “Grégoire Moulin contre l’humanité” (Gregoire Moulin Versus Humanity). Of course, lots of people die in this movie too, but it’s all in good fun. In a nutshell, Grégoire Moulin contre l’humanité is black comedy that seems to take inspiration from Amélie, After Hours (by Martin Scorsese!) and a drop of Reservoir Dogs, mixes them all together in a nutty 90 minute film. (Gregoire Moulin contre l’humanité was released the same year as Amélie, just six months later.)

Watching the main character played by Artus de Penguern distracted me a little because he constantly reminded me of a pensive and anguished older brother of Robert Downey Jr. If de Penguern looks familiar, you might remember him from his role as Hipolito, the failed writer in Amélie.

Related: Another celebrity mating

tags: france, french, Artus de Penguern, Grégoire Moulin contre l’humanité, Gregoire Moulin Versus Humanity, Martin Scorsese, Robert Downey Jr., Amelie, Reservoir Dogs

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.

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

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

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

From AFP:

“The Dalai Lama kicks off Tuesday an 11-day visit to France that threatened to spark a crisis between Paris and Beijing, until President Nicolas Sarkozy quashed speculation he would meet the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Planned more than two years ago, the Nobel peace laureate’s French visit turned suddenly political after a Chinese crackdown on unrest in Tibet in March that sparked international outrage in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Sarkozy’s initial threat to boycott the Olympic opening ceremony, together with rowdy pro-Tibet protests during the passage of the Olympic flame through Paris, fuelled a months-long diplomatic spat with Beijing.

And a decision by the opposition-held Paris city hall to name the 73-year-old spiritual guide an honorary citizen further fanned tensions.

Though Sarkozy decided last month to attend Friday’s opening, noting progress in talks between China and the Dalai Lama, he failed to prevent a wave of protests targeting French commercial interests in China.

Speculation over a meeting with the Buddhist leader in France since then continued to pour oil on the fire, with the Chinese ambassador in Paris warning of “serious consequences” for bilateral relations.

The French leader’s office finally announced Wednesday that no meeting would take place, saying it was the Dalai Lama’s decision.

The Dalai Lama’s representative in France Wangpo Bashi told AFP that the “timing is not right”, saying a meeting during the Olympics risked setting back talks between Tibetan and Chinese parties.

Instead, Sarkozy’s wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy — who under French law has no official function — will attend the inauguration by Dalai Lama of a temple in southern France on August 22.

On Wednesday, the Buddhist leader is scheduled to meet some 250 senators and deputies from the French parliamentary group on Tibet, before holding talks with leaders of the French Tibetan community.

The rest of his August 12-23 stay will be devoted to religious visits, in the Paris region and elsewhere, and a six-day teaching cycle in the western city of Nantes.

“It is first and foremost a spiritual, religious visit,” said Bashi, who heads the Tibet Bureau in Paris. “That is how it was always intended.”

France is home to an estimated 770,000 Buddhists, according to the French Buddhist union, three quarter of them of Asian origin.

The Dalai Lama has visited France a dozen times since 1982, meeting with city or government officials and once with the president, the late Francois Mitterrand, in 1993.

France’s left-wing Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and junior minister for human rights Rama Yade have both said they would be willing to meet him, but no such plans have been announced.

Sarkozy has been accused at home of flip-flopping on the issue of the Olympics and undermining France’s credibility in China.

Critics note that other Western leaders, including of the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany and Britain have met the Dalai Lama in the past two years without jeopardising their relations with Beijing.

Speaking from the Olympics opening ceremony, Sarkozy insisted Friday the meeting “has merely been postponed”.

The Dalai Lama’s representative confirmed that a meeting would take place before the end of the year.

China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and officially “liberated” it the following year. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking independence for Tibet and of fomenting unrest in the territory to sabotage the Olympic Games.

The spiritual leader insists he wants autonomy and religious freedom rather than independence for Tibet, and has sent Beijing his “prayers and best wishes” for the success of the Olympics.”

tags: france, dala lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso

This new music video by Laurent Voulzy has been playing way too much on TV lately…

Previous Dialogues: 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

france, music, laurent voulzy, alain souchon, jellybean

Excerpt from the latimes:

“…On the menu – There’s not a burger or Happy Meal in sight. Instead, rigatoni with boletus mushroom sauce, a fresh chèvre sandwich on sun-dried-tomato ciabatta with olive-tomato tapenade, and a nicely balanced strawberry tart. Other sandwich offerings, all about $6.75, included sweet and prosciutto-style cured ham on pain de campagne (country bread), sliced roast chicken, and smoked Norwegian salmon (both on ciabatta). Crudités are served with tapenade and lemon tartar sauce (about $8.65); the daily entrée special on a recent visit was sliced chicken in a French Basque-style sauce of tomatoes, onion and sweet red Espelette pepper, with rice and salad (about $15).

For that same price there are also formules (combo menus) — sandwich, salad, quiche (such as onions, mushrooms and lardons, or bacon) or pasta (such as farfalle with a seafood sauce made with squid and mussels), plus frites, a drink and dessert. Gaufres, anyone? The waffles are served plain, or with powdered sugar, chocolate sauce or Chantilly cream. Wines include a Guyot Côtes du Rhône and Georges Duboeuf Mâcon Villages. Service is fairly friendly and the clientele varied — a recent drizzly weeknight drew a large group of twentysomethings and various twosomes and threesomes ages 16 to 60…” Read the rest

Depending on your outlook on this reality TV show that mixes Big Brother with a huge chunk of Schoolhouse Karaoke, you may or may not be thrilled that the popular program is moving from Le château de Dammarie-Les-Lys, outside of Paris – to l’hôtel de Brossier, rue Charlot in Le Marais. Oui, en centreville!

The neighborhood is not amused.

tags: france reality tv star academy le marais hôtel de Brossier

[via]

More Dimanche Dialogues: Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos

Known for his raspy voice and chart topping pop songs, Florent Pagny (left) sung his tax woes in the song, “Ma Liberté de Penser” (My freedom to think), and even though this happened long ago, France is rather merciless and never lets neither him nor anyone else forget about any of their past predicaments particularly if they involve stepping over legal lines.

Note: Xavier Darcos is France’s Education Minister (though it would’ve been more ironic if he’d been the Finance Minister…)

tags: france florent pagny zidane xavier darcos taxes

Will this be some sort of historic World Record for “First Lady’s CD Sales”? I think so.

Carla Bruni, France’s 1st Lady, will officially launch Comme si de rien n’etait / As if Nothing Happened, her third CD tomorrow here in France. I think you’ll find it to be pretty good if you like hearing about revealing, personal memoirs. There isn’t much about life after being married to Sarkozy (tant mieux / all the better.) Everything is original except a cover of Bob Dylan’s “You Belong to Me“ and an Italian song. I actually liked her first CD (Quelqu’un m’a dit /Someone Told Me) so I think this one might have some promise. All royalities will go the Foundation of France, which funds charities.

If you’re in the U.S. check out: Carla Bruni – Comme Si de Rien N’Etait - fyi: you can pre-order it now.

Links
Carla Bruni – Comme si de rien n’etait (France)
Carla Bruni – Comme Si de Rien N’Etait (release date July 22 in the U.S.) (U.S.)

tags: france music carla bruni Comme si de rien n’etait

Another conversation: Dialogue entre Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand

tags: france jean reno tom hanks sarkozy life’s regrets

In sync with the new road safety laws in France regarding a vest and triangle to be kept in cars at all times, this amusing ad campaign was launched and features famous designer fashionista, Karl Lagerfeld. Via LA Frog (merci!)

C’est jaune, c’est moche, et ça ne va avec rien, mais ça peut vous sauvez la vie.

Translation:

It’s yellow, it’s ugly, it doesn’t go with anything (else), but it can save your life.

tags: france karl lagerfeld road safety ads

As a chronic conspiracy theorist and as a person who strongly believes that no politician is good, this imagined dialogue spawned from my various psycho suspicions. It’s a conversation between Late French Singer/Activist Daniel Balavoine and Late President of the French Republic Francois Mitterrand – based on a very well-known confrontation between the two on a talk show in 1980. (Here’s a transcription in French.) Perhaps more “Dialogues Entre Quelqu’un et Quelqu’un d’autre” in France will surface here if I remember to post some. Something for Sundays.

Anyway, back to the dialogue between two dead people.

During the fateful day on live French TV, it appeared that Francois Mitterrand, then running for French President, attempted to lure the youth vote by having the popular singer invited as a “trophy” guest on the live talk show. It was obvious that they had no intention of letting Balavoine say anything. So, Balavoine exploded in anger. He insisted on having air-time for what he had to say, and, in a nutshell, he was trying to represent young adults expressing that they shared a sense of hopelessness because of many unanswered questions and ignored problems. They no longer believed in French politics and policies and felt desperate. He wanted to warn world leaders, which seemed like a direct criticism to Mitterand, that if the situation did not improve, this desperation would surely result in devastating consequences.

I don’t believe Mitterrand was very pleased. That being said, I’m positive the communist party wasn’t very happy, either, with what Balavoine said about them. (He’d questioned what they REALLY did with the money they received.) Wait. Balavoine also criticized Gaston Deferre, who was mayor of Marseille at the time, remarking that he and his administration were not the best societal role models…

Daniel Balavoine was killed in 1986 in a SO-CALLED, “accident.” YES. I don’t really think it was an accident.

It could have been Deferre! Hold on. He also mentioned that M. Soisson, the Ministre de la jeunesse / the Youth Minister, is OLD! And how could a Youth Minister truly act on behalf young adults if he, himself, is old. It might have been Soisson!

tags: france daniel balavoine confrontation francois mitterrand not an accident who killed daniel balavoine?

From aol:

Where is the love, Parisians?

“… Radiohead were left with a row of empty seats at a recent French concert after a ticket giveaway backfired. The eco-friendly group announced 50 passes were available for their show at Paris’ Bercy Arena but fans could only get by cycling to their record label’s offices in the French city.

However, Parisians were not prepared to get on their bikes so 35 tickets went unclaimed. A source said: “Radiohead are using their current world tour to highlight their commitment to green issues. They advise all concertgoers to use public transport and are doing all they can to make their carbon footprint as small as possible. Unfortunately the French didn’t appear to share their noble intentions and roundly ignored the free ticket tactic.”

tags: france radiohead velib lazy environment unfriendly parisians

French company Louis Vuitton is up to its old misguided antics getting all litigious on guitarist, Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Panic Channel). They’ve got their knickers in a twist over the fact that Navarro has been using a LV strap for his guitar. Um. I’d call that free advertising for LV! But nooooo. Louis Vuitton legal cronies sent the guitarist an ugly threatening letter expressing, “We have no doubt that this copying has been willful and is intended to trade upon the fame and cachet of the LV Trademarks to elevate the status of the infringing Guitar Strap, and of Jane’s Addiction.” Basically, they’re going to sue his ass if he doesn’t cease and desist his LV guitar strap use. Pffff.

Read about it on Dave Navarro’s blog, 6767

Related: Louis Vuitton is Suing a Darfur Fundraiser,
Getting Caught with Designer Rip-offs (Fakes) in France and Italy, iPod Cases from M. Louis Vuitton, Kawaii Contrefaçon

tags: france louis vuitton guitar strap dave navarro

[via]

From Maureen Dowd:

“The French are different from you and me.

“I was seduced by his…”

Read the full article

On Saturday, June 21, the day before the Patti Smith exhibition Land 250 closes, the Fondation Cartier is offering a final opportunity for the public to meet the artist, who will also be signing the exhibition catalogues.

This event will take place in the exhibition area, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Land 250, Patti Smith at the Fondation Cartier
261, Boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris, France
tel (+33) 1 42 18 56 50
March 28 to June 22, 2008
For more information visit the museum’s website: Fondation Cartier

Related: David Lynch’s work at Fondation Cartier,Ron Mueck in Paris

tags: france patti smith fondation cartier

^{I am aware of the air beneath me.}

In the U.S. when Jean-Claude Van Damme comes to mind, people will likely know who he is but it would invoke a high level of indifference. Most consider him a hasbeen, action-martial arts-actor who can do the splits. For the last 10 years or so, he’s made only direct-to-DVD movies, that even Jean-Claude Van Damme himself has called, “rotten.” He’s made back-to-back film stinkers but has still managed to make a name for himself. Maybe it was due to his flexibility, pecs and abs, and those famous “splits”? I wonder if he can still do those… Anyway. Because of the string of lackluster films and for his “wooden” acting (and no, I’m not talking about THAT video), he basically goes almost unnoticed. “Almost” because most people still recognize him. Remember the episode of him playing himself in Friends where he boasts he can crush a walnut with his butt cheeks?

That certain Friends episode just cracks open the surface of how the French perceive Jean-Claude.

In France, people see Jean-Claude Van Damme (who is Belgian, by the way) very, very differently compared to the U.S. He is a bit of a cult hero, not necessarily for his high kicks in cheesy B movies, but rather for his aphorisms that are inadvertently funny. He is hilarious and the French LOVE to make fun of him and the way he expresses himself in “franglais” – and they will NEVER, ever, let him forget anything he’s ever said that made them laugh. This is not to say they do it in a derisive manner, because while they do, in fact, mock him, they do it lightly and in a positive way, and despite the mockery, they find him unique and lovable.

Why? It’s sort of like this: JC says things that are like a cross between Yogi Berra’s quotes (“Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded” or “Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical”) and “deep thoughts” from Jack Handy (“It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.”).

Since French TV is a lot about talk shows, you will find that you have a chance to see celebs up close and personal on all kinds of levels, and not just hear someone trying to plug their latest movie. That might be why JC isn’t seen the same way in the U.S. He simply hasn’t gotten enough on-air talk time to express his true self on English-speaking TV! I’m sure he’d say funny things in English, given the opportunity.

The most famous quote (that every French or French-speaking person is aware of) involves the theme of observation (insight), and JC talks about being aware using the word “aware” instead of the correct word in French (conscient), which throws the French into uncontrollable fits of laughter every time. I remember hearing another one from him where he says, “one plus one equals two but it could equal 11″ or something along those lines, and another where he remarks that if air was removed from the sky, birds would fall and so would planes.

He’s likable. He’s silly. Tout simplement. Just much sillier when he’s speaking French.

Knowing all of this about him now makes me appreciate him so much more and I am dying to see his new film called, JCVD, which is playing in theaters in France. It’s him playing himself but the movie is a fictional comedy. The teaser and trailer are hilarious, (The subtitles on the teaser are not that good, however.) and I think the movie is going to be great.

So. There you have it: why the French love JCVD so much. Well, they can’t continue the love for Jerry Lewis forever, can they? Maybe it’s time for someone new.

tags: france jean claude van damme jcvd aware

When you exit le Palais des papes (the Palace of Popes) in Avignon along Rue Peyrolerie (which is more of a ruelle), you will find yourself at Place Daniel Sorano, dedicated to the French actor, Daniel Sorano (1920-1962), probably most famous for his role in the 1960 film version of Cyrano de Bergerac (here’s an extract). The art painted on the building, a quasi trompe d’oeil features writers, actors and characters from plays, and it’s really unexpected when you see it for the first time. Avignon’s theatre is just around the corner.

This fun and kooky scopitone is from the 60s and is called, “Comic Strip” featuring Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. From what I can tell, Serge is beckoning Brigitte to come into his comic strip for some serious SHEBAM! POW! BLOP! and WHIZZZZ!

Click on the image to see the video at YouTube.

The Eurovision (the European annual talent show that has taken on a cult following)’s contestant from France is a guy named Sébastien Tellier. I like him; he’s fun and silly – though I’ve listened to the selected song and I have no idea what it’s about.

So, the big scandal in France is that he’s singing in English NOT in French. OMG!

So frickin’ what. The Belgian band, Ishtar, is singing in a non-existent language.

Anyway, that is sort of old news and I am a bit behind. However, when I watched the youtube video of “Divine,” the song he’s supposed to perform at Eurovision, I noticed something. Is it my imagination or is he not even in that video? Maybe, just MAYBE he’s in a couple of shots at most, but I don’t think that’s him lip syncing him – just other people wearing a wig and fake facial hair. Take a look at “him” at the pool. C’mon, that is totally not Sébastien Tellier. See, I told you he’s fun and silly!

Look.

This is what Sébastien Tellier looks like:

It made me wonder if Thomas Bangalter & Guy Man de Homem-Christo from Daft Punk actually perform in their own vids. It doesn’t really matter, I suppose.

But! Will the REAL Sébastien Tellier show up for Eurovision Belgrade (May 20) 2008? On verra.

Lumiere Technology digitized the Mona Lisa and describes the process.

Watch the video

Tags: paris, france, mona+lisa, louvre, art, videos, digitzing

Do most Americans even know who Tex Avery was? I’m not sure but the French sure know American cartoons and the people behind the cute characters from way back when. This year La Poste commemorates Tex Avery, a prolific American animator, cartoonist and director whose bold style broke away from the realism established by Walt Disney. Tex Avery would have been 100 years old today.

The French Post Office paid hommage to this great animator, and came up with the cutest postage stamps featuring Droopy, the mild mannered, monotone basset hound. Avery created Droopy in 1943 at MGM, which was originally called, “Dumb-Hounded.”

Everyone (I’ve asked) in France knows Droopy, and loves him. They’ll inevitably say, Droopy’s famous line in the most dreary, lifeless tone possible, “Vous savez quoi? Je suis heureux.” (You know what? I’m happy.)

Related: Stamps in France

I don’t know why I enjoying spying on other people’s wedding registries, but I do. Here’s what (previously) Cecilia Sarkozy now Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz Attias requested at Le Bon Marche:

List (a pdf file)

Or you can check on Le Bon Marche’s registry directly (Groom name: Richard Attias, Bride’s name Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, Marriage Date: March 23, 2008)

[via]

Can you imagine the First Lady of another country posing nude? *shudders!*

Here’s the ad that’s gotten Sarkozy’s undies all tied up in knots. The bubble above Carla Bruni’s head says, “With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding.” [Source: Daily Motion]

Watch the music video

From Fondation Cartier:
“The Fondation Cartier is hosting a major solo exhibition of the visual work of American artist and performer Patti Smith. Drawn from pieces created between 1967 and 2007, it strives to provide an insight into her lyrical, spiritual and poetic universe. Her expressive voice serves to magnify the installations created specifically for the exhibition: a synthesis of photographs, drawings and films.”

Land 250, named after Patti Smith’s Polaroid camera, will also showcase found objects (i.e., a stone taken from the river in which Virginia Woolf committed suicide), polaroids of items belonging to her former lover, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jimi Hendrix’s guitar and items owned by Arthur Rimbaud.

Smith has also produced a short film that explains her work in the gallery.

Lastly, she plans to perform at the museum, both alone and with guest artists, and she also will be giving informal poetry readings. She will be an active curator of the museum’s bookshop, which will be selling a newly published collector’s edition of her artwork.

Land 250, Patti Smith at the Fondation Cartier
261, Boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris, France
tel (+33) 1 42 18 56 50
March 28 to June 22, 2008
For more information visit the museum’s website: Fondation Cartier

Related: David Lynch’s work at Fondation Cartier,Ron Mueck in Paris

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From Reuters:

“French film maker Luc Besson is to make a full length movie inspired by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand‘s “Earth from the Air” images of the planet, French retailer PPR, the film’s sponsor, said on Monday.

The film, with the working title “Boomerang,” is intended to contribute to “raising awareness of the dire condition of our planet,” PPR said. It is due to be released on World Environment Day — June 5 — in 2009.

It follows in the wake of Al Gore’s Oscar winning “An Inconvenient Truth” and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The 11th hour.”

Any profits from “Boomerang” will go to a foundation set up by Arthus-Bertrand to promote sustainable development, PPR said.”

Why Travel to France is having weird technical problems, which should be fixed shortly. Regular posting should resume in the near future. In the meantime, here are some recent news items from France:

Jose Bove – started a hunger strike yesterday against genetically modified foods in France. A decision regarding OGM (GMO) in France should be reached by the end of the month. (article in French)

Free Cars in Paris? – the Mayor of Paris is proposing the introduction of Voiturelib’–2,000 electric-powered vehicles that subscribers can drive off without booking at dozens of sites, 24 hours a day, and then leave anywhere in the city.

No Smoking – France finally banned smoking in restaurants, bars and cafes effective January 1, 2008, which is a breath of fresh air!

Remember the EU Constitution France Voted Against? It’s here to stay (without the votes of EU countries) in the form of the Lisbon Treaty

Feminists in France have petitioned the French government to remove the title Mademoiselle or Miss from official administrative documents

France bans the word “E-mail” in government documents

U.S. expats facing tax ‘sticker shock’ - and Lousy Health Care to Boot

French Ministers get graded and evaluated, Sarkozy is exempt from being evaluated.

Calais Mayor Defies Sarkozy – A welcome center for asylum seekers heading to Britain from France was opened despite objections from the government.

Some Sarko Gossip FWIW from Time:

It was just two months ago that the French media shrugged off their curiosity about President Nicolas Sarkozy’s divorce from his wife Cécilia, and said they would not pry into the private life of their first-ever single President, nor care which women he chose to date.

Yeah, right. That cool vanished on Monday, with the unveiling of Sarkozy’s new love interest — the singer and former supermodel Carla Bruni, whose previous companions include Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. The conservative daily newspaper Le Figaro — which strongly supports Sarkozy — on Monday splashed a quarter-page photo of Bruni on its front page, which is typically reserved for dry political news, under the headline: “The president’s girlfriend.” Bruni’s photo appeared next to an article predicting a tough week ahead for Sarkozy’s reform program, over which trade unions are planning mass strikes. The President’s happier news lay tucked inside the “France Politique” section, where one half-page showed three more images of Bruni, 39, including one of her without trousers, her flawless bare legs crossed on a couch next to her acoustic guitar. Although the Elysée Palace has refused to comment on the reports, three national magazine covers will feature the new couple this week, according to the newspaper.

News of Sarkozy’s new relationship first broke on the website of the newsweekly L’Express. The magazine’s editor Christophe Barbier told a French television talk show on the weekend that Bruni, a friend of his, had told him that she was involved with Sarkozy. That confirmed mounting rumors that Sarkozy was not alone in his palace bedroom.

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These unique walking tour books will make great holiday gifts for the people passionate about Paris, its architecture, and history and who are interested in exploring places where famous writers, painters, kings and queens hung out in the City of Light.

Walks Through Napoleon & Josephine’s Paris allows you to see the Paris of today and yesterday, simultaneously. Not only can you visit some of the same shops and restaurants that the Emperor and Empress used to frequent, but you will also find yourself being sidetracked (time and time again) by other historical sites and famous places of today that you will inevitably pass along the way.

Walks Through Marie Antoinette’s Paris has photos that you may not have seen anywhere else, the information about Marie Antoinette is a history enthusiast’s treat. The size of the book, which adds to it’s charm, is suitable to take with you as it guides you along in the footsteps of Marie Antoinette.

The Impressionists’ Paris: Walking Tours of the Artists’ Studios, Homes, and the Sites They Painted allows travelers to venture beyond the museum walls and trace the footsteps of these great artists, including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Edouard Manet, just to name a few. Three city walking tours–surprisingly manageable considering the city’s size–cover not only the sites depicted in many of their paintings, but also the studios in which they worked, the buildings where they lived, and–this being Paris–the cafes in which they gathered.

The Historic Restaurants of Paris: A Guide to Century-Old Cafes, Bistros, and Gourmet Food Shops First sentence of the book: Marcel Proust, who was transported back to childhood with the taste of a tea cake known as a madeleine, was among the early regular customers at this chic salon de the that faces the Tuileries Gardens…

Walks In Hemingway’s Paris: A Guide To Paris For The Literary Traveler 7 walks take the reader to every Hemingway (and Fitzgerald) site in Paris. The walks include wonderful quotations from many of Hemingway’s novels, short stories, and his memoir of Paris.

Picasso’s Paris: Walking Tours of the Artist’s Life in the City Pablo Picasso’s presence still can be felt in Paris. Four walking tours follow the painter from the gaslit garrets of fin-de-siècle Montmartre to the Left Bank quarter where he sat out the Nazi Occupation. Both art book and travel guide, this pocketable volume identifies the sites where Picasso created some of his best-known masterpieces and describes his celebrated circle of friends, among them Gertrude Stein, Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, and Coco Chanel.

Literary Cafes of Paris Away from the tourist throngs, the reader can people watch and sip for literally hours reflecting upon Hemingway at the Brasserie Lipp, Picasso at the Cafe de Flore, Shirer at the Brasserie Balzar and so much more.

Walks Through Lost Paris: A Journey Into the Heart of Historic Paris chronicles Paris’s great periods of urban reconstruction through four walking tours. With a special focus on the work of Georges-Eugene Haussmann, this book provides a history of each site along with the motives behind the urban redesign and the reactions of Parisians who witnessed it. Detailed maps take you through a city whose changes were captured by photographers and artists in each stage. Hundreds of color photos, diagrams, and engravings splendidly survey the massive transformation that resulted in the Paris of today.

Quiet Corners of Paris 81 often overlooked, always beautiful, locales: hidden villas, winding lanes, little-known 19th-century passages, serene gardens, and cobblestone courtyards. Some of the places have breathtaking views, others are filled with historic and architectural details, from stone archways, garden follies, boxwood mazes, ornamental statuary, stained glass, and Renaissance fountains.

Is it my imagination or did Frylock leave Cartoon Network to pursue a singing career in France? Here’s a screenshot of Florent Pagny’s just released music video of
“La Chanson de Jacky” from the new CD, Pagny Chante Brel:

Here’s Frylock from Aqua Teen Hunger Force:

Watch the clip with Conan and James Lipton on YouTube.