For movie-lovers, France may be among the top favorite places to be, as France is among the countries that have the largest art-house movie theaters! They usually focus on noncommercial movies or new and talented movie directors . But you may be more surprised to hear that in most (if not all!) of these theaters, food or drink is not allowed! Good or bad? It's for you to judge. However, not drinking or eating allows for these small institutions to respect their philosophy of protecting the seventh art and the ones who enjoy it. By not sitting through a movie while hearing popcorn or snacks crunching or slurping and other drinking noises, the feature presentation is more enjoyable. It sure seems that France takes the art of... Show more

France takes their art quite seriously, we can be safe to say. That being the case, actors, musicians, and artists have quite a special situation in France, which is quite beneficial for their art; as the government allows them to receive an income through the unemployment fund in France. This specific status is called "intermittence," and it provides them with advantageous benefits. To claim this unemployment financial help, an artist must work a minimum of hours within ten months (it used to be one year, but has recently changed). Once the artist has met this hour threshold, the unemployment fund (ASSEDIC) will pay the artist the following year for the value of the work he or she accomplished. For example, if the artist... Show more

It is widely known that France has a beautiful culture and language, but did youknow the historical reason why French is a 'romance Language' is a result of wars and invasion? French language primarily descends from Latin, the language of the ancient Romans, and thus belongs to the 'romance' Language group. The Romans were a strong empire that once invaded the actual French territory, which was known as La Gaule; where numerous tribes speaking le Gaulois (Gaulish) composed of Celtic dialects inhabited La Gaule. Some traces of Gaulish influence are still present in the French spoken today; for example, these traces include the Gauls' ancient and unique way of counting people by twenty. (in modern French, we still have... Show more

It is always useful to know the slang for "money" in a foreign language, if only not to get ripped off and to understand when people talk about what is in your wallet...  So many different ways to say "money" in French! Those greedy French.  Before we get to those words I would like to mention a French argot specialist. His name is Michel Audiard and even if you probably never heard this name before, you need to know that he is one of France's pride. Michel Audiard (Born in 1920, died in 1985) was a famous screenwriter who is known for his acid, humorous, and "argotique" writing. And, if you happened to watch movies written by Michel Audiard, you surely came across  a multitude of French money-related slang. If you would like to... Show more

Have you ever heard of the word l'argot? You might have heard of it as being the French slang. Well, it is true to some extent. But there is more to l'argot than just being slang.  Today we'll introduce you to one argot French word. But before we do, let's talk about what l'argot really is. The initial meaning appeared in the XVIIth century in France to generally designate professional thieves, beggars and  bohemians.  This group of people was literally called l'argot. The word evolved to later designate the language used by this group of people. Just like any social group, they would use a vocabulary that would only exist among themselves. Now, having their own language not only identified each other as a group, it also allowed... Show more

A l'abordage! Aboard! Or, as Captain Hook says : "To the ship!" For the first time in France, the very young Parti pirate de France (Pirate Party of France) will present a candidate for a legislative election. On September 20th, Maxime Rouquet, 23 years old, will run for deputy in the Yvelines' 10th circumscription's election, in the hopes of being seated in the National Assembly among the experienced veterans of the political profession. Now, what is the French Pirate Party? Should we be worried? Should we watch our river banks? Should we avoid the Mediterranean coast? No, no, no, there is no such thing as boat looting on the coasts of the country that established human rights. As you might have guessed, the Parti pirate de France... Show more

Here is a post for our advanced students. It is going to be in French only. If you feel like you need a translation, please leave a comment and we'll fix that! Voici un article pour nos étudiants avancés. Ou plutôt…voici un jeu pour nos nos étudiants avancés!   Vous avez déjà certainement entendu parler du Logo Rallye. Non? Là, vous vous dites: mais qu’est-ce qu’elle raconte? Le Logo Rallye est un jeu littéraire inventé par le mouvement de l’OuLiPo – Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle. Et là vous vous dites: L’Ouli-quoi?? Commençons donc par le commencement. En 1960, Raymond Queneau, poète et écrivain français, fonde avec François Le Lyonnais, un mathématicien, français lui aussi, l’Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle. Ce groupe... Show more

Our idiom today is: "Il n’y a pas le feu au lac" "No need to rush"   Growing up in Southern France I would hear that idiom a lot. Why Southern France? Because that’s where things go slowly. That’s where the turtle is considered one of the fastest animals…that’s where you take the time to enjoy every minute of your free time while doing pretty much nothing. That’s where impatient Parisians are driven crazy.   See? I am from Southern France and it takes me forever to get to the point here!   But wait…What does “Il n’y pas le feu au lac” mean exactly?   It literally means “The lake is not on fire”, which I find to be a very clever way to say “No need to rush”. Don’t you think it’s clever? I wonder who came up with that one.... Show more

French style, French idioms, French theatre, French fries, French politics, French chauvinism, French cinéma, French language, French strikes, French hair products, French news, French Antiques... There will be French. 1 post a week on the FrenchPod101.com blog is how we'll start it. 1 post a week, donc. Some will deal with linguistic matters, some will discuss your future trip to France, some will let you  know about French events, some will share anecdotes à la française, some will fill up your bookshelf with new literature... Oh, that's right: who am I? I am Virginie. And oh yes I am French. I am the one who says But of course! and Sacrebleu!. I am the French Ambassador to FrenchPod101.com. But...who are you? Well... Show more

The Roman Catholic faith recognizes the Assumption of Mary as their customary belief that the Virgin Mary was taken up to heaven physically after her death. It is believed that Mary’s body and soul underwent a unification process and was then transported into the heavens. The Assumption of Mary became a day of feasting in celebration of the return of Mary to the heavenly realm. For those who celebrate this festival on August 15th of each year, it is a holy day of their obligations to their faith. The Roman Catholic and Christian Orthodox believe that Jesus’ promise that he would go away and prepare a place for his disciples and come back again to receive them into glory, was also referring to Mary’s entrance into the heavens. ... Show more