cafebabel.com

Odd ode to Eric Cantona

('Andrew Burgess',) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:21:04 -0000

The Olympic Marseille football club is beginning to form a reputation as the starting block for 'wannabe presidents'. Following in the footsteps of George Weah and his candidacy for the presidency in Liberia, it’s now the turn of Eric Cantona to make his ambitions for high office known, writes one French blogger, 'ASL'

Spain, country in a (property) bubble

('ckb',) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:38:45 -0000

Dearest European neighbours: I am sorry to inform you that the crisis in Spain does not have anything to do with the crisis in your countries. Our case is not simply rooted in 'structural problems', as it were, but literally in cement

France's 'war on criminality' aside, focus on Parisian Roma in 'social insertion villages'

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:19:08 -0000

Four years after their creation in Europe, 'social integration villages' are being presented as a 'Roma paradise'. European associations for minority protection expose some of the difficulties facing the most discriminated community in the EU. Meanwhile, the French government has since planned to dissolve 300 Roma settlements, whilst the UK is seeing its biggest Romany gypsy site, Dale Farm in Essex, bulldozed

Paris suburbs: cliche piled upon cliche

('James Friscia',) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:17:48 -0000

It's a common European stereotype to define the French suburbs by their one-time violent rioting. But those events took place five years ago. On a visit to the 'banlieue' of Paris today we meet three residents who tell their story - a father-of-three, a social worker and a budding regional election hopeful

Italian far-right on Facebook: 'kill them all in Zingonia'

("naomi o'leary",) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:45:00 -0000

On Facebook, the group ‘Let’s invade Zingonia and kill them all’ has gathered 700 members. Volunteer teacher Miriam talks about how spiralling anti-immigrant rhetoric is making life difficult for Italy’s new arrivals

Riots in Latvia: the dream of a fast buck is over

('Andrew Christie',) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:39:45 -0000

During Latvia’s economic miracle period many people lived beyond their means. Now it is payback time. 14 January saw the fraught situation in the country escalate. A mass demonstration against the centre-right government ended in violent rioting; 'everything is not ok'

Paris: squats in Europe's second most expensive city

('Alison Matthews',) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0000

Amidst an explosion of rental prices, the Macaq organisation squats unoccupied buildings to bring the lack of student housing into the public eye

Paris suburbs: 'place of exile'

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

'Banlieue' is the colloquial reversal of 'lieu du ban', literally, 'place of exile'. In the French suburbs, out of work labourers are holed up in prison-style buildings, along with their children, to whom they pass on their despair

Homeless in Paris

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:00:00 -0000

High rents, fierce competition - just a couple of difficulties that 100, 000 people in Paris face when looking for accommodation

Eco-suburbs: Vauban, Freiburg

('Sarah Gray',) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

The district in south-west Germany is a pioneering development that puts into action innovative rules for communal living in a unique environment. But this paradise of purity is not without its faults

Financial crisis: ECB decision time

('G. Ring',) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0000

US mortgage crisis. On 6 September the European Central Bank choose between reducing interest rates or arresting inflation in Europe-27, and are keeping the official rate on standby

Czech homeless get on board

('Rebecca Caulfield',) — Tue, 15 May 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Prague has installed a new boat as a shelter for homeless people - the people left behind by modernisation within the country

Fortress Bulgaria: gated communities

('Ed Saunders',) — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:00:00 -0000

Wealthy families in Bulgaria are using gated communities to protect themselves from the poor majority

Alternative lifestyles: 'I came to Amsterdam to live in a squat'

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:00:00 -0000

In the 1980s, a political movement of squatters changed the face of the Dutch capital. Today, young apolitical Eastern Europeans are joining the squatter movement

Montenegro goes on sale

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:00:00 -0000

For years the unspoiled beauty of Montenegro used to be the best kept secret in Europe. Now the sights of old Venetian squares, spectacular mountains, bays, sandy beaches are once more a favourite destination for globe-trotters around the world