France
UK to Poland via France: hitch-hiking Europe
You could stay in a hotel in Egypt for a week. Or you can spread the same amount of money over a month and a half for a trip of an alternative kind: hitchhiking Europe. Here’s one way to do it, which included 30 drivers, volunteer work and new friends
france, money, backpacking, hospitality club, jazz, perpignan, budget
PIIGS unwelcome in the EU parlour: war of words rocks Eurozone
Despite Silvio Berlusconi’s dreams, the next member of the Eurozone is unlikely to be Israel; even Croatia or Turkey have taken a back seat. The current pan-EU squabble is over who should have been admitted to the eurozone in the first place
france, economical crisis, tower of babel, germany, economic growth, languages, portugal
How to make Polish potato pancakes
It’s cheap and available, warm and nourishing, omnipresent in most traditional European cuisines – but the starchy crop only hit the continent from South America as late as the 16th century
france, netherlands, poland, italy, cooking, potato, united kingdom
Fancy a degree from the university of Disney?
How about a stroll down Disney Boulevard, shopping in Disney outlet malls and finishing off with a cappuccino on Disney Square? Hell, you can even get your tonsils out in Disney hospital. The Magic Kingdom is building an empire of kitsch just 30 minutes from Paris, and for thousands of jobless Europeans it smells like opportunity
france, money, disney, labour market, paris, youth, business man
‘University mafia’ cut corners in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and France
On 1 February, a new rector was allegedly appointed to the Alexander Dubcek university of Trencin in western Slovakia, after a spate of corruption scandals forced his predecessor to resign. Fake diplomas are nothing new, but these events multiplied across Europe in 2009, with Miss Worlds and prominent politicians standing accused: how can such a reality be explained?
france, university, germany, slovakia, czech republic, students, eurogeneration
British authors in Paris on writing and Romania
Vivienne Vermes is working on an autobiographical piece, whilst Denise Larking Coste is about to publish a novella in French; both Brits are members of a writers group from called 'Babel'. We discuss life in Paris, writing and Romania
You’re getting on my goat
They say that the French are the biggest moaners in Europe, and it’s no lie! They have several expressions for when they need to let off steam. Whilst the Poles go into a 'white fever', the Spaniards ‘turn black’ – it's the saying of the week
france, tower of babel, germany, poland, spain, europe, expressions
'Erasmus is about discovering Europe'
Like many an old advertising cliché, the erasmus student exchange programme offers a ‘dual action’ experience. After the culture shock, the parties, the multinational encounters and the adventures across Spain, come the trips to visit new found friends, in all corners of Europe. This new European consciousness keeps us coming back for more
france, european identity, university, spain, erasmus, europe, friendship
Haiti earthquake survivors land in Paris
The first wave of survivors from Port au Prince landed at Paris Orly airport on 18 January, while hundreds of other flights are expected over the next few days. The earthquake that has destroyed Haiti’s capital has exacerbated the already appalling economic and political conditions that have marked the island over the past years - from the riotous overthrow of president Aristide in 2004 to the collapse of the government, lack of healthcare, string of hurricanes, and the enduring, rampant poverty
france, poverty, earthquake, natural disaster, paris, society
Discrimination: finding a place to live in Paris
Real Parisians know it all too well; even they need several months and an agency, usually, to find a home within the city limits, on the commuter belt of one of the 20 Parisian ‘arrondissements’ (administrative districts). But then how do foreigners fare in the cut-throat Parisian housing market?
france, university, flat hunting, erasmus, flat share, paris, expatriates
‘If I had to choose between sex and performing live with The Whitest Boy Alive...’
One day it was just computers. The next day, god brought instruments. Over the past decade, the Berlin-based band’s polyphonic electronic sound has translated into pure deprogrammed happiness for live dance fans across Europe. We hear the boys from Bergen, Berlin and Toruń out
Metro-run university of Paris 14 challenges French ‘anti-egalitarian’ education system
The newly formed university is a mobilisation of students, teachers and researchers who aim to liberate education from the over-arching confines of the ‘institution’. Participants Emile Gayoso and Quentin Lade on neo-liberalism, the Bologna process and giving classes on public transport
france, university, transport, teaching, independence, local autonomy, paris
The Wankin' Noodles, four boys from Rennes who sing about girls
Romain, Regis, Jean-Sylvain and Guillame went from being graphic design, cinema, information technology and literature students, to being backed by big names as France's latest post-teenage kicks band. Quick catch up with the twelve-eyed foursome at the Transmusicales festival in their hometown
france, bands, culture calendar, rennes, men and women, pop music, culture
Party burnout in Paris, so go to Berlin
'Sssssh, go in quickly,' whispers the bouncer of the electro bar 4Elements on the Place de la Republique. The lights are out in the flat above. It is 11pm, a Saturday evening in Paris. The one-time nightlife mecca of Europe is turning into a sleepy little town, a trend that threatens to continue
france, underground, lifestyle, dance, phil stumpf, nightlife, paris
Dominika Nowak: 'I want to stay unusual, even if I've had to become more commercial'
The designer untames convention with her 'Nunc' shoes, insisting that her furry fabric fantasies are made to be adapted to daily life. We discuss Paris-Krakow, fashion uglies and what it's like to go it alone as a one-woman brand at 27
france, university, poland, emancipation, fashion, business, paris
Magyd Cherfi: 'identity and national is a collusion that I don’t get'
Singing about these issues in concert is something of a déjà vu that the French singer and militant can do without, he says. Interview
france, multiculturalism, identity, magyd cherfi, immigration, illegal immigrants, culture
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