French car commercials will soon urge buyers to reconsider driving

Jan 14, 2022
Automakers will have to include language that suggests consumers take public transportation or bike or walk, especially for shorter trips.
In France, car commercials will need language that encourages consumers not to drive.
Tanya Rozhnovskaya via Getty Images

For these barrels of wine, it's "merroir" ... not "terroir"

Aug 30, 2021
A French entrepreneur is using a method to ferment wine barrels in ocean waters.
Emmanuel Poirmeur, a winemaker, samples a glass of wine that fermented in big, white barrels under the sea.
John Laurenson

France’s budget electric vehicle looks like a toaster and is sold like one, too

Jul 21, 2021
Citroën's "mobility object" is a small two-seater — think of it as a four-wheel moped. No driver's license required.
The new all-electric urban vehicle named 'Ami' by French carmaker Citroen is taken for a test drive for the purposes of a photo illustration in the Place le la Concorde on 23 September 2020, in Paris, France. Citroen's Ami falls into the quadricycle category, and can be driven without a license in France from the age of 14.
Photo by Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images

Eau de livestock, anyone?

Apr 26, 2021
France has passed a law to protect the sounds and smells of the countryside as a way to preserve French heritage.
A new law protects France's "sensorial heritage" — its smells and sounds, including those that have provoked lawsuits by annoyed rural residents.
Jean-Francois Monier/AFP via Getty Images

French farmers protest taking meat off Lyon school lunch menu

Mar 30, 2021
Green Party Mayor Grégory Doucet says adopting a single meatless menu helps to make social distancing easier during COVID-19.
Farmers protested the meat ban with a banner reading "Stop ideology in our plates."
Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images

Monaco is seeing a boost in French visitors

Jan 4, 2021
French patrons are visiting restaurants and other establishments that remain open in the small, neighboring principality.
A waiter wearing a protective face mask sets a table on the terrace at the Cafe de Paris as restaurants and cafes reopen in Monaco in June.
Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images

The luxury short-term rental market finds its niche

Oct 22, 2020
A market for people who are seeking select properties, and who are willing to pay the price. Concierge and helicopter service, anyone?
The owner of the Fort du Petit, available for rent on Airbnb, walks in front of the 17th century military fortress in northwestern France.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Lourdes, dependent on pilgrims, sees economic downturn with pandemic

Oct 12, 2020
The pilgrims are only returning in small numbers compared with the 6 million a year who usually come.
Pilgrims stand in front of Our Lady of the Rosary Basilica in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes on May 16, 2020.
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

In France, outdoor mask requirements are seen by some as good for business

Sep 18, 2020
One community that adopted the requirements early says the change has been good for business.
A woman wearing a protective face mask walks on a street in the French city of Bordeaux, which has imposed stricter mask-wearing measures.
Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

In St-Tropez, the pandemic has muted the summer club scene

Sep 2, 2020
Many nightclubs have had to shut down or limit partying to outdoor areas.
Trying to get the party started at the VIP Room’s outdoors bar in St-Tropez. The club section is closed.
John Laurenson