French culture and life in France - Champs-Elysees Blog

What's it all about - Je t'aime, moi non plus

Tue, 26 May 2009 05:06:16 PDT

Birkin and Gainsbourg In a recent edition of Champs Elysées we had an interesting discussion on the Serge Gainsbourg-Jane Birkin song Je t'aime, Moi non plus, released exactly 30 years ago. I...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

The White Company

Mon, 11 May 2009 03:38:45 PDT

Bertrand du Guesclin No-one reads Arthur Conan-Doyle's historical novels any more, which is a great pity because they are great yarns. Of course Conan-Doyle was an imperialist in the Churchillian...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

The longest play

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:53:32 PDT

The Satin Slipper What can one say about a play that is 11 hours long? I refer to Paul Claudel's "The Satin Slipper" which has just been staged in its entirety at the Theatre de l'Odeon. The...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

So many films - so much rubbish

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:12:59 PDT

Adjani Why are so many French films such unremitting rubbish? Out of a sense of loyalty, I keep going to the cinema in the hope of being surprised -- but I so rarely am. Even the films one feels...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

Welcome to Calais

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:49:30 PDT

The poster for "Welcome" Talk of the town this week is the new film by Philippe Lioret called 'Welcome', which looks at the human drama unfolding at the northern port of Calais. That is where...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

Death of a great

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:37:35 PDT

Alain Bashung On Monday Liberation newspaper dedicated literally half of its edition to the death of a singer who no-one outside of France has heard of. I do not exaggerate. Banished was all...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

A man of his time

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:43:35 PDT

Did anyone comment on the recent death of an emblematic Frenchman of the 20th century? I refer to Max Theret, who departed this life at the end of February aged 96. Not exactly a household name,...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

Thank you Michael

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:06:25 PST

Michael Schofield I have never watched the American series "Prison Break", being more of a "Lost" man myself. However I do know that the lead character of PB goes by the name of Michael Schofield,...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

bruni and sarko

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:23:41 PST

It's all over the papers in France this morning, and it'll be all over the papers around the world tomorrow, so let me get my oar in quick. Sarkozy's new bint is the flute-voiced, feline ex-model...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

Porn Hell is X-rated

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:52:09 PST

The BNF's new show is x-rated A fulfilling morning at the Bibliotheque Nationale reading porn and (unusually) not feeling guilty. Here you can while away the hours looking at pictures of tumescent...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

More on the bike saga

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:38:40 PST

Bikes are not always welcome in Paris Following up on my last rant, here is the latest in the saga about how in the supposedly "green" 14th arrondissement things conspire against us bikers. You...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

I don't like Novembers, and why Parisians sometimes do suck

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:19:15 PST

I really do want to shoot the whole month down. November is hell in Paris. Every year it is the same. The mood changes, and all the petty-minded, semi-fascistic, ungenerous instincts of this...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

Sex and War

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:19:11 PDT

Sex and war at the army museum The Invalides military complex is a pretty fusty place. The armies museum, which occupies much of it, contains the usual assortment of captured Ottoman helmets,...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

Enormous!

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 04:07:55 PDT

Chabal Dashing off a quick blog so that I can get off my chest the incredible, mind-blowing, delirious and generally large-scale sense of joy at watching France beat New Zealand at rugby. It was...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.

The DNA row - racism or good sense?

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 05:33:26 PDT

Not for the first time in France, I find my moral compass spinning out of control as a result of a bitter row over immigration. It all starts with a recent proposal from the ruling centre-right to...

Champs-Elysees Blog - daily reflections on French culture and life in France, from writer and journalist Hugh Schofield. Visit the website to discover more.