Bridgers...

I recently wrote about the French ability to play around with their RTT in order to get the most out of the national labour legislation. Well if you are lucky enough to be based in France at that time, May is THE month to practice your skills.
As a matter of fact, the month of May is critical for two reasons in my home country:

1. On the contrary to the UK, every company has the same holiday year. I mean that any employee needs to spend his 5-week holidays within the June 1st-May 31st period. And you know how things go... You always wait for the last minute to get rid of your allowance, especially with the lovely sunny spring days coming up. This means that early May every worker realizes that he still have a few days off to take before the end of the month if he does not want to lose them... And so start the optimization.
2. There are in May a series of really appreciable public holidays: May 1st is off, so is May 8th... And suddenly the optimization becomes even more thrilling.

There is a even a specific terminology for these optimised holidays: we call that "Faire le pont" (literally, to do the bridge, to bridge). The concept is in fact very visual. Picture yourself in front of your calendar. Thursday is a public holiday. Saturday is the beginning of week-end. Great, you have two pillars to build your bridge. You just have to take your Friday off to enjoy a 4 day-week-end.

A viaduct? Well, as you may know a viaduct is a long bridge, so this is the same kind of holiday building skills that you need to action, except that you are forced to spend two days to link you Wednesday to your Saturday.

If you bear in mind these national skills and our competencies to demonstrate against any reconsideration of our existing public holidays, you suddenly understand why there is no point trying to get hold of someone in Paris in May: he is very likely to be off. Probably bridging in Normandy.

Chopping the carrot

Obsessive thoughts

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you are probably aware that my twisted mind tends to pick up weird combinations of food and sex. Where the British see harmless chocolates, I get good laughs about Mark&Spencers selling mini dicks on their shelves. Where Tesco thinks promoting bananas, I see encouragements for some playful (fruitful?) foreplays... That is the problem with French people, we are obsessive with what made our reputation. So imagine what happens when you had football to this explosive duo!

One step too far?

But I reckon that this obsession can be contagious and to certain extent...dangerous to the one not in the know. I indeed came across an article on the BBC website that reveals the story of some guy who, entering a restaurant, started mutilating himself with the kitchen knives. After several attempts, he eventually managed to chop his own penis off. Disgusting experience for the customers, especially for the veggies who had managed to stay away from the chipolatas on the menu...

But there is also a pinch of fun in this butchery. The dreadful event occurred in a specific restaurant that shades a very different light on the circumstances. The Italian restaurant the man chose for his self-amputation is part of a chain called Zizzi. Most of the French-speaking readers will start grinning by now. Is there more appropriate a place to cut your penis off than a restaurant called Zizzi... Especially when you know that in French this name signifies literally "willy"!

So, to cut a story... short, if I strongly recommend my readers to have French and cuisine classes, I also encourage each of you to avoid revising your exams the same day. Confusions could be painful.

Democratic marathon

On your marks, get set...

The heat is on. The sweat is pearling down faces. Thousands of contestants lining up into what seemed to be endless flow of human beings. And then finally 2h30 later the finish line, accompanied with the relief and joy of having achieved quite something unusual...


2h30' could have been quite a decent time if I were referring to a Marathon performance. But while some of the world most daring athletes were beating the tarmac, thousands of French voters were making their way to the voting box.

French Diaspora

If you live in London, and have ever walked through the South Kensington or Chelsea boroughs you are probably very aware of the great density of French citizens on the British soil. In fact, estimations evoke something along the lines of 300,000 Frenchies in the UK, of which 60% concentrate in Greater London. This means that UK capital is one of the ten first French cities in the world!!!

So imagine the entire population of a city the size of Derby converging in a few hours to a single point just to drop their ballot. You simply end up with a tremendous queue of cheese-lovers sharing their doubts about the political future of their country. Queuing is indeed a sort of national sport (well, in fact queue-jumping is).

So comparing voting with a marathon is anything but awkward, especially when both events are simultaneously happening in London. The major difference? Well, we are to go through the same efforts a second time in two weeks! Now, this is sport, isn't it?

So French.

Flip the coin.

France. The haute-couture, the riviera, the chic, the culinary arts, the champagne... But also its country-side, its gruesome farms, its striking labour forces, its kinky cancan dancers, its smelly cheeses!

Our country is Janus-like and these TV commercials for the poultry brand, Le Gaulois, capitalise on these two sided stereotypes. I must admit that I find the first one a bit basic, little appealing, and not very creative. However, I really like the second one as it works with an elliptical mechanic.

100% French chicken.

Some clarifications for the readers who have not been immersed in the favourable labour legislation. RTT stands for Recuperation du Temps de Travail (Recovery of Working Hours), and are days-off that are given to employees who cannot effectively work the legal 35-hour week. In other words, as a compensation to the extra hours that you spend behind your desk, you get a day or so per month.




The RTT have modified in-depth the life of the French workers. Imagine that you suddenly get 12 more days-off per year (my dear Canadian friends, with your mere 5 days, you must be dreaming of such a benefit, especially since they come on top of the regular 25 days!). Honestly, you rapidly get used to it... But how to spend them?

Busy free time.

Recent researches have demonstrated that my fellow-citizens have completely revised their approach of holidays since the RTT. Instead of opting for a 3-week long break in the summer, they tend to favour three-day long week-ends throughout the year. Obviously such a trend had a drastic impact on holiday resorts who have seen their profitable long-stay fall. On the other hands, hotels and tour operators have been developing new packages to cope with this new demand: three days in Rome, 4 days in Dordogne, 3-day induction to paragliding...

French (chicken) are no longer nesting at home: they have more spare time and intend to spend it well. It has become a full-time job to plan your free time, especially if you are not in the office on Fridays because of your RTT!

Mac-Tendo

Don't play with you stick...

I few days ago I wrote about the imminent release of the PS3... Now the heat is on among the video game aficionados. And the viral activity around each product is at its best. In fact, there seems to be some in-depth trends among the gamers about the benefits of each console. It tends to remind most of us the cultural rivalry between Apple and PCs...

Well don't wait any longer, because if you enjoyed the recent Get a mac campaign, you will love the following:

Jamie Oliver meets Beastie Boys

Music used to come from garages. Now it is mixed in the kitchen with proper blenders... Enjoy.

Spray the word

Paint, play, write... express yourself!

Recently I wrote about politicians behaving like stage artists... But the opposite is also quite true: art has indeed always been a magnificent vehicle of political engagement. Think of Dali with his painting about the Spanish civil war ; think of Emile Zola with his "J'accuse" article during the Dreyfus case ; think of Moliere, Voltaire and co. Artists use their skills to express intimate thoughts and feelings, and you are to admit that politics can easily tap in both categories, so no wonder that their art express their political consciousness...

The street is ours

In this article I wanted to focus on two contemporary street artists who share more than a graphic technique: Miss Tic in Paris and Banksy in London. Both can be qualified as engaged graffiti artists since both express their convictions through stencils on the walls of their own capitals (and beyond). Their artworks use a subtle blend of graphic design and wit to visualise some profound ideas: anti-capitalist, feminism, anti-war, anti-establishment or pro-freedom....

A feminist stencil by Miss Tic: "Of a mother, I only have the tongue" . For more of her art click here

An anti-capitalist stencil by Banksy. For more of his art click here and here

I find extremely interesting to see that on both sides of the Channel, two artists are having a similar subversive approach. In a world of consensus and political correctness, I like the fact that some people out there provoke reactions by pointing out the flaws of the system in a nice, witty, visual... way.

And it changes the way you approach a city. Since I came across the first Banksy stencils, I have been walking around London looking for the next one. They are always brilliantly located, taking full advantage of the surroundings. Alternatively, if you are not keen on walking around with your eyes staring at brick walls, you can always opt for a retrospective book... I can only recommend this volume which is not only inspiring and thought-provoking but also a nice coffee-table object.

So come on, reveal the urban guerrillero that sleeps in you and spray out the word!

Update 31/03/07: in order to maintain some sort or parity between France and the UK, I wanted to refer to an article that presents the French scene of street artists. It is to be read in Colour of Bohemia. Thanks Lisa for this insightful coverage.

Downhill or down-ill?

In France during the 70s energy crisis, an advertising was widely spread on the TV screens to cheer up the masses: "En France, on n'a pas de pétrole, mais on a des idées" (In France, we might not have oil, but we have ideas). Well in London, they might not have mountains but they have... tubes! Two videos found on YouTube to illustrate the rich potential of these stations. How and by the way: "Mind the gap!"

You'll never EAT alone...

While Liverpool fans chant their support to their football team, others let their stomach sing the anthem of their beloved Alps... "Grrrrrrmblllll".

But, just like with Ulysses' sirens, if you listen to your belly's refrain, you may end up in hazardous areas. So, attached to the mast of my ship, the Weight Watcher's, I resisted the call of this enchanting dish when I sailed by Hammersmith Sunday market...

And as the exiled king, I triumphed again from the Gods (as I wrote it here already, Tartiflette is indeed truly divine) and passed my way. And so on goes the Odyssey. Or shall I call it the Odietsey?

Quote of the day

"Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own."
Johann W. von Goethe (1749-1832)

And with this, let me wish... allem una bellissima journée.

Comedia del Arte Politico

Elections. Scene 3. Take 1

I remember the first time I was said Ronald Reagan was an actor before becoming the US president I knew. What a choc for me who is from a country where all the politicians tend to come from the same background! A unique post-grad school, the ENA (Ecole Nationale d'Administration), where the future France elite is taught the art of politics. An actor studio where you endorse an ideological role: Pipo the socio, Crystal the Liberal...

In May my fellow-citizens and I will be voting for our next president. So the circus is on the road again. Like every 5 years, the same recurring discussions are coming back in the spotlight: the traditional impossible campaign promises but also the non-sense of having a somehow hermetical political class. We call that the "pensée unique" syndrome (Unique Thought). Politicians go to the same school, sit on the same benches, attend the same lectures, listen to the same teachers... That obviously prevents from refreshing the way the problems are tackled and can only lead to a status quo.

The political circus.

Of course this is a caricature, a farce. This season, we also have a mailman, a business man and an organic farmer who try to play a role on this political scene. But let's face it, even if they manage to have a word or two in the debates, the lead roles remain in hand of the above-mentioned.

So shall we look at the US and their American dream? Once upon a time a western actor, a real one, becomes a US President. And why not a barbarian next? Having said that, I am not sure that it is any better... But this could really happen, that is the beauty (or the frightening thing) about this country: anything can happen. But, hey, after this, you will not be able to say that you had not seen it... coming.

A new Golgotha?

A few hours to go

In a few hours the long-awaited Playstation 3 will finally hit the European markets. It is amazing how such a product release is turned into a massive event. In France, for instance, MTV Group has announced that it will provide a 24-hour nationwide coverage through its MTV and GameOne channels.

In fact, Playstation with its tremendous market penetration has become more than a product. It is now a trans-generational, transnational totem with faithful crowds all around the planet. Instead of a late night prayer to prepare their spirit for the next day match as you can see in some old reportage, nowadays pro footballers prefer to meet around their electronic altar to reiterate their performance on the digital fields. And this altar is branded with a P and a S (although it has nothing to do with Dan Brown's Priory of Scion).

But recently the other schism, the Nintendoism, has reshuffled the gamers' religion with its Wii (Funny enough, in French men use their "little Jesus" to wee, so my religious metaphor seems to have deeper roots than it seems).

Video worshipers

The Wii has indeed outsold the PS3 wherever the later was available. So I am looking forward to seeing if the PS3 will manage to create the same enthusiasm as its predecessors. I still have a vivid image of news reports showing massive queues and crowds fighting to get their device for the previous releases.

To a certain extend this TV commercial was just a repeat of the real life events:


But we are now just a few hours away from the first sales, the first market response, the moment of truth... I can picture the Sony marketing team sitting in its boardroom, holding hands, praying for the success of their marketing efforts. Would they be crucified shall they fail?

Toilet-centric vocabulary

OK, this is probably because I am having a shitty day - working on an uninteresting topic, having to iron two dozens of shirts, getting along with a damn cold... that I suddenly realised some language oddity.

In French, when something pisses you off... well, you don't piss. However it remains close. The "proper" expression is "ça me fait chier" (it makes me defecate).

I must admit I prefer the English expression, especially since I have discovered this website. In a few clicks, you can travel around some of the weirdest urinaries in the world. Like this one:

So to be honest, with such toilets you can still be pissed off, but at least happily.

Patrioticons

Iconic or patriotic

Emoticons are having a great momentum these days among the instant messenger providers. MSN offers you some packs, yahoo! counter attacked with its own...
When I received the above GIF in one of my friends' automatic signature, I freaked out. Emoticons are supposed to give more warmth to a cold electronic communication. In other words, to insufflate some feelings in 0 and 1 environment. But this series of emoticons is just too much for me. What feelings are they supposed to convey? Patriotism? National pride? I doubt that a Napoleicon triggers any feelings for instance. And what is this beret wearing guy intends to do by sniffing his baguette like a Romeo y Julietta?

Sympathicon

Seriously, these images are just symptomatic of stereotypes used to summarize other cultures. I have talked about this at length (here and here for instance), but for me stereotypes are simply the pauperisation of culture. So yes, these emoticons ultimately trigger a feeling for me: pity.

Picture me...

I have not been as prolific as usual on my blog these days, mainly because I have been busy with my new job, and because I tend to spend quite some time on FlickR:

This blog is about my perception of what occurs around me and strikes my attention. If you enjoy what I write, you might be interested in my pictures... After all they are the literal expression of this personal "perspective".