The Local France

6 days ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

Monday Paris Air Show - fans of all things airline related will be headed to Le Bourget for the annual Paris Air Show this week. Philosophy bac - the French baccalaureate exams get underway, so if you have any 17/18 year-olds in your life they're likely to be looking quite stressed for the next few weeks as they contemplate these crucial end-of-school exams. As is usual, the exams begin with the Philosophy paper, which this year takes place on June 16th.

2 weeks ago | thelocal.fr | John Lichfield

In 1894 an obscure Jewish French army captain was falsely convicted of espionage and treason. Alfred Dreyfus spent five years alone in a cage on Devil’s Island in the French Caribbean before he was pardoned and finally rehabilitated in 1906.  For many decades “the Dreyfus case” divided France. To the Catholic fundamentalist, antisemitic and ultra-patriotic Right, his guilt – no matter the lack of evidence - became an article of patriotic faith.

3 weeks ago | thelocal.fr | John Lichfield

We seem to be going through a period of “peak France”. Farmers with €200,000 tractors besieged the National Assembly this week; taxis blocked roads all over France. A pro-farmer law, scrapping some environmental rules, was rejected by the Assembly on Monday. So the farmers were furious? No, they were delighted and took their tractors home. Taxi unions won concessions from the government at the weekend. So the taxi-drivers were delighted? No, they were furious. The blockades continue.

1 month ago | thelocal.fr | John Lichfield

The French centre-right changes leaders as frequently as it changes names. According to Les Républicains, or whatever the movement is fleetingly called, each new beginning promises the resurrection of “Gaullism” as France’s dominant political force. The latest Messiah of the centre-right is Bruno Retailleau, 64, who started in politics as an anti-Gaullist and an extreme anti-European nationalist.

1 month ago | thelocal.fr | Emma Pearson

Inside France is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.