FRENCH NEWS - in English of course. Politics, sports, reviews, travel, a slice of life in France and stories you might not necessarily be able to find elsewhere on the Net.
It hasn’t been easy to find a video to accompany this week’s Friday’s French music break that isn’t, well, almost semi pornographic.
Little wonder really given the title, feel and not exactly concealed sexual nature of the song.
But hey.
It’s worth sharing because “Don’t be so shy”, the latest single by former French model Imany (Nadia Mladjao) and remixed by Moscow-based House and Deep House DJs Filatov & Karas (Dmitry Filatov and Alex Osokin) to become an upbeat European-wide hit which has topped the charts in several countries, is both contagious and a sumptuous delight.
This version (you can listen to it here) of “Don’t be so shy” combines class of her sublime and evocative voice with the remix which does the song complete justice.
The song originally featured on the soundtrack of the 2014 film “Sous les jupes des filles” (or “French woman”) and you can hear an excerpt towards the end of this trailer (yes, you’re really being treated to three different versions of the same song this week).
This isn’t the first time Imany has featured on Friday’s French music break (FFMB).
Back in 2011, she exploded on to the French music scene with her debut single, “You will never know”, a song which brought parallels with US singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman and had both commercial and critical success.
Enough words though.
As ever, FFMB is all about the music and the artist - sometimes good, sometimes bad.
Or in this case…excellent.
And here’s Imany with an acoustic version of "Don't be so shy" recorded in the studios of RTL radio.
Now you would think she might have learned her lesson from her Olympic gaffe last year.
Remember how Fourneyron appeared on (French) television during the games in London to outline the vast range of events from which there were to choose as she "entertained" this country's president, François Hollande, during his visit?
So "on the ball" (to use an inappropriate sporting chliché) was Fourneyron that she managed to muddle fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic's discipline...deciding she could best be seen on the tatami.
An easy mistake to make as Flessel-Colovic had previously only won five Olympic and 12 World Championship medals and, in London, was France's official flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Well, the woman with a background in sports medicine, and therefore clearly with her finger on the proverbial pulse of her governmental portfolio, chose at the weekend "to boldly go" (let's split the infinitive in time-honoured Star Trek tradition) where no right-thinking minister should choose to go - Twitter.
Yes, Fourneyron plumped for social networking to congratulate France's only gold medallist at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, triple jumper Teddy Tamgho.
The only problem was that emotions clearly got the better of the minister as she tweeted her excitement.
"Thierry Tamgho won the first gold medal at the Athletics World Championships," she tweeted.
"A breathtaking performance."
Teddy Tamgho, World Championship triple jump gold medallist, Moscow 2013 (screenshot France Télevisions)
Er "Non, mais allô quoi" to quote that great French ("celebrity") commentator of our times, Nabilla Benattia.
Thierry Tamgho?
Who's that then, Teddy's twin brother.
Teddy Tamgho, World Championship triple jump gold medallist, Moscow 2013 (screenshot France Télevisions)
Fourneyron realised her lapsus...er clavis...but not in time to prevent a flurry of Tweets poking fun at her mistake.
Now what gems could Fourneyron have in store for us next year should France qualify for the World Cup (soccer this time) in Brazil? That's if she's still in the post of course.
France 2 can give itself a well-deserved pat on the back.
Its prime time news is once again flying high (so to speak) in the television ratings (handbags at dawn scenario).
Helpfully for those in France who might have a tendency to forget certain things or find televison schedules confusing, both TF1 - the country's main private channel - and France 2 (public TV) broadcast their flagship news at exactly the same time every evening - 8 pm.
Right now there are stand-ins for the regular weekday anchors who are taking a well-deserved summer break.
Julien Arnaud is filling in for Gilles Bouleau on TF1 while over at France 2 another Julian - but this time with an "a" as in Bugier - is keeping the chair warm for the regular host David Pujadas.
And Bugier seems to be doing a great job because France 2 news has just achieved a "record rating" (or at least the highest since March 2013) with 4.4 million viewers tuning in for Monday evening's edition.
Part of the reason probably is the "show" immediately preceding the news.
France 2 has the rights to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, and Monday evening was one of the highlights (for the French) with the country's Olympic champion pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie going for gold.
To the disappointment of those watching and the suitably OTT and annoying commentator Patrick Montel, Lavillenie only managed silver.
But the other most likely reason for the upswing in ratings is Bugier himself.
The 32-year-old is personable, professional and...as these things clearly matter in a visual medium - has a face definitely made for television.
Julian Bugier - he looks good even in blurred screenshots (from France 2)
Bugier, you might remember, was the anchor who put journalist Robert Ménard firmly in his place about his opinions on the death penalty during an exchange when both men were working for i>Télé back in 2010.
He joined France 2 in July 2011, firstly as the stand-in (or "joker") for the weekend anchor Laurent Delahousse when he was away, and then two months exchanging roles with Marie Drucker to become the replacement for Pujadas when the regular anchor was on leave.
It has been one of those stories whose legs have surely proven that it has more than runs its course.
Gérard Depardieu's decision last December to buy a house in Belgium has taken on proportions that perhaps not even the most enthusiastic of spoof writers could have imagined.
But as with much seemingly silly news - albeit with serious undertones - the media is keeping it going...and going...and going (when will it be gone?) .
And the main protagonist is of course playing his larger-than-life role like a real pro.
"I have a Russian passport, but I remain French and I will probably also soon have dual Belgian nationality," Depardieu told the new French sports channel L'Equipe 21.
"If I had wanted to avoid paying taxes, as the French press keeps reporting, I would have left France a long time ago."
Meanwhile Brigitte Bardot - another great Gallic cinematogapraphic treasure - has threatened to jump upon the same Moscow express as darling Gégé unless two sick elephants at Lyon's Tête d'Or zoo are allowed to live.
"Baby" and "Nepal" both have tuberculosis and are considered a danger by the authorities to the zoo's other animals and visitors alike.
BB - Bardot that is - wants to save them and unless she gets her way, she's warning she'll pack her bags and move to Moscow (that's paraphrasing at its most lazy).
Now, all kudos to Bardot for her animal rights campaigning (if not for her political tendencies), but it's another media yawnathan - and besides, where's the proof that she carries the same sort of heavyweight clout with Russia's democratically (cough, splutter - excuse us all) leader as dear Gégé?
Finally (except it's hard to believe it really is) Hallelujah! Enter stage left - but not as quite far left as he used to be, Dany le rouge - aka Daniel Cohn-Bendit.
Now you might not agree with his politics, but there's no doubt that Cohn-Bendit has proven himself down the years to be a man of principle: one who speaks his mind, doesn't practise the fine political art of langue de bois and thus will probably never really make it to the highest seat of power. Not that such a position is necessarily among his ambitions.
Besides he's a committed European - which means we have to forgive him for many of his faults as it's clear it'll never make him sufficiently "popular" in any country in which the "national interest" is often played as the trump card.
Anyway, Dany - sorry, Cohn-Bendit - has had perhaps the best summing up of anyone so far in expressing his thoughts for both Gégé and BB.
At the weekend he was interviewed on BFM TV and, as you can hear from the video, didn't mince his words, calling them both "morons" whose careers were finished.
For Cohn-Bendit, Depardieu was a "fool" and in saying Russia was a "great democracy" showed himself to be "really sick and completely full of alcohol to say such nonsense."
As for Bardot...well, Cohn-Bendit was equally scathing. "And then the other one who wants to leave France to go to Russia: to go from Saint-Tropez to Siberia," he said.
"That would be great for her. She could spend every winter in Siberia in a concentration camp for example, or a prison."
Now, who else could apply for Russian citizenship?
In fact could we all join in and nominate people to dispatch to Moscow along the lines of a French version of the UK radio television programme "Room 101"?
There's no more emotional way of showing feelings than a kiss - is there?
Well not if you happen to be a football player where kissing a fellow player could be misinterpreted.
After all there's something of a taboo surrounding homosexuality in the so-called Beautiful Game, and although Uefa has thrown its weight behind national campaigns to stamp out homophobia, most would agree there's still a lot of work that needs to be done.
Just last month for example, Uefa was urged to take action over Real Madrid manager José Mourinho's apparent homophobic slur before his side's Champions League match against CSKA Moscow.
But that's all rather an aside to an event that occurred last week during a friendly international between Germany and France.
It concerned the 25-year-old Ligue 1 Montpellier striker Olivier Giroud, making only his third appearance for Les Bleus in a game which would see him score his first international goal.
Giroud netted the ball after another relative newcomer to the team, Mathieu Debuchy a 26-year old midfielder from the current French champions Lille, passed to him.
And what happened next was a clear show of camaraderie and excitement as the two men shared a full-on smacker.
Well from the camera angle it seemed to be more Giroud kissing Debuchy than the other way round.
It was a moment which, while it left the German commentators completely unfazed - as you can tell (if you speak the language) they just kept on talking, wondering how Germany would react...to the goal that is - seems to have plenty of "tongues wagging" on the Net.
Some of the headlines and comments were perhaps only to be expected and included phrases such as "French kissing" (yawn) or "Gay celebration" (even bigger yawn).
But any idea that the gesture was anything other than a complete expression of joy, especially on the part of Giroud, are surely wildly exaggerated.
Kissing another man in France - or in much of mainland Europe come to that - doesn't have the same sort of schoolboy-giggly innuendo it might have in say the United States or Britain.
It's just...well "normal" for want of a better word and definitely acceptable.
No big deal really and quite endearing - n'est-ce pas?
There has been no messing around by France in deciding who'll represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, that annual jamboree that brings together the very cheesiest of what Europe has to offer "musically" speaking.
France 3 television, which chooses the act every year - none of that ineffectual allowing the public to decide - has plumped for Indonesian-born singer Anggun.
The 37-year-old will carry the hopes of her adopted homeland when she takes to the stage in the final to be held on May 26 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, that country well-known to be at the heart of Europe.
Get hold of a map to see just how far east of most of the rest of the continent it really is.
Azerbaijan won the right to stage next year's contest when it beat all the other entries at Eurovision 2011 with the never-to-be-remembered "Running Scared" by duo Eldar & Nigar (Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal).
Anyway, back to Anggun, who's clearly as pleased as punch that she has been chosen.
"It's a wonderful present for someone like me who only became a naturalised French citizen in 2000," she told the national daily Aujourd'hui en France - Le Parisien.
"Without doubt I symbolise a modern-day France; a country that is a mix of races and cultures," she continued.
"When I was growing up the contest was always considered a bit tacky and rather old fashioned, but it's a great show and very important for many countries," she added.
"Secretly we all want to win. I'm going to shine for France."
Ho hum. Famous last words.
Choosing Anggun might well be considered strategically clever as she has had sizeable international success apparently.
You might not have heard of her, but plenty have according to her official website.
But the same sort of reasoning was behind the choice of Patricia Kaas when she sang the French entry in Moscow in 2009. Kaas only managed eighth place.
And then there was the fiasco that was such a "shitty finish" for last year's representative Amaury Vassili who for some inexplicable reason went into the competition as the bookmakers' favourite.
His dire "Sognu" could only manage a lowly 15th spot with a mighty 82 points.
Anggun told LCI television that she knew the responsibility that lay on her shoulders was a "heavy one" especially as the last time France won the contest was back in 1977 when Marie Myriam sang "L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant".
And of the song she'll be singing?
"It hasn't been chosen yet," she told LCI television.
Last weekend saw the arrival in the southern French city of Nice of the first direct train in almost a century linking Moscow with the Côte d'Azur.
Moscow-Nice express leaving the Russian capital (screenshot from YouTube clip)
Passengers disembarked after more than 50 hours aboard the Moscow-Nice express which left the Russian capital on Thursday, passed through five different countries and made 29 stops en route before reaching its destination just 30 minutes behind schedule.
Prices for the trip begin at €306 for an adult travelling one way in second class to €459 in first.
For those to whom money is no object, there's also the luxury tariff of €1,050 for a single ticket allowing passengers to travel in a compartment sleeping two people, complete with a shower and a flat screen TV.
For the moment the service operates once a week leaving Moscow on Thursday afternoon and arriving in Nice on Saturday evening and making the return journey on Sunday, arriving on Tuesday.
For those of you who don't like flying and have plenty of time on your hands, it's perhaps the perfect way to travel.
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