by Anne Swardson | Apr 28, 2024 | Architecture, France, Paris, Poverty
The façade of the Defense Ministry building on the Boulevard Saint Germain bears the holes and pockmarks of German bombing in 1918. It’s one of many reminders that wars have time and again been fought in France’s capital city. The ministry moved to a modern complex in... 
by Anne Swardson | Apr 14, 2024 | France, Paris
I’d been thinking about my friend Joel Stratte-McClure ever since I heard that some swimming events of the Paris Olympics will be held in the Seine. A river that, right now, contains “alarming levels of bacteriological pollution,” a nonprofit foundation said last... 
by Anne Swardson | Mar 17, 2024 | France, French, Paris
Reprinted with permission from The Washington Post. See below for a response from the grown-up Louise. October 5, 1997 PARIS — Less than a month into the French equivalent of second grade, my daughter has met the enemy and it is a fountain pen. Wrestling with... 
by Anne Swardson | Feb 5, 2024 | France, Panama, Travel
When a French person tells you’re they’re going to “Paname,” they don’t mean the country. For reasons that are in dispute, Paname is a slang word for Paris. While Charlie and I didn’t travel to Panama-the-country by mistake, we enjoyed seeking out the many French... 
by James H. Schwartz | Nov 13, 2023 | Architecture, France, French
Ahhh, the infinite joys of French. The irregular verbs! The exceptions to every règle! The rarely used (but aptly named) imperfect subjunctive! And, as Anne explored here in August, the veritable feast of words that strike native English speakers as vague,... 
by Chris O'Brien | Oct 31, 2023 | France, French, Paris
When preparing for my French citizenship interview, I had to learn all the major symbols of the Republic. La Marseillaise. Marianne and the Phrygian cap. The Gallic Rooster. One could even throw in the Fleur-de-lis. Or the Eiffel Tower. No matter which list I studied,...