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.

British bromance

There were a lot of serious topics discussed at the meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Rishi Sunak on Friday, but for much of the French media this was about a chance to go back to normal relations between neighbours and historic allies after the chaotic and tense relationship during the Boris Johnson years and the Liz Truss weeks.

I particularly enjoyed the front page of leftwing daily Libération ahead of the visit. My gran had some very similar souvenir mugs from the weddings of Prince Charles and Diana and Prince Andrew and Sarah back in the 1980s – I hope that’s not a bad omen for the Macron-Sunak relationship

A la une de @Libe ce vendredi :
Sommet Franco-britannique : contents de vous revoir

Lire : https://t.co/nj2k4mQp7h #Brexit pic.twitter.com/hHs8YaJQeL

— Libération (@libe) March 9, 2023

Protest

I’m afraid I had to laugh this week when a Parisian told me, with a completely straight face, that: “Since Macron, no-one can protest in France any more or you will be shot in the back. It’s unfortunate but that’s the way it is.”

On Tuesday an estimated 1.2 million people protested against the pension reform, so I think that statement is not quite true (although there is certainly a serious conversation to be had about police violence in France).

The pension reform bill continues to make its way through the parliamentary process, coming back to the Assemblée nationale next week ahead of a final vote on March 26th. It’s widely expected that strikes will reach a crescendo over the next two weeks with official actions such as walk-outs on the railways and unofficial ones like the rogue Edf workers cutting off the power to towns that elected ministers who back the reforms. 

Song of the week

As the country of my birth takes on the country of my residence this weekend in the Six Nations rugby match known as Le Crunch, I’ll have the opportunity to hear La Marseillaise as it should be sung – bellowed by slightly drunk sports fans.

The French anthem is undoubtedly a cracking tune, so much so that I also heard it sung by groups of distinctly convivial farmers in the wine tent at the closing at France’s biggest farm show last weekend. Can’t quite imagine that happening with God Save the King . . .

Thread of the week

We’ve written about this before at The Local, but French versions of English-language film titles are often a bit . . . weird. Especially when it comes to sex, as the below thread demonstrates.

for some *ridiculous* reason the french love to translate movie titles from english to… english

here's a thread with my all-time favorites, starting with "the hangover"

…i mean VERY BAD TRIP pic.twitter.com/YoPzIb0pq1

— juan (@juanbuis) March 8, 2023

Although the urban myth that The Matrix films appeared in France as Les jeunes qui traversent des dimensions en portant des lunettes de soleil (young people who travel in dimensions while wearing sunglasses) is sadly not true. In France it was simply Matrix, while in Quebec it was La Matrice.

Puns, sex and urban legends: How French film titles are translated into English

Birthday cake

And the Talking France podcast is back with a special first birthday edition.

Yes, it’s one year since we said ‘Let’s launch a podcast to cover the presidential elections, we’ll probably just do it for a couple of months’. We’ve branched out since then from politics to cover all aspects of French news and life in France – this week’s episode covers; strikes (of course), drought, Olympics tickets, France’s privacy laws and 3 French islands you really should visit.

Listen here or on the link below.

And if you want to hear even more of me talking, this week I am a guest on the Navigating the French podcast, discussing perhaps the most French word of them all – la grève (strikes).

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.