French Culture Now

World's rudest hotel guests: Americans and French
Times. June 12, 2008
According to a new global survey of hoteliers, the world’s rudest hotel guests are Americans. The French came second in the least polite category of the Expedia-Harris poll of more than 4,000 hotel managers around the world.
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Corsican militants warn off rich French invaders
UKTimes. Jun 11, 2008
French celebrities who invested in plots of land on a stretch of virgin Corsican coast have been threatened by nationalist militants to stop building their luxury villas. Targets include Jacques Séguéla, a prominent friend of President Sarkozy, and Christine Ockrent, a television presenter and the wife of Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister. Corsican environmentalists have long protested French exploitation of the island’s virgin coastline.
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France Vexed at China travel Boycott
AFP. June 1, 2008
France has asked China for an explanation following reports that Beijing travel agents have been asked to stop promoting trips to France, said the foreign ministry. France is the most popular European holiday destination for Chinese tourists, with around 700,000 Chinese flocking to the country last year. Relations between France and China soured last month over the chaotic Olympic torch relay through Paris that was disrupted by human rights and pro-Tibet protesters.
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China urges French travel boycott
BBC. June 1, 2008
Beijing's official tourism body is urging tour operators to stop selling holidays to France, the French foreign ministry has said. The claim comes amid souring relations between the two countries after the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay. Thousands of pro-Tibet protesters disrupted the event last month, and managed to extinguish the flame. However Beijing said that it had "simply reminded Chinese tourists to be careful about their security."
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Cramped Monaco plans new district on stilts
Guardian. May 28, 2008
Monaco, the second smallest country in the world after the Vatican, has a problem: it has run out of space. Now it is launching a daring 10-year project to expand by building a new district out to sea, designed to boost the economy by attracting new residents, business and luxury tourists.
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France may breathalyse clubbers
BBC. May 17, 2008
France's cabinet is to hear a proposal to make breathalysers mandatory at late-night clubs and cafes from this summer. The ecology and health ministers are due jointly to present a draft decree that applies to all such establishments remaining open until 0200. Some 350 cafes and bars in western France have already run trials, Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said. The aim is to reduce road accidents among drunk drivers.
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French abbey now a luxury hotel
UKTimes. May 5, 2008
The fabled Abbaye de la Bussière in Burgundy has been purchased from the Catholic church and refurbished as a luxury hotel by British hotelier Clive Cummings who ran the Amberley Castle in Sussex. Three years and €6m on, the Abbaye provides monastic life reviewed and corrected for the comfort-seeking classes. There’s carved oak furniture, gourmet food, and enough drapes to decorate a coronation. It is set in the rolling , forested Burgundy countryside. Most of the great Burgundy vineyards are within spitting distance.
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Bridge from Jersey to France
UKTimes. May 2, 2008
Thousands of years after the Channel Island of Jersey separated from Normandy, new proposals intend to reunite it with the French mainland. Normandy is just 16 miles away and proposals to build a bridge between the two are creating excitement. A fuel pipeline, fibre-optic cable and wind farm would also be incorporated into the infra-structure. The bridge plan is costed at $2 billion, and modelled on similar projects linking Sweden and Denmark.
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Hiking in the French alps
UKTimes. May 1, 2008
Stretching more than 500 miles, from Monte Carlo in the west to Austria’s Wienerwald in the east, the European alps encompass an extraordinary range of landscapes. Here’s a guide to the best French Alpine hiking for families, adrenalin junkies, spa lovers, wildlife lovers, and golfers.
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Air France raises fuel surcharge
Money.com. April 25, 2008
Air France, a unit of Air France-KLM, said it is raising its fuel surcharge by 10 euros per flight segment on long-haul flights, 4 euros per segment on medium-haul flights and 2 euros per segment on short-haul flights from France, starting today.
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Sleepy, charming Poitiers
UKTimes. April 20, 2008
Poitiers is a small provincial capital which nestles in west-central France. The place had its moments in the Middle Ages, as base to Eleanor of Aquitaine’s court, which supplied a framework of outstanding buildings along the noble (if narrow) streets. It is home to the Futuroscope theme park. It is largely unnoticed. It doesn’t care.
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Europe clears mobile phones on aircraft
BBC. April 14, 2008
Mobile phone calls will be allowed on planes flying in European airspace at an altitude of 3,000m or more under new European Commission rules. It follows six months of consultation by the European regulator and the first services could launch next month. The EU telecoms commissioner, has warned operators to keep the cost of calls made on planes at a reasonable level.
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Lovely Remote Gascony
SanFranciscoChronicle. April 14, 2008
The beauty of Gascony is that you often have the most amazing places all to yourself. Here you can experience la France profonde - a part of the country that feels untrampled, untrafficked, unspoiled and authentically French. Encircled by more-renowned regions, Gascony is gentle farm country of peace, quiet, a string of bastides (heavily fortified medieval villages) unique to France, and places in which to privately touch the essence of the country.
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Air France allows in-flight mobile phone service
Forbers. April 8, 2008
Air France and OnAir have launched a trial of full in-flight mobile phone services, including voice calls, SMS and email on an Air France aircraft operating on routes in Europe.Passengers will need to have a roaming agreement in place, and will be charged as normal by their mobile phone operator for the service.
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France opens a new sailing museum
WebinFrance. April 8, 2008
Cite de la Voile (City of Sailing in English), named after Eric Tabarly, a French sailor lost at sea, opened to the public this past weekend. The wave-shaped modern building covered with solar panels, designed by French architect Jacques Ferrier, welcomed over 1,300 its first weekend of operation.
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