France

How a Frenchman in a ruined château poisoned western politics

Parisians embraced the Games – but it was a different story in one corner of rural France

All Olympics opening ceremonies that offer kulturkampf instead of pure spectacle suffer from the same regression to the tacky

More Belgian in its culture than French, the north has nothing on the western coast

If opera needs a way to entrance new, younger audiences, this production of Samson needs to get on the road

It is the utilitarian nature of crêpes, their accessibility and the fact they enjoy French ceremony that I adore

The opening ceremony felt like France reintroducing itself to the world, warts and all

Nude modelling has been an integral part of French art schools for centuries but now the models are demanding respect and status

He was only truly fulfilled when either in the air or writing about being in the air

Le Clarence trades in Parisian fine dining in its purest, truest form in matters of service and personality

The Olympic torch is ready to be lit. But this Games would not be happening without the efforts of undocumented, low-paid workers

The 1924 Olympics featured a future Tarzan, the men who inspired Chariots of Fire and a farewell to the man who created the modern Games.

French politicians promised the Games would benefit everyone but, once again, the Olympics are bulldozing over a city and its residents

Thanks to affluent tourists, the city’s heart and soul is being auctioned off

Nice is still celebrating Bastille Day in the shadow of the 2016 terrorist truck attack

Days after those election gains, squabbling over PM candidates makes it look as dysfunctional as ever

‘The Gay Girl from Gaul’ had a brief, traumatic – and wet – experience of stardom

‘It’s coming home’ isn’t meant to be brash, it’s about hope

French relationships with the environment are more practical compared with British attitudes, which tend to be more sentimental

Le Pen’s party is packed with Russia supporters – no wonder the Kremlin’s disinformation machine supported her

There is an undeniable note of envy that cuts through the French coverage of the UK election

Most of France celebrated the defeat of Marine Le Pen last Sunday. But the price of victory will be chaos

Politics doesn’t always go your way, so it’s important to drink it in when it does

Le Pen and Bardella are the stuff of 2016 nightmares

Both leaders thought politics would be easier than finance. They were wrong

A new novel that reimagines art’s most toxic relationship and reintroduces the photographer and artist’s legacy to the world

Being French and yet so invested in British life, you get double the highs and double the lows

Marine Le Pen’s clear win underscores her party’s achievement of making a duplicitous surface-level transformation to voters

In Nice, a stronghold of the French hard right, the racial and political tensions simmer

As Marine Le Pen’s extreme right party creeps ever further ahead of its rivals, a new democratic collective has emerged

The sentiments of the city’s inhabitants reveal a complex mix of political engagement and disillusionment

In past French elections, the left has voted for the centre to keep out Le Pen. Now the right is being asked to do the same – but will they?