The Talking France podcast is back with another episode, exploring one of far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s most controversial proposals, the strange story behind a train derailment in rural Normandy, the challenges facing France’s education system and the strength of the French film industry.
Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local’s Emma Pearson, Emma Albright, politics expert John Lichfield, as well as by Katy Wright in Brittany and special guest and French film expert Manon Kerjean.
You can find the Talking France podcast on Spotify, Apple or the French platform Deezer or on World Radio Paris. You can download it here or listen to the full episode on the link below.
Recently, far-right leader Marine Le Pen reiterated the idea of “French preference”, arguing that French people “must have priority in their own country” and that French nationals should have “more rights in France than others”.
But what does this actually mean in practice for foreigners living in France? And is it even legal?
We then turn to a strange train crash over the weekend that left dozens of people injured. We look at why investigators suspect the derailment may have been caused by sabotage and who could potentially be behind it.
Next, Katy Wright joins us from Brittany to discuss the latest PISA education rankings, where France’s results are quite low. From what these rankings really are to what may be wrong with French schools, we take an overall look at the country’s national school system.
Special guest and film expert Manon Kerjean, founder of the Paris-based film club Lost in Frenchlation, then joins us to explain how France chooses the film it submits to the Oscars for the Best International Feature Film category, and how strong France’s film industry is.
And finally, following last week’s discussion about tipping in France, we finish the episode with a French vocabulary guide to leaving un pourboire – what to say if you want to tip, what to say if you don’t, the phrases you’re likely to hear in a restaurant, and what is generally considered the politest way to handle the bill in France.
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