PRÉSIDENTIELLES 2007

© rfi.fr

So far, I have tried to remain blissfully oblivious to the barrage of news about France’s presidential elections surrounding me. However, I recently saw a documentary on the two candidates who seem to have knocked all other candidates out of the running – the famous Ségo-Sarko pair. Two more contrasting characters you cannot imagine – Ségolène Royal is the socialist candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, from the right-wing UMP party; she is tall, he is most definitely not; she is a beautiful woman, he is most definitely not. And yet they are eerily similar in their charismatic allure. And they are currently neck and neck in the polls. The first round of the elections is on 22 April. Affaire à suivre, as they say.

LA GRANDE INONDATION

Early in March, the Seine pitched and swelled and, although it didn’t burst its banks, at times its waters flowed quite furiously fast and the pathways along it were almost impassable. Even if the river level does rise every year, it’s still dramatic stuff.

In fact, for many years Paris has been actively preparing for its centennial flood (the last major one occurred in 1910), since it is expected to take place within the next five years and a ‘spectacular future documentary’ has even been made exploring what might occur.

UPHELD

© telegraph

So, Mauro’s appeal was unsuccessful, the four-week ban has been upheld and he’ll have to watch the forthcoming Leicester-Stade match from the sidelines. :(

PRAXITELES

© louvre

A new exhibition has opened at the Louvre exploring the work of the ancient sculptor, Praxiteles. What’s slightly odd about this exhibition is that most of the works shown are not those of Praxiteles himself, but of his apprentices or even copies of his sculptures. Not surprising , I suppose, when you realise he was sculpting his beautiful marble bodies around 350 BC. What is surprising, shocking even, is the nudity of such ancient sculptures, especially his monumental Aphrodite of Cnidus. But then, this is France!

MUNKEE!

SAINTE-CHAPELLE

This week-end a lovely friend came to Paris, mainly to visit FNAC (bookshop par excellence) and Berthillon (ice cream par excellence) but we also managed to see the Sainte-Chapelle together. This Chapel is tucked in between the jumble of buildings of the Palais de Justice and it is very old, dating from 1248. Now that the sun sets later, we were able to appreciate the bright spring sunshine illuminating its amazing stained-glass (all 600 square metres of it) Upper Chapel for which the Sainte-Chapelle is mostly famous. Sometimes losing an hour is not so bad.

© toussaint

THE RETURN OF THE TOP 14

So VI Nations over means that the Top 14 begins again: this week-end Stade are away to Bourgoin and most of the internationals are ‘resting’. We are also resplendent in our new matching Stade fleur-de-lys designer ‘abonnée’ cards!

SAKOUNTALA

FIRST DAY OF SPRING

There was speculation amongst friends that since the tree outside my flat was the last to lose its leaves last winter, that it would also be the last to grow some new ones in the spring. However, this tree seems to be full of some enchanted, regenerative power and at present it is positively gleaming with vibrant green life.

MORE FILM CRITIC-ING

© UGC

The Last King of Scotland: brilliantly evocative and intelligently funny, not at all what I was expecting and Forest Whitaker fully deserved his best actor Oscar.
Taxi 4: ‘subtle’?! ha! being completely unaware of the preceding ‘Taxi’ films, I wanted to enrich my knowledge of French ‘culture’. Well, that’s my excuse and I’m not deviating from it.
The Painted Veil: extremely tender and very English repressed stuff.
Perfume: interesting, sumptuous to watch but hanging by a thread on its plotline.
Snakes on a Plane: warning: do NOT see this film! (that is, unless you are going specifically in order to sit on the back row ..)
The Number 23: disappointing, unbelievable, unengaging. You’d’ve thought the name ‘Jim Carrey’ would’ve rung warning bells ..
Les Témoins: excellent, melancholy film, moving but not in an overtly heart-tugging way.
Blood Diamond: interesting, harrowing, brutal and unfortunately won’t change the world.

SWIM, LITTLE DOLPHIN, SWIM

© zoo

I have progress to report: I can now ‘swim’ with my face in the water without swallowing most of the swimming pool. However, until I can use my legs properly and 'swim' a full length without running out of energy (and kneeling down on the floor half way through), I am confined to the baby pool. I’ve got to do something about this and quick sharpish!

VI NATIONS: LAST WEEK-END

© bbc

I: AH, BOTHER
Well, the VI Nations afternoon did not start well since France 2 thought we’d much rather be watching some thrilling* tour de campagne cycling race than any boring* rugby and so we arrived at the Italy-Ireland match 20 minutes late. I’m sure you can imagine my joy*. The loss of Mauro seemed to weigh heavily during this match. And it was confirmed that De Marigny is no tackling full-back. And don’t get me started on the flat* passes which led to Irish tries ..

II: AND THE WINNER IS ..
Hmm, what to say about France-Scotland? Predictable? A tad unexciting? And not that I’m one to call the refs blind but one seriously wonders sometimes where they’re looking when the wrong Lamont is sent off for a late shoulder barge. Still, bright sparks were tiny, bossy Pierre Mignoni, Lionel Beauxis in the starting line-up and the fact that the most deserving team won the Tournament this year!

III: AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!
They definitely saved the best game until last: Wales-England - what a match! But you know, sometimes, watching rugby is not good for the blood pressure .. thank goodness it’s all over*. Until the World Cup, that is!

* the use of the asterisk denotes a lack of any sincerity in the sentiments expressed

GET WELL SOON

© roundtable

There seems to be a bug doing the rounds in Paris at the moment and one of my lovely friends is suffering from an ‘angine’ (don’t worry, they don’t have a serious heart condition, this is just what the French call it whenever they have some kind of tonsillitis/flu thing) – so, keep taking the remedies and remets-toi vite! Luckily, I have not succumbed to this maladie and besides, all is not lost: there’s rugby this afternoon to cheer everyone up! :)

A FABLE

© mythfolklore.net

Before the holidays, beloved tutor gave his 5èmes a fable to learn by heart in French for recitation in front of the class. Since I am not allowed to remain passive during these French lessons, it was my homework to learn it too. However, I was soo busy during the holidays, it somehow slipped my mind but I was soon reminded of my duty when we got back to school. Luckily, I’m a quick learner (and also sensing une heure de colle if I didn’t) so after several performances from the pupils (and a little helpful prompting), I managed to give a decent reading for them. Sometimes I wonder who learns from whom.

BAD BOY

© stade.fr

Sad news: Mauro was cited following his ‘swinging arm’ in a ruck during Saturday’s match, after which, “Stephen Jones required four stitches and suffered problems with his vision”. As Mauro himself puts it: “gioco duro ma non falloso” and thankfully, no real harm was done to Stephen Jones and he’s fit to play this coming Saturday. However, the IRB disciplinary committee did not see “l'involontarietà del gesto” and “the fiery Bergamasco” has been suspended for FOUR WEEKS! Which means he won’t be playing this week-end against Ireland. He will also miss the H-Cup quarter-final against Leicester on April 1st. :(

VI NATIONS: WEEK-END IV

© bbc

Well, the fact that most expectations were blown away this week-end has made this one of the best of this year’s VI Nations so far. Ireland won against Scotland but only by a whisker of a point; Italy made history again with fabulous performances from Stade’s Italians: Sergio Parisse was even awarded Man of the Match (it might even have been Mauro if he hadn’t been living on the edge ;p); Wales were pushed towards the abyss that is the wooden spoon; England spoilt France’s ‘Grand Chelem’ party; and another terrific performance from David Strettle - behold him in action below! Ah, I can hardly wait for next week-end ..

© telegraph

MY MAN OF THE MATCH TODAY :)

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ÉNOOOOORME!

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Italy win again! 23-20 against Wales with a winning try from Mauro! Superb! :)

HOLIDAYS OVER

Well, I wasn’t abducted by aliens, it was just the school holidays and therefore rien à signaler, that is, nothing bloggable to report at any rate. Anyway, back to school, back to rugby. Once again, Mirco is on the ‘player to watch’ list: “.. so capable of producing a breath-stopping surprise.” Oh, too true! So: will Italy continue on their triumphant way against Wales? Will Ireland deal a killer blow to Scotland? Will England spoil France’s grand slam chances? The suspense of it all is just too much!

JE NE FAIS PAS GRÈVE ;p

This is just to reassure my faithful readers that tout va bien and that more will follow soon.

Were you trying to tell me you're getting a bit bored of looking at those wonderful, victorious Italians? ;p