Fête de la Francophonie: Celebrating the francophone world

by Anna Brones on

French is the native tongue of over 80 million people. But many more people interact with it on a daily basis, be it through culture, as a second language or even as a subject being learned in school. The francophone world stretches from Hanoi to Abidjan, bringing together all kinds of foods and customs that aren’t always immediately associated with all things French; this isn’t about baguettes and wine, this is about creole music, saffron infused food and crazy carnivals.

If you haven’t had France on the radar, you may not know that March is the official month of La Fête de la Francophonie. The month long festival is intended to celebrate the international and linguistic community that share French — either as a native language or even a second one — that is referred to by the coined term La Francophonie.

Thursday March 20 is the big celebration, being the official International Francophone Day, and there are a whole lot of global celebrations to take part in wherever you may find yourself, from Cambodia to Mali to Canada.

If you are in the New York area you can check out the Fête de la Martinique taking place today, March 19, which will turn Le Skyroom into a tropical paradise, full of French Creole culture that the island of Martinique is so well known for. This isn’t a conservative event; prizes are being awarded for best carnival costume. Other events going on around the US include a French film festival in Burlington, Vermont and a French Cultures Festival in various cities across Texas.

For more Fête de la Francophone events go here.

Bring on the bubbly: France plans to expand Champagne region

by Anna Brones on

It’s easy to become a wine snob if you’ve ever lived in France. The thing that irks me the most is calling all various kinds of sparkling wine “champagne.” In France, only bottles that are produced in the Champagne region can be graced with the term that has become synonymous with luxury; anything else is just plain old vin pétillant, or sparkling wine.

But in a global society, even a stubborn Frenchman can only stick to his traditions for so long. Last year exports of French champagne bottles hit a record 150.9 million bottles and the growing global demand for champagne is forcing France to expand the region to include another 40 villages; just so the country can produce more bottles classified under the same name.

Wine experts from the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO) have been debating on expanding the boundaries of the region for quite some time now. On Thursday a meeting was set to decide which villages should be included in the region, but a final decision — which will need to be made at the national level — will not be reached until 2009.

If I owned a vineyard, I would certainly be crossing my fingers. “If your vines fall on the wrong side of the divide, they will be worth 5,000 euros ($7,800; £3,800) a hectare,” said Gilles Flutet of the INAO, as quoted by the BBC. “On the other side they will be worth 1 million euros.”

It may seem strange to have to expand the physical region instead of just placing a champagne label on other bottles of sparkling wine from around the country, but then again, c’est la France and wine is much more than a drink; it’s a way of life.

Continental faces manslaughter charges for Concorde crash

by Iva Skoch on

It is hard to believe it has been 8 years since the Air France Concorde crashed. I still remember vividly the image of it on fire.

Now, a French prosecutor has asked judges to bring manslaughter charges against Continental over the crash outside of Paris in 2000 and recommended similar charges against two Continental employees and two French officials, BBC reports.

A French inquiry said the crash, which killed 113 people, was caused by a metal strip from a Continental Airlines plane, which shredded one of the Concorde’s tires as it took off from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and caused the fire.

A judge should decide to accept or deny this request in the next few weeks.

Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report: Top 10 tourism industries

by Anna Brones on

If you’re curious as to what countries have the most conducive environments for tourism, you might want to check out the second annual World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008. Basically it’s a report full of a lot of economic figures used to measure how good tourism industries are in countries around the world. This year’s report put a special emphasis on economic development and environmental sustainability. Here are the top ten:

1. Switzerland
2. Austria
3. Germany
4. Australia
5. Spain
6. United Kingdom
7. United States
8. Sweden
9. Canada
10. France

I’ve been to 7 out of the top 10, meaning that the tourism boards are probably doing their job — or I’m just visiting popular destinations. Surprisingly, popular backpacker destinations like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Nepal are at the bottom of the list. For the complete PDF of rankings go here.

European Independent Film Festival in Paris

by Anna Brones on

If you’re in Paris this upcoming weekend, you might want to check out Écu: The European Independent Film Festival, taking place at la Bibliothèque Nationale de France on March 14-16, 2008. Showcasing filmmakers in eleven different categories, the festival aims to promote independent film from not only Europe but the whole world.

The coolest thing about the festival is that it is free, which helps to reduce barriers between independent film makers and their audiences. You do however have to reserve a seat in advance.

With over 100 films to choose from, you might have a hard time making a decision on which one to go see. Thankfully you can watch trailers to all of the films on Écu Interactive — also helpful if you’re not in Paris but want a little taste of what’s going on.