David Jaggard
Paris in the Summer: In Memoriam France’s Finest Swimming Pool
My Favorite Pool R.I.P. (Ripped Into Pieces)
Autumn has come, and it looks as though the entire population of Paris spent the entire month of August tanning on the beach. Because, in fact, they did. Except me. I don’t even wear shorts in the summer. The reason … Read More
The Law in France: Hooray! We Can Flip Off the President!
Now the French Can Be Rude to EVERYBODY
The celebrations went on for days. Paris was one huge party, with free Champagne in every café and spontaneous parades on every boulevard. The entire population, young and old, civilian and military, was out in the street at all hours, … Read More
The Mood in France: Low Spirits Reach Record Highs
What’s Making the French So Sullen?
It’s official: the French are dour. I’m sure that some readers have suspected this for years, but now even The New York Times says so. According to an editorial by Maureen Dowd, published on July 7 and instantly e-mailed to … Read More
Traffic in Paris: The City of Light Lets Bikes Ignore (Red) Lights!
If It Ain’t Fixed, Why Break It?
When the news broke, it swept across Paris like a shockwave. All over town, Parisians dropped their jaws, espresso spoons and social benefit checks in disbelief — how could the municipal government even think of such a radical, far-reaching piece … Read More
Well There You Have It: The Paris Chamber of Commerce Admits that Parisians Are Rude
It’s in Print, So It Must Be True
Who says Parisians are rude? Oh, wait, I do. Also the 1,200 people who responded to a recent survey by Skyscanner.net, reported on the Huffington Post, in which France ranked number one out of a field of 35 as the … Read More
Waxing Philosophical (Again!): I Take the 2013 “Bac Philo” Exam
Pick Your Seat, Pick Your Topic, Pick Your...
Late June is one of my favorite times of year in France. The weather is (usually) mild, the sun doesn’t go down until after 10pm, the markets are full of freshly-picked, fructose-packed cherries and peaches, the Abba fan upstairs goes … Read More
Shop Signs: From the Ridiculous to the Sublimely Ridiculous, Paris-Barcelona Edition
Maybe We Should All Just Stick to Esperanto
It is a matter of public record, thanks in large part to the tireless research of the C’est Ironique support community, that Paris is full of commercial enterprises with names that Anglophones find, shall we say, ill-advised. Like this one, … Read More
(Struggling to Get) Beyond the Périphérique: Riding the Misinformation Railway
The Train Trip That Drove Me Off the Rails...
Generally speaking, France’s national railroad is great. The SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer, or, in English, National Society of Carnival Shamans) offers clean, comfortable trains that cover virtually the entire country at high speeds, frequent intervals and affordable … Read More
Dark Skies Over the City of Light: Weird Weather Begets Bad Behavior
Global Warming Skipped a Spot
Sometimes a topic for C’est Ironique seems to just fall from the sky. In this case, the topic has been literally falling from the sky, as of this writing, for months on end. The weather is not usually high on … Read More
Service Not Always Included: Dealing with French Salespeople, Part Two
The Goods May Be Expensive, But the Insults Are Free
Last week, in the first part of the C’est Ironique Field Guide to the Lesser Retail Species of France, I described many, but not all, of the rare varieties of shopkeepers whose goal in life seems to be to prevent … Read More