David Jaggard
The Story Behind the Strangeness, Part Two: Paris & the Provinces
What Do You Know? There’s Weird Stuff All Over
As I have discovered in my wanderings around Paris, and discussed in a previous C’est Ironique, there are a lot of things here that seem to defy explanation. And, as I discovered in a recent wander around southern France, the … Read More
Waxing Philosophical: I Take the “Bac Philo” Exam
Wise Answers to Thoughtful Questions
The French have an unreasonable fascination with reason. Not with being reasonable — with the process of reasoning: they love to philosophize. And apparently I have an unreasonable fascination with their fascination, because I have mentioned it in not one … Read More
Beyond the Periphérique: Baptism by Saint John’s Fire
How to Make a Hot Night Even Hotter
Always striving to break new journalistic ground, this week I have decided to report on an event that I missed. At least this year. The first time I witnessed what is now my favorite French folk custom was about 15 … Read More
A Peculiar Week in Paris
It’s Going To Be A Long, Weird Summer
I don’t get it. There wasn’t a full moon. No solar flares, no planetary alignment, no odometer flips on the Mayan calendar. Maybe it was because of the long hours of daylight and short nights making everyone edgy. Whatever the … Read More
Going Vert: The Parisian’s 10 Tips to Save the Planet
Apparently It’s Worth Saving
This week, delegates from all over the globe will gather in Vienna for the 2012 World Conference on Climate Change and Humanity, there to discuss what is arguably the most serious problem now facing mankind. At a time when the … Read More
Red, White and Clueless: The C’est Ironique Colorblind Wine Test
Man Cannot Taste by Tongue Alone...
I like wine. In fact, I like wine enough that readers who know me are already laughing, thinking that I just delivered my shortest punchline ever. For those who don’t know me, yes, I have had some experience with the … Read More
The Luck of the Draw, Part One: My First Apartment in Paris
Where I Used to Live, and How I Lived to Tell the Tale
It’s not easy to find a rental apartment in Paris. Real estate here is a permanent seller’s market—there is never enough housing for all the people who want to live in town. Ask any couple who has a decent apartment … Read More
On and Off (But Especially Off) the Job: Holidays in France
Nice Lack of Work If You Can Get It...
This is a very unusual week in France. Not because it’s the first full week of the Hollande presidency. Not because the weather is finally starting to resemble springtime. Not because the fountains of Paris are spouting champagne instead of … Read More
C’est Ironique – et Démocratique: A Not Entirely Fond Farewell to President Sarkozy
Say Something Nice or – Oh, What the Hell...
I am no fan of Nicolas Sarkozy’s politics, in particular his shameless pandering to the anti-immigration far-right National Front. As an immigrant to France myself, I kind of, sort of, pretty much tend to come in on the “pro” side … Read More
Paris Shop Signs: From the Ridiculous to the Sublimely Ridiculous, Part Four
It Doesn’t Mean What You Think. I Hope.
As I write this, France’s future hangs in the balance. With election day approaching, the two presidential candidates are locked in a close battle whose outcome will determine the course of crucial political, social and economic developments in the country, … Read More