David Jaggard
New in Paris: The Métro Goes Airborne (Sort Of)
What’s She Doing Down There?
Have you ever been the only clothed person at an orgy? Me neither. For that matter, I’ve never been one of the unclothed people at an orgy. On the other hand, I have had the disconcerting experience of being the … Read More
Autumn in France: What’s Going Down This Fall
The French, of Course, Have a Word for It
As anyone who has studied linguistics, or read this sentence, knows, every language contains words that cannot be translated directly into other languages with a single-term equivalent. For example, the French have a seven-letter word, frileux, that means “sensitive to … Read More
Waxing Philosophical Part V: I Take the 2016 “Bac Philo” Exam
Where Else But France Would You See This?
France is, in many ways, a much more egalitarian society than the United States. Wait — that’s not quite right. I’d better start over: France is, in one way that occurs to me without thinking about it much, a slightly … Read More
The Story Behind the Strangeness: Explaining the Inexplicable in France, Part Five
Not Everything Is a Mystery
I’ve been living in France long enough now to become accustomed to most of its quirks and eccentricities. Some of them took me a while, like the mid-day store closures, the frequent strikes and the apparent extension of diplomatic immunity … Read More
French Salesmanship: An Oxymoron?
Build a Better Mousetrap, Then Bar the Door
As some readers may be surprised to learn, I have very few complaints about life in France. Generally, my adopted country’s many attributes far outweigh its foibles. But there is one area in which I wish the French would make … Read More
Urban Legends in France: The (Made-up) Myths of Parisian Popular Culture
Paris Is Flooded! With Misinformation!
In Paris this past week, the elephant in the room was the elevation in the river. After the rainiest May on record, the Seine rose to alarming heights, bursting its banks in many places. At the sight of all that … Read More
Jobs in Paris: Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Street Sweeper?
The Few, the Proud, The Rubber-Booted
One of the great things about being a writer – in fact, one of the best reasons for becoming a writer in the first place – is that when you get caught doing something weird or embarrassing you can always … Read More
Weird English Shop Signs, Part 16: Beyond the Périphérique, the Border, and All Reason
What Exactly Is This Supposed to Mean?
When I went to Brussels just two weeks after the horrific terrorist attacks, I saw it as an opportunity to get the answers to several weighty questions: Are the people of Brussels, like the people of Paris last year, showing … Read More
The Spaghetti Carbonara Scandal: 50 Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Right
Here’s Everything You Need To Make Carbonara*
Warning! I am about to venture into treacherous territory. If I can negotiate this topic all the way to the end of a 1,200-word article without triggering a barrage of indignant comments, it will be a miracle on par with … Read More
French Telephone Service: Most of the Folks on the Phone Are Phonies
Why Do We Even Have These Things Any More?
Here are six words that you don’t hear very often: I don’t have a cell phone. I know that this is tantamount these days to saying “I don’t have a life,” but it’s true. When I reveal this peculiar quirk … Read More