http://www.observer.com/term/france en http://www.observer.com/2008/antitabac-vraiment-oui-french-smoking-ban-kicks <img src="/files/article/010208_tabac_web.jpg" />And so it comes to pass that perhaps Europe's most self-indulgent culture mimics New York and bans smoking in most public places and private businesses. The French smoking ban took effect today. <p>It's our world. The French only live in it. ...</p> http://www.observer.com/2008/antitabac-vraiment-oui-french-smoking-ban-kicks#comments Real Estate France smoking ban The Real Estate Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:24:01 -0500 http://www.observer.com/2008/antitabac-vraiment-oui-french-smoking-ban-kicks http://www.observer.com/2007/zut-alors-cracks-european-housing-market The housing market slump in the U.S. has spread to Europe, according to this morning's <em>Wall Street Journal</em>. It's the same story over there as here: higher interest rates, tighter lending standards and wavering confidence. <p>France in the third quarter had its first quarterly home-price decline in almost a decade, and the Celtic Tiger, Ireland, saw home prices in August nearly 2 percent lower than the same month the year before. In Spain, the average...</p> http://www.observer.com/2007/zut-alors-cracks-european-housing-market#comments Real Estate France Housing market Ireland Spain The Real Estate Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:25:19 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2007/zut-alors-cracks-european-housing-market http://www.observer.com/node/53012 <p>The young blond Frenchman, dressed all in black down to his leather wristband, drinks champagne with foie gras and consults his cell phone every few minutes. His pretty raven-haired girlfriend, sunglasses on top of her head, dines more modestly on a salad and Coke. Along the banquette, another man in black, conspicuously sporting an early-60’s Rolex, is also lighting up his phone between mouthfuls. But it’s way too noisy to call from here. It’s...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/53012#comments Style Coca-Cola Classic Dining Out France Montres Rolex SA Vincent Chirico Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/53012 http://www.observer.com/node/36377 <img src="/files/article/121106_article_moira.jpg" />The young blond Frenchman, dressed all in black down to his leather wristband, drinks champagne with foie gras and consults his cell phone every few minutes. His pretty raven-haired girlfriend, sunglasses on top of her head, dines more modestly on a salad and Coke. Along the banquette, another man in black, conspicuously sporting an early-60’s Rolex, is also lighting up his phone between mouthfuls. But it’s way too noisy to call from here. It’s... http://www.observer.com/node/36377#comments Style Coca-Cola Classic Dining Out France Montres Rolex SA Vincent Chirico Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/36377 http://www.observer.com/node/52885 <p>Grégoire Bouillier is a writer from Paris, and on Monday, Oct. 23, during his first American book tour, he slouched into a chair at N.Y.U.’s Maison Française for a reading.</p> “I am sorry for my so-bad English … ,” he began shyly. Mr. Bouillier’s book, The Mystery Guest: An Account, had just been translated and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The author was seated at a table with his editor and translator,... http://www.observer.com/node/52885#comments Style France Gregoire Bouillier Lorin Stein Paris Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/52885 http://www.observer.com/node/39394 The Frenchman was urgent. Still youngish, maybe 45, he had moved to New York City to catch his breath after a life spent in the intellectual atmosphere, antic but finally stultifying, of home. He did not use George Orwell’s phrase about “smelly little orthodoxies,” but that is clearly what he believed he had fled: a world of hostile coteries, consisting of professors, politicians and media stars, smelly, hermetic and unreal. Why had the heirs... http://www.observer.com/node/39394#comments David Duke France George Orwell Irene Nemirovsky The National Observer Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/39394 http://www.observer.com/node/52359 <p>It’s World Cup time, and soccer is coming of age in New York.</p> Sort of. “What an ass!” screamed Charles Guder, when the TV at Nathan Hale’s restaurant downtown showed national team coach Bruce Arena. “Look at him, he’s smiling now. He’s gone. He’s got to get fired.” Whether it was the soccer nerds in team jerseys at bars like Nathan Hale’s, or the more affected Europhile types who snuck out of... http://www.observer.com/node/52359#comments Culture France New Jersey New York Red Bulls New York Yankees Sports Sun, 18 Jun 2006 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/52359 http://www.observer.com/node/33181 A friend invited me to row up the Hudson yesterday and I met Rob and his mates at Croton Point—very pretty, and dominated by a massive landfill now covered in grass, with a plant to burn off the methane. A few miles brought us to Indian Point, the nuke plant.<br /> Dog With Indian Point Nuke Plant With dogs, girls, and cameras, we looked like Greenpeace, and stayed well outside the 300-yard perimeter so the chase... http://www.observer.com/node/33181#comments France Greenpeace International MondoWeiss Fri, 19 May 2006 09:51:09 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/33181 http://www.observer.com/node/51990 <p>Hard on the heels of Memling’s Portraits, surely one of the finest exhibitions in the city within memory, the Frick Collection has mounted another exhilarating tribute to an Old Master. Goya’s Last Works may not astonish as much as the last show: For a lot of us, Memling’s crystalline art was a revelation, but many of Goya’s most famous prints and paintings are instantly recognizable. So one challenge for the Frick lies in overcoming...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/51990#comments Style Currently Hanging France Jonathan Brown Jos Duaso Susan Grace Galassi Sun, 19 Mar 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/51990 http://www.observer.com/node/38558 <img src="/files/article/032006_article_naves.jpg" />Hard on the heels of <em>Memling’s Portraits</em>, surely one of the finest exhibitions in the city within memory, the Frick Collection has mounted another exhilarating tribute to an Old Master. <em>Goya’s Last Works</em> may not astonish as much as the last show: For a lot of us, Memling’s crystalline art was a revelation, but many of Goya’s most famous prints and paintings are instantly recognizable. So one challenge for the Frick lies in overcoming... http://www.observer.com/node/38558#comments Style Currently Hanging France Jonathan Brown Spain Susan Grace Galassi Sun, 19 Mar 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/38558 http://www.observer.com/node/51876 <p>Richard Loncraine’s Firewall, from a screenplay by Joe Forte, has raised the provocative question of whether Harrison Ford, at 63 and counting, is too old to play an action hero. First of all, it ill behooves a 77-year-old movie reviewer like me to think of anyone at the tender age of 63 as anything but a spring chicken, particularly when said reviewer recalls the inspiration he has received from the great, gnarled twilight westerns...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/51876#comments Style At the Movies Bill Cox Fords Jack Stanfield France Regional Differences Gilles Porte Sun, 19 Feb 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/51876 http://www.observer.com/node/38402 <img src="/files/article/022006_article_sarris.jpg" />Richard Loncraine’s <em>Firewall</em>, from a screenplay by Joe Forte, has raised the provocative question of whether Harrison Ford, at 63 and counting, is too old to play an action hero. First of all, it ill behooves a 77-year-old movie reviewer like me to think of anyone at the tender age of 63 as anything but a spring chicken, particularly when said reviewer recalls the inspiration he has received from the great, gnarled twilight westerns... http://www.observer.com/node/38402#comments Style At the Movies Bill Cox France Jack Stanfield Joe Forte Sun, 19 Feb 2006 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/38402 http://www.observer.com/node/28567 The editorial staff of the alternative weekly New York Press walked out today, en masse, after the paper's publishers backed down from printing the Danish cartoons that have become the center of a global free-speech fight. Editor-in-Chief Harry Siegel emails, on behalf of the editorial staff: New York Press, like so many other publications, has suborned its own professed principles. For all the talk of freedom of speech, only the New York Sun locally and two... http://www.observer.com/node/28567#comments Politics France Harry Siegel New York Sun Politics Daily Tim Marchman Tue, 07 Feb 2006 14:51:25 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/28567 http://www.observer.com/node/51527 <p>The Disoriented Democrats</p> In the wake of Michael Bloomberg’s smashing re-election victory, disoriented Democrats find themselves trying to figure out where it all went wrong. How could it be that in this city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by five to one, the Republicans have won the last four straight Mayoral elections? With any luck, Democrats are choosing to answer that question with a question of their own: Could we really be that... http://www.observer.com/node/51527#comments California Editorials France U.S. Republican Party Sun, 20 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/51527 http://www.observer.com/node/51504 <p>The Disoriented Democrats</p> In the wake of Michael Bloomberg’s smashing re-election victory, disoriented Democrats find themselves trying to figure out where it all went wrong. How could it be that in this city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by five to one, the Republicans have won the last four straight Mayoral elections? With any luck, Democrats are choosing to answer that question with a question of their own: Could we really be that... http://www.observer.com/node/51504#comments California Editorials France U.S. Republican Party Sun, 20 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/51504 http://www.observer.com/node/37935 The Disoriented Democrats In the wake of Michael Bloomberg’s smashing re-election victory, disoriented Democrats find themselves trying to figure out where it all went wrong. How could it be that in this city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by five to one, the Republicans have won the last four straight Mayoral elections? With any luck, Democrats are choosing to answer that question with a question of their own: Could we really be that bad? Because... http://www.observer.com/node/37935#comments Editorials France New York Times Company U.S. Republican Party Sun, 20 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/37935 http://www.observer.com/node/51482 <p>Americans should not take unseemly unsatisfaction from the spectacle of France’s riots. Oh, why not? Like a rotten mackerel by moonlight, the French leadership shines and stinks. Dominique de Villepin, with his pompadour and his potted biography of Napoleon; Jacques Chirac, protected only by the presidency from the slammer — these jewels in the crown of Gallic civilization thought they could earn the affection of their Muslim helots by truckling to Saddam Hussein: you’ll...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/51482#comments Dominique de Villepin France Jacques Chirac Saddam Hussein The National Observer Sun, 13 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/51482 http://www.observer.com/node/37908 Americans should not take unseemly unsatisfaction from the spectacle of France’s riots. Oh, why not? Like a rotten mackerel by moonlight, the French leadership shines and stinks. Dominique de Villepin, with his pompadour and his potted biography of Napoleon; Jacques Chirac, protected only by the presidency from the slammer — these jewels in the crown of Gallic civilization thought they could earn the affection of their Muslim helots by truckling to Saddam Hussein: you’ll... http://www.observer.com/node/37908#comments Europe France Paris Saddam Hussein The National Observer Sun, 13 Nov 2005 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/37908 http://www.observer.com/node/28070 Politicians have, by now, all figured out Google Ads. The traditional thing, as Mike has done, is to purchase the ad next to your name and your opponents name. But over in France, the ambitious interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has taken this to a near, er, level in response to the riots that have spread across the country. Parisist follows some French blogs in noting: <em>Try "Voitures brûlées" (Burned cars), "Racaille" (slang for youngsters from the suburbs)...</em> http://www.observer.com/node/28070#comments Politics France Google Inc. Nicolas Sarkozy Politics Daily Tue, 08 Nov 2005 05:57:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/28070 http://www.observer.com/node/51347 <p>On Wednesday evening, Sept. 21, the designer Diane von Furstenberg hosted a cocktail party in honor of Justine Lévy, the author of Nothing Serious, a roman à clef based on Ms. Lévy’s recent, sensational personal life. Ms. Lévy, 31, is the dewy daughter of the French celebrity-philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, and her book whipped up quite a scandale in France, illuminating certain universal truths about men, women and sex, and even jostling The Da Vinci...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/51347#comments Christopher Hitchens Diane von Furstenberg France Justine Lvy The Observatory Sun, 02 Oct 2005 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/51347 http://www.observer.com/node/51129 <p>It’s odd now to recall a time when the word “decorative,” as applied to the paintings of Matisse, was a term of critical reproach. “Decorative” was then taken to signify something shallow or superficial; it also suggested the pleasures of a self-indulgent hedonism—the opposite of everything deep and profound in art. The association with pleasure, moreover, was reinforced by Matisse’s principal subject matter, which at the time amounted to a virtual harem of odalisques.</p> That... http://www.observer.com/node/51129#comments Style A Critic's View France Hilary Spurling Pablo Picasso The Metropolitan Museum of Art Sun, 31 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/51129 http://www.observer.com/node/37415 <img src="/files/article/080105_article_kramer.jpg" />It’s odd now to recall a time when the word “decorative,” as applied to the paintings of Matisse, was a term of critical reproach. “Decorative” was then taken to signify something shallow or superficial; it also suggested the pleasures of a self-indulgent hedonism—the opposite of everything deep and profound in art. The association with pleasure, moreover, was reinforced by Matisse’s principal subject matter, which at the time amounted to a virtual harem of odalisques. ... http://www.observer.com/node/37415#comments Style A Critic's View France Hilary Spurling Pablo Picasso The Metropolitan Museum of Art Sun, 31 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/37415 http://www.observer.com/node/51111 <p>The French painter Jean Hélion (1904-1987), whose work is the focus of a compelling exhibition at the National Academy Museum, was a man of strong moral and intellectual passions—so strong, indeed, that when he changed the course of his art, turning to a highly charged realist style after achieving great distinction as an abstractionist, it proved to be a watershed event on both sides of the Atlantic. I think it’s fair to say that...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/51111#comments Style A Critic's View France Henry McBride National Academy Museum Piet Mondrian Sun, 24 Jul 2005 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/51111 http://www.observer.com/node/27183 Now last we'd checked, Leo was playing a crucial and high-profile role in Freddy's campaign as his top national fundraiser. Now this, from Bloomberg News, of all places: Leo Hindery, Wall Street Racer, Captures Le Mans Flag June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Leo Hindery Jr., who left his job as chief executive officer of Yankees Entertainment &amp; Sports Network in April 2004 to pursue his racing hobby, won the GT2 category at France's Le Mans 24-hour race yesterday. Hindery,... http://www.observer.com/node/27183#comments Politics France Le Mans Leo Hindery Politics Daily Porsche 911 Mon, 20 Jun 2005 12:34:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/27183 http://www.observer.com/node/50677 <p>Some artists are destined to endure the hazards of "interesting times," and Max Ernst (1891-1976) was one of them. In a period when France and Germany were bitter enemies, Ernst was a German national serving in the ranks of the French Surrealists-which in itself sounds more like the script of an absurdist comedy than the biography of an anti-Nazi émigré. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the absurdist element was...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/50677#comments Style A Critic's View Europe France Max Ernst Werner Spies Sun, 17 Apr 2005 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/50677 http://www.observer.com/node/50664 <p>On a recent afternoon, the French celebrity philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy strolled around Manhattan's Upper East Side, trying to summon the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville, the brilliant French chronicler of 19th-century American society. Mr. Lévy was having a hard time; perhaps the knot of S.U.V.'s and yellow cabs and women pushing baby strollers around upper Fifth Avenue didn't inspire him.</p> "You should have come with me six months ago!" said Mr. Lévy, 56, a touch... http://www.observer.com/node/50664#comments David Brooks France Monsieur Lvy Tocqueville Sun, 17 Apr 2005 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/50664 http://www.observer.com/node/50143 "Get comfortable talking about your faith," Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln, the only Democrat in the South to be re-elected, recently told a party meeting called "The Road Back." The gathering, sponsored by the Democratic Leadership Council, brought together a number of mournful party members looking for a way to break into the red states and get themselves some votes. Ms. Lincoln's prescription for electoral success may make sense for Democratic politicians thirsting for office,... http://www.observer.com/node/50143#comments Bill Clinton Blanche Lincoln France Netherlands The National Observer Sun, 28 Nov 2004 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/50143 http://www.observer.com/node/49937 <p>Our Oldest Enemy: A History of America’s Disastrous Relationship with France, by John J. Miller and Mark Molesky. Doubleday, 294 pages, $24.95.</p> In a New Yorker profile last month, Ken Auletta caught speechwriter Bob Shrum—who at that point was John Kerry’s right-hand man—relaxing at home on Cape Cod, snacking on "hard cheeses" and French bread. Quelle horreur! Seemingly overnight, Mr. Kerry demoted Mr. Shrum and hired Bill Clinton’s former press secretary, Joe Lockhart... http://www.observer.com/node/49937#comments Style Book Review France Iraq John Miller Mark Molesky Sun, 24 Oct 2004 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/49937 http://www.observer.com/node/49291 <p>Ramping It Up With</p> Wild Farmhouse Cuisine "What's this?" asked one of my guests, holding up his fork. There was something white speared on the end of it. "It's a little bland." I had a taste. It was a shard of clay. Well, it could've been buckshot. The dish my friend was eating was called "clay pigeons," and it's on the menu at Mas, a French restaurant that recently opened in the West Village. Mas... http://www.observer.com/node/49291#comments Style California Dining Out France Galen Zamarra Jonathan Waxman Sun, 30 May 2004 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/49291 http://www.observer.com/node/49202 <p>William Scott (1913-1989), whose paintings are the subject of an immensely appealing exhibition at Denise Bibro Fine Art in Chelsea, is not an artist easily categorized. Born in Scotland of Irish and Scottish parents, he received his training at the Belfast College of Art in Northern Ireland and the Royal Academy in London, yet it was in France in the 1930's that he came of age as a painter. In 1938, he moved to...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/49202#comments Style A Critic's View France London Northern Ireland William Scott Sun, 09 May 2004 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/49202 http://www.observer.com/node/48925 <p>Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Bon Voyage , from a screenplay by Mr. Rappeneau and Patrick Modiano, is reportedly inspired by the director's childhood memories of World War II: the fall of France in 1940; his father's imprisonment in a German prison camp; and his mother's letters to her husband, describing young Jean-Paul's silent protest by staying indoors as the neighborhood boys cheered the German soldiers marching into Auxerre.</p> Knowing these personal details, one would think that Mr.... http://www.observer.com/node/48925#comments Style At the Movies France Jean-Paul Rappeneau Paris United Kingdom Sun, 14 Mar 2004 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/48925 http://www.observer.com/node/48916 <p>David Burke Knows How</p> To Play With His Food When I was very young, I played a practical joke on a friend who was a food snob, always carrying on about the great meals he'd had in France's three-star restaurants (where, of course, I had never been). I bought a bag of those oily, dark brown rubber worms that fishermen use as bait, put them on croutons, and topped them with a dollop of sour... http://www.observer.com/node/48916#comments Style Absolut Vodka David Burke Dining Out Donatella Arpaia France Sun, 07 Mar 2004 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/48916 http://www.observer.com/node/48116 <p>Black Diamond or Fungus?</p> Soho's Ode to the Truffle"What exactly is a truffle?" asked my teenage son dubiously. We were having dinner in a restaurant on Spring Street that offers over a dozen dishes made with truffles. The menu answered his question: "It is the black diamond of Provence. It's elegant, refined, fragrant and light. It's like a caress which delights the palate. One could eat it every day as it's healthy and very low... http://www.observer.com/node/48116#comments Style Dining Out France Hudson River Ripley Entertainment Inc. William Quinn Sun, 28 Sep 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/48116 http://www.observer.com/node/48077 <p>In what could be seen as a gesture of poignant irony, Jean-Jacques Rachou, the longtime chef and owner of the historic La Côte Basque in midtown Manhattan, plans to shutter the romantic but teetering 45-year-old restaurant-once a society sandbox for Manhattan's stylish and insouciant set-and convert the space into a belle époque brasserie. Last call for quenelles: next Valentine's Day.</p> "I don't want to die with this restaurant, with the old customers... http://www.observer.com/node/48077#comments Drew Nieporent France Henri Soul Jean-Jacques Rachou Sun, 21 Sep 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/48077 http://www.observer.com/node/47865 <p>James Ivory's Le Divorce , produced by Ishmail Merchant and Michael Schiffer and adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Mr. Ivory, retains much of the bite and humor of Diane Johnson's wondrously prophetic 1997 novel, which explores the various ways the French and the Americans rub each other the wrong way without much trying. Our irreconcilable differences on food alone are enough to set off the din of discord.</p> The good news is that the... http://www.observer.com/node/47865#comments Culture Style At the Movies France James Ivory New York Yankees Sports Tobey Maguire Sun, 03 Aug 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/47865 http://www.observer.com/node/47841 <p>Once more unto the breach, my friends-and this is some breach. We've long known that the Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park is a high-risk venture each summer. Anything can happen, and anything usually does. But Mark Wing-Davey's wayward production of Henry V with Liev Schreiber takes the strudel.</p> Henry V must be about the most overproduced play in the world today. It's about the justification for war, of course, and the moral responsibility of... http://www.observer.com/node/47841#comments Style At the Theater France Liev Schreiber Mark Wing-Davey William Shakespeare Sun, 27 Jul 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/47841 http://www.observer.com/node/47746 <p>There's a special purgatory reserved for those who would be New York's master builders. For those who succeed, a measure of immortality is the reward. Those who fail are condemned to the margins of arcane Gotham monographs-the might-have-beens of the city's developed environment.</p> Daniel and Nina Libeskind are fighting tooth and nail to escape the latter fate. "There is no doubt that there is pressure on us to give up more than we want to... http://www.observer.com/node/47746#comments Daniel Libeskind France Larry Silverstein Nina Libeskind Sun, 29 Jun 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/47746 http://www.observer.com/node/47520 <p>During the Terror War, Jew-hating floated to the surface like a dead fish. Anti-war demonstrators in France waved signs that read "Vive Chirac. Stop the Jews." It was the fashion to blame such outbursts on France's large North African immigrant population, yet it's not fair to scold poor Algerians when a French diplomat called Israel a "shitty little country." Where the beau monde leads, the canaille will follow.</p> On this side of the pond, anti-warriors... http://www.observer.com/node/47520#comments France Israel The National Observer William Kristol Sun, 11 May 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/47520 http://www.observer.com/node/47387 <p>For weeks now, the concerned e-mails have been rolling in, between the penis-enlargement spams and the low mortgage-rate ads:</p> "Are you guys okay over there?" "Just checking in. Worried about you!" "Is it still okay to send our grandson to school?" "Must be weird to be there now!" Americans just can't imagine a nation not responding vehemently and perhaps violently to the pouring of Veuve Clicquot Champagne down sewers, the Congressional renaming of French fries,... http://www.observer.com/node/47387#comments Champagne Veuve Clicquot France Mecca-Cola Paris The New Yorker's Diary Sun, 13 Apr 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/47387 http://www.observer.com/node/47359 <p>In the Flatiron District, A Dose</p> Of Peace and Tranquillity Like everyone else, I've found it appalling-to say the least-to watch war live on television. But even more appalling is the fact that a great many people are doing this not just over a strong drink, but over their dinner, battling the ramparts of a microwaved chicken pot pie while seeing real people getting killed in real time. How do they stand it? But even... Style Dining Out France Michael Burbella Robert Epstein World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Sun, 06 Apr 2003 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/47359 http://www.observer.com/node/47143 <p>Not quite one year ago, I spent a pleasant evening at the Pierre Hotel tasting the world's best bottles of champagne. The occasion was a ceremony and dinner sponsored by the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, an organization of growers, vintners and others involved in the production and distribution of that great beverage. For the first time in its history, the society held its annual induction rites in a foreign city. Before they started...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/47143#comments France Paris Saddam Hussein Thomas Friedman Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/47143 http://www.observer.com/node/47068 <p>Making the Case,</p> And Taking Heed If the hard-left core of the antiwar movement is despicable and corrupt, what of the doubts and anxieties of ordinary people? Let us dispose of special cases. Mainstream politicians have been displaying their occupational penchant for bad faith. The New York Times recently quoted Representative Robert T. Matsui, a Democrat from California: "I happen to believe there are probably weapons of mass destruction there [i.e., in Iraq], but... http://www.observer.com/node/47068#comments France Iraq Saddam Hussein The National Observer Sun, 02 Feb 2003 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/47068 http://www.observer.com/node/46590 <p>Attention, Francophiles-and anyone with a more than casual interest in the art, culture and politics of France (or, for that matter, all of Europe): The exhibition called Richelieu: Art and Power , which Hilliard T. Goldfarb has now organized at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, is an event not to be missed, and its only other venue will be the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, Germany.</p> For aesthetes with a keen interest in painting, sculpture, drawing,... http://www.observer.com/node/46590#comments Style A Critic's View Cardinal Richelieu France Hilliard Goldfarb The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Sun, 13 Oct 2002 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/46590 http://www.observer.com/2002/jill-clayburgh-workout <p>Jill Clayburgh was a big feminist actress in the late 1970's and early 80's, but then she got married and moved to the suburbs to raise kids. She missed out on that whole era of women-in-shoulderpad movies like Working Girl and Baby Boom , and by the time she was ready to re-enter Hollywood, Hollywood wasn't sure it had use for her. Perhaps you remember her in the Matthew Perry vehicle Fools Rush In...</p> http://www.observer.com/2002/jill-clayburgh-workout#comments France Hollywood Jill Clayburgh Netta Lettuce The New York World Sun, 21 Jul 2002 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2002/jill-clayburgh-workout http://www.observer.com/node/46218 <p>"When you're named at the head of a business, small or large, you know you're expendable ad nutum -meaning you could go at any moment by simple decision of the board of directors. You're paid for that. And well paid. This special compensation, these golden parachutes that make headlines, to me, are unjustifiable for executives. My contract has no such clause. I promise the board never to negotiate one."</p> That was Jean-Marie Messier in 2000... http://www.observer.com/node/46218#comments Citizen Messier France Jean-Marie Messier Vivendi SA Sun, 14 Jul 2002 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/46218 http://www.observer.com/node/46087 <p>The Sexual Life of Catherine M. , by Catherine Millet. Grove Press, 209 pages, $23.</p> Catherine Millet's astonishing memoir of physical desire, frequent orgiastic sex and rich psychic debasement, The Sexual Life of Catherine M. , was first published in France last year as La Vie Sexuelle de Catherine M . It was greeted with praise, shock, anger, droll and incomprehensible commentary by Baud-rillard (always a sign of "making it" in France, akin to being... http://www.observer.com/node/46087#comments Style Book Review Catherine Millet France Simon & Schuster Vince Passaro Sun, 02 Jun 2002 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/46087 http://www.observer.com/node/45985 <p>Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim , by Anton Gill. HarperCollins, 480 pages, $29.95.</p> The bland title, Art Lover , offers scarcely a hint of what the reader will find in Anton Gill's monumental biography of Peggy Guggenheim. She was an art lover all right, and also an art dealer, but she could be described in many other terms. She was an heiress who husbanded her resources overzealously, yet gave generously to friends in... http://www.observer.com/node/45985#comments Style Anton Gill Book Review France Paris Vail Sun, 12 May 2002 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/45985 http://www.observer.com/node/45917 <p>"The lesser of two evils" is suddenly a cliché with deep meaning for the voters (and non-voters) of France, who will be obliged in their second round of presidential voting to choose between a discredited conservative crook and a determined neo-fascist demagogue. Left behind was the Socialist prime minister, an uninspiring but decent politician, ironically undone by the same juvenile ultra-left to which he had long ago bid au revoir .</p> For all the differences... http://www.observer.com/node/45917#comments France Jean-Marie Le Pen Ralph Nader Sun, 28 Apr 2002 20:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/node/45917 http://www.observer.com/node/45719 <p>Three things to take away from Vivendi Universal's March 5 press conference: The company posted a humongous $11.8 billion net loss for 2001; earnings were in line with the media giant's projections, and the people of France still consider Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marie Messier a cultural traitor.</p> The American media may have missed it, but the first question asked by a French reporter at the press conference concerned the fate of the French cultural... http://www.observer.com/node/45719#comments Real Estate Barry Diller France Jean-Marie Messier Vivendi SA Sun, 10 Mar 2002 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/45719 http://www.observer.com/node/45594 <p>Nanni Moretti's The Son's Room ( La Stanza del Figlio ) takes up the subject of a son's death, treated also in the much-praised (and I think overpraised) In the Bedroom . From a screenplay by Linda Ferri, Mr. Moretti and Heidran Schleef, The Son's Room is not as melodramatically manipulative, and I think this is all to the good. In addition, the family in Mr. Moretti's film is warmer, more robust and more...</p> http://www.observer.com/node/45594#comments Style At the Movies France Laura Morante Linda Ferri Nanni Moretti Sun, 10 Feb 2002 19:00:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/node/45594