Vaccine skepticism in France reflects ‘dissatisfaction with political class’

In France, every child is now obliged to have 11 vaccinations. If parents want their children to attend school, or take part in many extracurricular activities, they must accept. There is no opt-out or concessions made to vaccine doubters.

On Monday France’s government and health authorities are speeding up the country’s Covid-19 vaccine drive – a process complicated by widespread scepticism about the inoculation that has encompassed the usual global conspiracy theories.

“There’s a very big difference between what the French say and what they do,” he told the Guardian. “And polls whose methodology and questions can seem abstract do not reflect what happens when people know where they will have the vaccine, what it does, the how, when and why.”

Laurent-Henri Vignaud, Science historian 

For weeks, polls have suggested up to 60% of French citizens do not wish to be vaccinated. As the government’s vaccine operation enters its third week, official figures show that as of Saturday at least 93,000 people had been given the jab – a much lower number than elsewhere in Europe, including the UK, Germany and Italy.

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Why Call My Agent Is Your New TV Fashion Fix

Killing Eve withdrawal? Pencil in some time for Call My Agent

BY KATE FINNIGAN

Those still craving the TV fashion fix of Killing Eve might currently find some box-set style satisfaction in Call My Agent! (Dix Pour Cent), the hit French comedy drama on Netflix. Set in a Parisian talent firm called ASK, it follows four agents dealing with the dramatic highs and lows of representing the biggest stars in France – Isabelle Adjani, Juliette Binoche and Monica Bellucci and dozens of other actors happily send themselves up in the show.

Fast-paced and funny, it’s been going since 2015 with the third series just released this month (only six episodes per season, so easy to catch up). And while clothes are incidental to the show – which deals not only with diva strops and demanding directors but also equal pay, sexism, racism and the comic hell of office romance – the female characters’ chic Parisian style is a pleasing bonus and one we’re taking hard note of for office dressing inspiration. Here’s a quick guide to the key players and their style before you settle in.

Andréa Martel

The style star of the show is the badass agent played by Camille Cottin, who tells it like it is, parties like its 1999 and is a serial womaniser. A die-hard Parisian (her response to finding herself in the countryside with no phone reception is to call the police) she’s blessed with great hair and the legs of Emmanuelle Alt. Her uniform is modern French Vogue to a (slubby V-neck) T: skinny jeans, stiletto-heeled ankle boots, sharp navy and black blazers and a slouchy black leather tote. By night she goes for back-bearing dresses, ramping it up with gold sequined hot pants and a waist-coat, garnished with a bow-tie (only in Paris) for a party at a theatre, and a cool metallic shift dress by Martin Grant for the Cannes opening ceremony. Did I mention she has great legs?

Colette Brancillon
2/7

Colette Brancillon

In series one, Andréa becomes besotted with the uptight tax auditor Colette (Ophélia Kolb). Colette does excellent trench coat and fierce pony tail for work but transforms into a pre-Raphaelite goddess in soft cashmeres at home.

Sofia Leprince
3/7

Sofia Leprince

Receptionist and aspiring actress Sofia (Stéfi Celma) rocks a natural afro and has a smile like Julia Roberts. Whether doing the post round for her ungrateful colleagues or legging it to auditions with vile, racist/sexist directors, she’s an athleisure devotee in trainers, leggings and racer-back vests. Watch her style evolve into rich tonal colours and knee-high boots in series three as she starts to find success.

Camille Valentini
4/7

Camille Valentini

Fanny Sidney’s new-girl-in-town arrives in series one in dreary pastels and purple Converse, but when she snags a job as Andréa’s assistant she ups her Parisian style game. Think Vanessa Bruno velvet bomber jackets and spriggy floral and polka dot shirts (very Soeur Paris) worn with straight-leg jeans and block-heeled ankle boots. For after-work parties she does short LBBs and bare legs.

Catherine Barneville

The glamorous wife of untrustworthy agent, Matthias, Catherine (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) is in her fifties with a yoga-honed body and a nice line in vintage kimonos and antique earrings. She wears Louboutin boots to the hairdressers and you just know her lingerie collection is all devastating La Perla.

© © Christophe Brachet

Noémie Leclerc
6/7

Noémie Leclerc

Laure Calamy’s voluptuous brunette assistant has a pounding desire for her boss, Matthias. She’s overtly feminine in low-cut print dresses – we’ve spotted at least one from & Other Stories – wide leather belts to emphasise her waist, and mid-heeled pumps. She likes vivid colour because she’s that kind of girl.

© © Christophe Brachet

Arlette Azémar
7/7

Arlette Azémar

Liliane Rovère’s Arlette is a veteran agent and actress and works a version of classic Chanel with artistic Left Bank flair – boucle cardigans, sparkly knits, long skirts and wide trousers with flat shoes, accessorized with silk flowers, ginormous costume earrings and layers of long necklaces. Because in Paris, as in life, one is never too old for glamour.

© © Christophe Brachet

Source: Why Call My Agent Is Your New TV Fashion Fix | British Vogue

Felicità trailer

How often do you meet a child eager to get back to school after the summer holidays? Not often. Yet, in the tender and suspenseful comedy Felicità, that’s exactly what Tommy wants.

For freshly out of jail Tim (Pio Marmaï, The Trouble with You – SFFF 2019, Back to Burgundy – MiniFest 2017) and his wife Chloé (Camille Rutherford), happiness is living day by day, on the edge, joking and singing out loud, without being burdened by responsibility or constraint. But their daughter, Tommy (Rita Merle), is growing up and craves a normal life. Tomorrow, summer is over, Tommy is entering middle school and her parents have made her a promise: this year, she won’t miss the first day of school.

Felicità takes place over 24 hours like a race against the clock: will Tommy get to school on time? The film is largely told through her eyes, taking us on the rollercoaster ride that is her life and letting us see the imaginative ways in which she copes. Tim and Chloé are reckless, and Tommy often seems more adult than they are. But despite how chaotic and unconventional their family life is, there’s no doubting the love that binds them.

This tender, feel-good comedy is grounded by the performance of the director’s own daughter, the young Rita Merle. With a cameo by French rapper Orelsan, a huge star in France.

Monsieur Pas de Merde recommends “Call My Agent!” (aka (“Dix Pour Cent”)

Cecile de France

Every day is like walking a tightrope for talent agents Mathias, Gabriel, Andrea and Arlette, striving to get contracts for prestigious clients like Cécile de France and other top actors. This series – directed by none other than the brilliant Cédric Klapisch – is a remarkable immersion into the world and lives of movie-star agents, with an all-star cast from Julie Gayet to Joey Starr.

*** The correct translation of Dix Pour Cent is “Ten Percent” not “Call My Agent”.

Source: Call My Agent! | Totally Serialized