14 Essential French Foods to Know (Slideshow)

When trying French foods, this is where many people draw the line. Eating snails sounds more like something little kids would mistakenly do while playing outside, not something that takes place in fancy restaurants. But give it a shot, and you might be surprised. Typically served as an appetizer, the snails are removed from their shells, cooked (usually in garlic butter, chicken broth, or wine) and then placed back into the shell with more butter and sauce [ . . . ]

Watch the slideshow at: French 101: 14 Essential French Foods to Know (Slideshow)

‘I love France, I love your wine’: Trump’s bizarre first phone call with Hollande

US president Donald Trump told France’s former head of state François Hollande that he loved France, French people and French wine before asking for his help in a bizarre phone call shortly after being elected, a former Elysée aide has revealed.| More at: ‘I love France, I love your wine’: Trump’s bizarre first phone call with Hollande

Charlotte Gainsbourg Finds Her Own Voice


When Charlotte Gainsbourg was 4, her mother took her and her half sister to see “Jaws.” “I don’t know why,” the French actress, singer and style icon, 46, said recently. “Maybe she was drinking a little. And then in the theater, she suddenly realized how traumatizing it was.”

Sipping green tea in a corner booth at the cafe of the Marlton Hotel, casual yet chic in a white T-shirt and jeans, Ms. Gainsbourg recounted her mother’s reaction to watching her young children take in the 1975 killer-shark blockbuster. “She just put her hands on our faces,” she continued. “So the sound is what I kept. It’s part of me.” [ . . . ] Full story at NYTimes