A great clip from the 1938 feature film La Route Enchantée. Charles Trenet bears such an uncanny resemblance to Harpo Marx, one has to wonder if the look was intentional. Of course, Harpo never spoke on film, nevermind sing. Here Trenet, aka “Le Fou Chantant” sings the film’s title song.
Christian Clavier defends With open arms in the face of the controversy aroused by this comedy
” With open arms is not a stack of clichés,” said Christian Clavier on the set of ” C to you “. The French actor defended the last comedy of Philippe de Chauveron, director of What did we do to the Good God? , In front of the tidal wave of negative reactions that had caused the trailer and the previews of the film.
The feature film features a “bobo of the left caviar” (dixit Clavier) which welcomes a family of Roma often described as “ugly and dirty”. The polemic had immediately broke out on social networks. Internet users have expressed their contempt for this feature, accused of advocating racism and discrimination against the Roma community. Accusations that the editorial staff of Le Figaro can not attest for the simple reason that he was denied access to the press screenings of the film [ . . . ] Read More at: Christian Clavier defends With open arms in the face of the controversy aroused by this comedy
[Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acSGH1_ng88%5D
Travel to Undiscovered France: 10 Secret French Islands
Even without taking its overseas territories into account, France has a number of interesting islands that are well worth venturing out to.
Full Story: Travel to Undiscovered France: 10 Secret French Islands
Verlaine’s Chanson d’automne

“Chanson d’automne” (“Autumn Song”) is a poem by Paul Verlaine, one of the best known in the French language. It is included in Verlaine’s first collection, Poèmes saturniens, published in 1866 (see 1866 in poetry). The poem forms part of the “Paysages tristes” (“Sad landscapes”) section of the collection
Poem: “Chanson d’Automne” by Paul Verlaine
Charles Trenet “Verlaine”
The legendary French crooner Charles Trenet added music to Verlaine’s poem and recorded the song twice, first in the early 1940’s and again in the 1950s with a slower arrangement adding a string section. Here’s the original jazz version.
Word War II Resistance Code
The song’s lyrics include the line “les sanglots longues des violons de l’automne blessent mon coeur d’un langueur monotone” which translates as “the long sobs of the violins of autumn wound my heart with a monotonous languor”.
These words were used in 1944 to form the code phrases that alerted the Resistance to the Allied invasion of France, and were depicted in the earlier epic World War II movie The Longest Day (1962).
Chanson Du Jour: Plantons la Vigne
Henriette and Elie Zmirou “Plantons la Vigne” (Planting the Vine)
While on assignment at the UN in New York in 1954, French couple Henriette and Elie Zmirou remembered their homeland by singing folk songs. Henriette learned all of hers from her mother, grandmother, and people among whom she lived in Normandy. The lyrics of these unaccompanied solos and duos are translated into English. (Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage)
Best croissants in Paris
While Londoners are losing their minds over Dominique Ansel’s cronut, the Parisian love affair with the croissant endures. These famously flaky pastries have been fuelling the city for hundreds of years – long enough to know there is nothing more tragic than a pale, soggy croissant to start the day. So after working our way through the finest jambon-beurre, we’ve scoured pâtisseries far and wide for the crème-de-la-crème of the capital’s croissants au beurre.Ranked on appearance (golden all over and brown on the bottom), pastry quality and taste, these buttery beauties are well worth crossing Paris for. Your breakfast may never be the same again.
Read the Top 5: Best croissants in Paris: Time Out Paris

