I guess you read French Property News, Living France, A Place in the Sun magazines etc. I hope you even enjoy reading the Cle France Newsletters! but to really learn more about life and living in France a French newspaper can not be beaten.

Continuing our look at French Newspapers - Part 4

Thank you for joining me once again as we review a selection of the most widely read newspapers in France.

In part 1, we had an overview of the different sections found in a typical newspaper that will help you navigate its contents.

In part 2, we learned about Le Monde and Le Figaro.

In part 3, we looked at Le Nouvel Observateur and Libération. Today, let’s delve into two more journaux (newspapers) that grace the racks of most newsstands in France: L’Express and l’Humanité.

L’Express :

Originally printed as a supplément hebdomadaire (weekly supplement) to the economic newspaper Les Échos in 1953, L’Express morphed into the first french newsmagazine by 1964.  Columns written by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and André Malraux among others lent prestige and a certain validity to L’Express that readers had been seeking in other news outlets of the day.

The transition from supplement to full-fledged newsmagazine in 1964 brought with it some changes. Plusieurs journalistes quittent L’Express pour fonder Le Nouvel Observateur (Several journalists leave L’Express to found Le Nouvel Observateur). As a result, the magazine becomes less politically centered which leads to a tripling of its readership over the span of just three years.

In 1995, L’Express forged a new path in the emerging world of digital news when it launched la première version électronique (the first electronic version) of a weekly french newspaper. Today, lexpress.fr is one of the most frequented french news websites avec plus de deux millions de visiteurs par mois (with more than two million visitors a month).

l’Humanité :

One of the oldest french newspapers still in circulation, l’Humanité began informing readers in 1904. Ce journal quotidien (This daily paper) was founded by Jean Jaurès, a french socialist who believed in “la communion avec le mouvement ouvrier” (“agreement with the labor movement”) and for nearly seventy-five years was guided by le Parti Communiste Français (French Communist Party). Similar to L’Express, l’Humanité became a paper for intellectuals thanks to columns written by such illustrious characters as Aristide Brian, Léon Blum, et al.

Because of its communist/socialist leanings, l’Humanité’s popularity waxed and waned over the course of several decades and with the stream of world events, namely the two World Wars and the Cold War. L’Humanité supported la libération nationale à travers le monde (national liberation throughout the world), a practice that generated considerable controversy pendant les guerres d’Algérie et d’Indochine (during the wars of Algeria and Indochina).

In 1996, l’Humanité launched its website at humanite.fr containing archives of columns from its physical newspaper dating back to 1990. Visit la Boutique on the web où vous aurez accès à une sélection d’abonnements (where you will have access to a selection of subscriptions) in both digital and paper formats.

Join me next time for our final instalment in this series on french newspapers. À bientot (See you soon)!

Original text from the French Language Blog.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

I guess you read French Property News, Living France, A Place in the Sun magazines etc. I hope you even enjoy reading the Cle France Newsletters! but to really learn more about life and living in France a French newspaper can not be beaten.

Another look at French Newspapers - Part 3

Bonjour une fois de plus (Hello once again).

I hope you took the time to look into les journaux (the newspapers) I reviewed dans la deuxième partie (in the second part) of this series on French newspapers. Both Le Monde and Le Figaro are excellent publications featuring quality journalism.

Le Nouvel Observateur and Libération are also very popular newspapers that offer a different perspective on the news. Let’s look at them in greater detail.

Le Nouvel Observateur :

Founded in 1964, Le Nouvel Observateur (The New Observer) is actually a news-magazine. The magazine saw the light over a decade earlier in 1950 as L’Observateur politique, économique et littéraire (The political, economic and literary Observer). In 1953, the name changed to simply l’Observateur and then to France Observateur in 1954.

Le Nouvel Observateur has always been un magazine hebdomadaire (a weekly magazine) avec une orientation centre-gauche (with a center-left orientation) and more than cinq cent mille lecteurs (five hundred thousand readers) making it by far the most widely read newsmagazine in France. According to Claude Perdriel, the magazine’s founder, Le Nouvel Observateur “est un journal social-démocrate de gauche” (is a leftist social-democratic newspaper).

Le Nouvel Observateur focuses on the world of business, la politique (politics), and l’économie (the economy). Unlike some French papers, political and cultural issues of l’Europe (Europe), l’Afrique (Africa) and le Moyen-Orient (the Middle East) are covered in depth.

The magazine entered the digital age in 1999 with its website nouvelobs.com - You will find the usual sections such as Politique (Politics), Société (Society), and Éco (short for Economy) as well as Monde (World), Culture, Santé (Health), and Sport. You can subscribe to the digital magazine for as little as 1 euro par mois (1 Euro a month) which is a fantastic deal.

Libération :

Bursting onto the scene a decade after Le Nouvel Observateur, Libération began as un journal situé a l’extrême gauche (a newspaper situated on the extreme left). In the 80s and 90s, this journal quotidien (daily newspaper) shifted to a centre-gauche (center-left) orientation, a position it maintains to this day.

Interestingly, one of the founding members of Libération was Jean-Paul Sartre, un écrivain et philosophe Français (a French writer and philosopher) and a leading figure of existentialism who became active in politics après la Seconde Guerre mondiale (after the second World War).

The paper has had its share of ups and downs over the course of quatre décennies (four decades) but remains a fairly popular source of news avec un lectorat de près de deux cent mille (with a readership of nearly two hundred thousand).

The usual sections grace the homepage of Libération at liberation.fr - but you will also find atypical sections such as Cannabis, Prostitution and Sex & Genre. You can even listen to Libé Radio, the newspaper’s very own radio station.

If Le Monde or Le Figaro do not offer what you seek in a French newspaper, go ahead and try out Le Nouvel Observateur or Libération for a different take on French news.

Original text from the French Language Blog.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

I guess you read French Property News, Living France, A Place in the Sun magazines etc. I hope you even enjoy reading the Cle France Newsletters! but to really learn more about life and living in France a French newspaper can not be beaten.

A look at French Newspapers - Part 2

Welcome back to our little survey of French newspapers. In part 1, I briefly went over the different sections found in most newspapers to help you quickly locate the content you want to read. Today, we’ll be looking at two French newspapers that you are bound to find at any café, kiosque (news stand), gare (train station), aéroport (airport), station de métro (metro station), etc.

Both of these papers are considered authoritative and have garnered a wide lectorat (readership) thanks to high quality journalism.

Le Monde :

The aptly named Le Monde (The World) is one of the most widely read journaux (newspapers) in France and throughout the world. It began circulating in 1944 when Général Charles de Gaulle requested a new newspaper to replace the ageing Le Temps (The Time) which had been France’s premier newspaper up to that point.

Published daily, Le Monde has over 300,000 subscribers and is available in many pays étrangers (foreign countries). The paper was brought into the digital realm in 1995 with its own website lemonde.fr - the site is easy to navigate and covers a wide range of topics including Idées (Ideas), Planète (Planet), Vous (You), Campus (geared towards students) and more. Each section has several subsections so you never run out of reading material.

Mises à jour (updates) to the websites occur every few minutes so you will always have access to the latest news.

Le Figaro :

My personal favourite, Le Figaro has a more conservative penchant than Le Monde and began circulating in 1826 which makes it by far the oldest French newspaper. It began as a weekly satirical paper and is currently the second largest newspaper in France with a readership of almost 400,000.

Like Le Monde, Le Figaro has an excellent website at lefigaro.fr - that is both informative and entertaining. Sections such as Santé (Health), Bourse (Stock Exchange), Enchères (Auctions), Étudiant (Student) and Vin (Wine) offer le lecteur (the reader) choices they might not find on similar news websites. Le Figaro even has a small assortment of magazines like Le Figaro Magazine and Madame Figaro, each of which explores subjects in greater depth than those found in the newspaper.

So go ahead and visit the websites of Le Monde and Le Figaro, read up on some of the latest news en français bien sûr (in French of course), and maybe even consider un abonnement digital (digital subscription) that you’ll be able to access on your phone, tablet and computer.

You’ll enjoy both the great journalism and hone your reading comprehension skills at the same time.

Original text from the French Language Blog.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

I know it is only the beginning of September and in my experience September is always milder than August in France, especially north of the Loire as August can often bring storms and showers, September is calmer and seeing the autumn creep into the trees is always somewhat comforting knowing that winter is around the corner and long nights by the fire are beckoning!

Preparing your French House for winter.

You've hopefully been making the most of the good weather during the summer and visiting your French property, generally taking it easy where DIY and general odd-jobs are concerned but we thought a few tips on setting your property up for the winter months would be timely.

As the winter draws ever closer, there are a few quick jobs you can do around your home and garden to prepare them for the colder months.

Cle France top ten tips:

1. If you are not at the property during the winter, use your neighbour or friends or even a professional key holder to visit the property on a regular basis to make sure everything is in order.

2. Check dripping taps - fix them to prevent your pipes from freezing or your house from flooding.

3. Bleed radiators - bleeding your radiators releases trapped air which allows the water to fill every part of the radiator.

4. Test smoke alarms - change the battery every year, or when needed after testing each month, and make sure no dust has accumulated in the alarm.

5. Insulation - help keep your house warm by having good loft and wall insulation, if you are in the process of doing this make sure you prioritise for example, lag the water tank and insulate the outside taps etc.

6. Draught excluders - prevent heat from escaping through windows and doors by sealing any gaps with adhesive tape and use draught excluders at doors and windows.

7. Clear your guttering - make sure you get rid of any fallen leaves that could block and weigh down your guttering and pipes and stop the rain water from escaping.

8. Add anti-freeze to you toilet bowl and cistern to prevent it from cracking if the water freezes.

9. Clean your gardening equipment - you won't be using your gardening tools or lawnmower for a few months. Make sure they are clean, dry and stored away securely to prevent rust or theft.

10. Check your boiler - we all strive to turn the heating on as late in the year as possible, but the last thing you want is to turn it on in the winter and find your boiler is not working, test it before you need it.

AND FINALLY....

Make sure your home is properly protected and insured, when looking for a quotation from a French insurance company, in English, that is suited to your specific insurance and investment needs? or just looking for advice / information about the insurance system in France? then...

Franck and his English speaking insurance team are proud to be of service to you.

Special Offer: Quote "Cle France" to get a 10% reduction on your Home insurance policy.

Cle France in partnership with Franck commit ourselves to providing you with excellent service you can rely on.

Franck and his team's main purpose is to establish a friendly, professional rapport with you and help you to decide what sort of insurance you need.

They can also review your current cover to ensure it still meets your needs and those of your family.

Car, House (Building and Contents Insurance), Medical Top-Up (Affordable Top Up insurance for you and your family).  Allianz offer the security of a strong French business with the convenience of an English speaking insurance team, so your quotations can be provided in English.

Let Franck and his team look after your Insurance requirements.

What method / device do you use to stay up to date on current events? A couple decades ago, reading the newspaper, listening to the news on the radio or watching current events unfold on television were the only options. I remember watching les infos de 20 hrs sur TF1 (the 8 o’clock news on TF1) and la météo (the weather) at many of my homes during different times when I was living in France, and I still do via Sky.

I guess you read French Property News, Living France, A Place in the Sun magazines etc. I hope you even enjoy reading the Cle France Newsletters! but to really learn more about life and living in France a French newspaper can not be beaten.

Times have changed though and today we are bombarded with news in every conceivable form. From apps on our smartphones to the browsers on our computer to satellite radio and more, we have access to the latest news within seconds on a variety of devices.

Image by Pluriformity on Flickr

We can still read our local paper journal (newspaper) but thanks to the Internet, we now have access to the most recent news from different parts of the world and in a variety of languages. You don't have to visit France just to buy the paper anymore!

France has no shortage of journaux (newspapers), one of which began circulating nearly two centuries ago. Like many of our largest newspapers, the major French publications have made the leap into the digital era and offer virtual newspapers viewable on all your electronic devices.

If you’re looking to practice your French reading comprehension skills and would like to keep up on what’s going on in France and around the world, any of the major French newspapers can provide you with a good dose of les actualités (the news). Keep in mind, some are quotidiens (daily) while others are hebdomadaires (weekly).

Let’s run through some of the sections you might find in French newspapers and/or their websites to help you navigate their content.

Actualités (News) – This will give you the latest news and is not topic-specific.

À la une (Front page) – This refers to the front page of a newspaper so it is deemed the most important piece of content. This will usually be the homepage of a news website.

Politique (Politics) – Anything having to do with the political world, both foreign and domestic.

Société (Society) – Topics may vary, but you would want to visit this section to read up on currents events in France.

International or Monde (International or World) – As the section title implies, you will read about events beyond the domestic sphere.

Culture (Culture) – This section will include the latest news in the world of cinéma (film), musique (music), les arts (the arts), livres (books), etc.

Économie (Economy) – Read up on financial news in this section, including details about la Bourse de Paris (the Paris Stock Exchange).

Sciences/Tech (Science/Tech) – These sections may be separate but they are sometimes combined. Learn about new discoveries in science and read about groundbreaking innovations in the tech/web sphere.

Although they are found in most French newspapers, the sections listed above might differ slightly from publication to publication. Larger publications may have additional sections such as Sports, Style, Santé (Health), Fait Divers (Various Facts) and Auto (Cars) but the sections above are shared among most of them.

In the next posts, we’ll look in greater detail at some of these French newspapers that have informed and entertained readers for decades.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.