When migrants attempt the hazardous journey by sea from France to Britain, they are not merely seeking a better standard of living. They are fleeing to a country where they will not be exposed to the prejudice and mistreatment – sometimes brutal – that is their daily experience across the Channel. Home Secretary Priti Patel … Read more
France is facing new coronavirus testing troubles as dozens of labs close to allow staff a summer holiday despite signs that a second wave is building. Doctors have warned that the vacation crunch is just part of a larger web of failures in France’s testing strategy which was described earlier this week by the government’s own virus … Read more
From Ali Smith’s final seasonal quartet instalment to If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha, a new series by Vaseem Khan and Elin Hilderbrand’s latest, this week’s best new fiction By Max Davidson and Gwendolyn Smith and Hephzibah Anderson and John Williams Published: 22:01 BST, 1 August 2020 | Updated: 22:01 BST, 1 August … Read more
We are now free to enjoy a holiday in France without the prospect of two weeks’ quarantine on our return. But where to go to escape crowded beaches and tourist hot spots? Why not try France’s little-known islands and hideaways, which offer a secluded and relaxing break… Grande-Ile, Normandy A little slice of heaven: Grande-Ile is … Read more
Mowing the lawn might take you a fortnight — but don’t let that put you off. The phenomenal success of the Channel 4 series Escape To The Chateau, in which couple Angel Adoree and Dick Strawbridge take on a huge, 45-room DIY project in North-West France, has been a source of inspiration for millions of … Read more
After more than three months gathering dust and moths in a cupboard, the UK’s red carpet was unrolled yesterday. For the first time since lockdown began in March, Britain had a visitor, a proper one – a head of state no less. The arrival of President Emmanuel Macron of France might not have been quite … Read more
The one lesson I’ve learned from life: Frances Barber says being vain is not always a sin Award-winning actress Frances Barber, 62, is best known for roles in The Split She said she lived in Los Angeles for three years and was used to perfect skin Frances said she has a poster in my house … Read more
‘Top up?’ inquired my husband, as we sat on the sun-dappled terrace. It’s hard to think of a nicer question. Especially when asked on a balmy afternoon in Beaune, the unofficial capital of Burgundy’s Côte-d’Or region, where we were simply doing what the good people of this dignified town do best – savouring one of … Read more
There are few places in all of France as forbidding as this abandoned 19th-century prison – as these eerie pictures show. They were taken by French photographer Romain Veillon inside the city of Autun jail, which has a design much-dreaded among prisoners – panopticon, a word derived from panoptes, the Greek for ‘all-seeing’. The cylindrical … Read more
France’s daily coronavirus deaths drop to 395 – the lowest in three weeks – as ‘minuscule traces’ of bug are found in water used for Paris street cleaning France has reported 395 new deaths from coronavirus during the last 24 hours New deaths included 227 patients in hospitals and 168 nursing home residents The latest figures … Read more