Bonjour, c’est Véro
Confession: I’ve been dying to get to the end of my last week at home before heading to Paris where I’ll host Christmas festivities at my parents’.
Life’s been busy, yet this afternoon as the sun peeks through the ubiquitous grisaille (grey skies) I get to sit at my desk and write, enfin (finally.)
I just re-read the 2024 “Lettres de France” published before and after Christmas. They covered a lot of ground, sharing our family’s Holiday traditions, memories of Christmas Past, current events and more.
This December will bring a lot of the same chez nous. When your parents slow down and don’t entertain anymore, rituals get streamlined. You adapt.
Apéro dinatoire it will be on Christmas Eve, convivial, still, delicious with everyone’s favorite drinks and enough finger foods savory and sweet, to carry us through the evening as we sit around their Parisian living room.
We are not the only ones to go the easier route. I just read an article about the popular and convivial raclette (cheese and charcuterie-based, once reserved for evenings at ski resorts) topping the charts on Christmas Eve (le Réveillon de Noël) for some of my countrymen. Eh oui. French life keeps evolving.
It’s a good thing Christmas in France is a lot less performance-based than in another part of the world I once called home. Fewer gifts, less glitz and glitter, a wee bit less shopping. In France Christmas like many other celebrations often happens on a smaller scale - with the exception of the ubiquitous and crowded Christmas markets where vin chaud (mulled wine,) pain d’épice (gingerbread) and a slew of hearty and smelly delicacies compete for visitors’ attention with crafts hopefully “Made in France.”
Now is a good time to pause and acknowledge the fact that many people around the world dread the Holidays like medieval urban dwellers feared the Plague in the 14th century. They may be alone or dealing with health issues; they may be struggling to get over Holiday childhood trauma courtesy of their dysfunctional families. Glitz and glitter will only take you so far (though beaucoup de mulled wine can help.)
In this Lettre de France (the last one I’ll be publishing in 2025) I will do as I have done since the Black Death Covid stopped the world in 2020 and many were stuck at home.
Today I will write and share stories, photos and a Made in France gift with a special thought for those who don’t smile much during the Holiday season and may welcome a dose of escapism. Here is French life les amis with its glorious unpredictability, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (ok, maybe not the Ugly. It’s Christmas after all.)
Vous êtes prêts? (Ready?) On y va !
If you enjoy reading this letter help me get the word out and share it. Merci !
Scroll on social media this month and spot glamorized descriptions of the Holidays in France. The markets! The food! The Champagne! Curated gift guides!
Jingle bells, Jingle bells…
“Pas si vite,” (not so fast) France says. Tout n’est pas rose ici.” Let’s take off those rose-tinted glasses, shall we?
Last December I wrote about Notre-Dame de Paris reopening after five years of intense, costly and well-publicized restoration efforts. The Old Lady has done well in 2025: Over 11 million visitors walked through the cathedral’s heavy doors - smart phones at the ready - setting a new record.
Well, Notre-Dame is making the news again in December 2025.
A new exhibit has just opened at le Grand Palais and running until mid-March 2026. On display: the full-size models of six contemporary stained glass windows that will adorn chapels on the south-side of the cathedral, replacing 19th century monochromatic versions. They were designed by artist Claire Tabouret who won a contest launched by the French State a year ago.
Cue in public outcry.
President Macron who successfully oversaw the restoration of the cathedral (and has never heard of the expression “Quit while you’re ahead,”) has championed the new project. The president is so unpopular in France right now the mere mention of his name is enough to create controversy and elicit push back.
“C’est le caprice du roi président” many argue.
Parisians are notoriously and historically adverse to change (not in all areas, as the brunch and coffee shop epidemics have shown.) Among popular reasons to oppose the new stained glass windows: Why rebuild the cathedral à l’identique (identically) only to include conspicuous contemporary art? Project cost: 4 million Euros. Over 845 million Euros were raised in 2019 to save the cathedral. The opening ceremony in December 2024 alone cost over 10 million. Why spend more when so many churches and historic landmarks in France are dying of old age, abandoned?
Affaire à suivre. To be continued.
In the French countryside, tout n’est pas rose non plus.
If you’ve driven around France over the last few weeks you may have hit road closures; your train may have been delayed; or you could have noticed the main entrance of your local Préfecture has been generously sprayed with… manure.
C’est la merde (pun intended.) Les éleveurs de bovins (cattle farmers) are in uproar.
With good reason.
Back in June an epidemic of Dermatose Nodulaire (a highly contagious disease) started around the Savoie and Haute Savoie regions. It has since spread to other parts of the country, including my native southwestern France. The authorities’ immediate reaction was: If one cow became sick the entire herd was put down. They were oblivious to the farmers’ plight. Many watched their entire livelihood disappear in a few hours.
Heart-breaking videos are making the rounds in the media. My grandfather was a farmer for most of his adult life until he couldn’t anymore and had to reinvent himself once again in his 60’s. This hits home.
Over the last few days protests have intensified.
You read that right, social protest, a few days before the Holidays, and not on social media with hash tags. It would be easy to mock this enduring French habit. I won’t.
Know this: Even when the French get tired of strikes and unrest as it affects their daily lives, very few condemn farmers. The country that invented gastronomy relies on farming. We all know they have been struggling for decades, under the increasing weight of EU regulations. They (and their European counterparts) also oppose a trade agreement with South America 25 years in the making, Mercosur. In fact, things got heated in Brussels, Belgium this week.
Farmers won’t go down silently (in France and beyond) because they are desperate. French leaders have learned the hard way it’s not good when la province (France outside Paris) gets angry - or hungry.
The increasing push-back against cattle culling convinced the government to react: A widespread vaccination campaign is underway as I type this. To supplement vaccine stocks from the French Ministry of Agriculture, 400,000 doses traveled from the Netherlands to southwestern France this week, supervised by the French military. Time is of the essence: 750,000 cows have to be vaccinated before January.
Everyone has joined the effort: Veterinarians, retired vets, vets-in-training, farmers. Many might not get to celebrate the Holidays this year.
Mission code name: “Let’s Save French Cows for Christmas” (It’s not, but it should be.)
Bonne chance à tous !
2025 had its ups and downs, well-publicized around the world. Quelle pagaille !(that’s the polite French version.) What a mess.
Here in her corner of France, an itinerant tour guide packed her bags often in the spring and fall, leading tours around the country, from Paris to the Loire Valley and on to Normandy, from the Perigord to Carcassonne, Provence and the French Riviera.
I proudly introduced 250 North American travelers to this beautiful country and its appealing, intriguing (and puzzling) ways. No, it wasn’t all cheese, wine and happy news. Bless their hearts.
Happy to report no tour member got left behind along the way (unlike some passports or favorite sunglasses that occasionally strayed away from their owners.)
After five seasons on the road, I have come to realize that touring life tends to blur the line between childhood and adult education. While traveling, we tour guides get referred to as “She who herds cats” or “Mary Poppins” (because we can solve almost any issue by digging inside our bags where magical supplies await. True story.)
A few snapshots for your pleasure. Life of a tour guide (and her charges) on the road.
By early October once touring season wrapped up I launched my inaugural French Immersion workshops in the Loire Valley: Two small groups of students joined this tour guide and adult educator in Tours for a week, ready to speak French and learn more about the local culture. I had them covered.
No bragging here but I think they liked the program! In fact most participants plan to return in 2026. This means I’ll be offering more workshops. Stay tuned for schedule and pricing information to be released in January. If you are interested in hearing the news first, reach out now to join the mailing list.
If you have followed me since my Seattle days (I used to be known as “French Girl in Seattle” then,) or found me with France with Vero the small business born out of necessity in 2020, you know I am passionate about sharing France, its culture, language, heritage (and beautiful corners.)
I am a tour guide, a teacher and (they say) a content creator. After all content comes in many shapes and forms, like this letter.
Since touring season wrapped up in October and before online French conversation classes resume in January, I have enjoyed telling stories and filming new videos for this community.
Happy to introduce the traditional France with Vero Holiday virtual tour. This year, join me at a magnificent château in the Loire Valley all decked out for Christmas.
Do you have 10 minutes to spare? Welcome to Chaumont-sur-Loire! Not all French life happens in Paris. Link below. Escapism guaranteed. Bonne visite.
Time to wrap up this letter and another busy year, my second one as a Substack writer. I like it here. Thank you for your continued support, for our interactions and for letting me know you enjoy “Lettres de France” or my French Vignettes.
Why not subscribe if you haven’t yet to receive this monthly publication in your inbox? It’s free. In fact most of my content, anywhere, remains free. At France with Véro, everyone’s welcome (especially in the Comment section.)
Do you want to play Mary Poppins too? Upgrade your membership. This will magically turn me into a paid author (an enduring dream of mine I plan to focus on once life slows down) and you will help support a female-owned business, managed by a Gen X French native. Use this special offer for you or to treat a francophile friend.
You can also join a few hundred francophiles, “la Bande de Véro,” (Véro’s posse) on Patreon. Many have been by my side since 2020 or 2021 and kept me afloat when the future looked bleak — So many supportive, generous gestures and messages I can’t forget. They motivate me to push on.
Whether you celebrate the Holidays or not I hope this letter has informed you; taught you a thing or two and most importantly, has made you smile and dream about France.
Joyeux Noël et bonne année!
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