French word of the day: L'été

We are in our 3rd extended heatwave of summer (l'été) without aircon) and the French football (soccer) team just lost in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Not the greatest of Bastille 14 Juillet days, this past Tuesday, I must say.

It is the summer of discontent here in France, with a few months remaining before the 2027 Presidential election, so there’s plenty of political manoeuvering that we all want to just ignore. (Who says the “ostrich head in the sand” is not a good approach?)

Luckily it is the holidays, so a trip to the swimming pool and an ice cream does make everything better.

The grandparents are around, so that too is quite fun to relax en famille. And watching my kids with all the relatives, and the French football team, I made a funny observation that I had forgotten about.

There is a particular French morning ritual that I thought was just “kid” thing but is also amongst adults. Specifically, every morning the kids go and greet each relative individually with a hug or bises (cheek kiss). And watching the Equipe de France youtube channel (yes, of course they have a youtube channel), you can see the players greeting each person individually as well.

Yes, totally random observation, but I suppose when you move to another country, it is these tiny cultural differences that make life interesting.

So getting back to the Equipe de France, they don’t do the bises, but they do go in for a handshake or fist bump, or as the kids like to call it these days, “le check“. Not a general “bonjour!“ or “’morning!” to the room, along with a wave.

They seemed to be greeting each person, even if they all probably saw each other at dinner 8 hours earlier and are all staying next door to each other in the same hotel for 3+ weeks, isolated from family and the general public.

And I should add that this is more of an “old French office” thing, when this used to be the norm. In the bygone days of everyone wearing suits and heels, the French tradition used to be of greeting every single person individually. These days it is only politicians and management consultants rubbing elbows who like to do this.

I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t be bothered to greet 10-20 people individually every morning, I think I would just start arriving late if I was forced to! And yes young French kids do generally greet everyone every morning, but this is usually young kids and that is not usually that many people.

So I thought it was rather unusual for a bunch of 20-something footballers keeping this tradition, maybe it is a sports “building a team” mentality thing? Anyway, I just thought that was an interesting peak into their “behind the scenes” and a nice display of unity. There are many other observations of course, but I guess we can all explore that next World cup.

Happy summer everyone, and I hope there is some good ice cream where you are!

In other news:

• If you remember a few months, I mentioned that the body of the real life inspiration of D’Artagnan from Alexandre Dumas’ book 3 Muskateers, has been found in the Dutch city of Maastricht. Well it all got very strange from there. Apparently one of the archaeologists on the case seemingly had a moment of folly and took some home bones discovered, compromising their identification. And then President Macron got involved, asking for the repatriation of the bones to Lupiac, d’Artagnan’s village of origin. Who knew the 3 Muskateers was a continuing soap opera?

• I had also mentioned a few months ago that President Macron alongside U.K. PM Keir Starmer had agreed for France to lend the Bayeux Tapestry to the U.K., leading to a several protests from French and UK conservationists. The ancient tapestry features William the Conqueror (aka Guillaume le Conquerant) making his way from Normandy to conquer England in 1066 AD. Well, Starmer may have resigned but the precious tapestry has arrived at the British museum in London. (Next thing you know, the British are going to start asking for William the Conqueror’s body to be “returned” from Caen in Normandy where he is buried.)

• It is so hot, Canadair airplanes are required dumping water from the Seine river on forest fires in the Fontainebleau area around Paris.

And in the blog:

Bayeux: A tapestry town of history and charm in Normandy

Visit Bayeux, a charming medieval town in Normandy on the west coast of France. From William the Conqueror to WWII, here are the top things to see, where to stay, and more.

9 French cheese and wine pairings to love

With so many wines and cheeses to choose from, these are the best cheese and wine pairings that we love in French gastronomy.

Greek Yogurt Aioli (Mediterranean Recipe)

In 5 minutes or less, this Greek yogurt aioli sauce recipe is quick and easy to prepare. To serve as a dipping sauce, topping or spread along with any meal.