The Bilingual and Audio Online Magazine for Expatriates

The Bilingual and Audio Online Magazine for Expatriates in France, French Students and Francophiles 

April 2007 Issue Number 5

Page 2 French Accent, April 2007 Issue Number 5 

Please continue 

to send us your 

comments, 

criticisms, 

suggestions!... 

editor@frenchaccentmagazine.com 

E-magazine, printable. Educational purposes. 

Editorial team: Céline and Vincent Anthonioz, Annick 

and Roger Stevenson. 

Copyright: Reprints of the articles are permitted only with full 

mention of the title, the date and the web site address. 

Contacts 

Questions to the editor: editor@frenchaccentmagazine.com 

Subscriptions: admin@frenchaccentmagazine.com 

Advertisement: ad@frenchaccentmagazine.com 

Tél.: +33 (0)870.46 .77.81. 

Web site: www.frenchaccentmagazine.com 

From the Editors 

W ith the hint of warmer, longer days in the air, we have begun the first of a series of 

articles and scenarios about gardening in France. While many of our readers are undoubtedly 

fervent and experienced green thumbs, we, nevertheless, consider it important to encourage 

those who may not be to grow their own vegetables and to adopt sound gardening 

practices that are not harmful to the environment. There is nothing quite like the taste of 

fresh, home grown, organic tomatoes. We have also attempted to point out the plants that 

are easily grown in France and to provide information about the vast number of gardening 

fairs that are held all over France and that are an excellent source of information, seeds, 

ideas and contacts. In that same vein, we have also included two articles on using natural, 

renewable resources for building and insulating homes. 

The upcoming presidential elections give us the opportunity to continue our series of discussions 

of French politics. The outcome of the election campaign, one of the more interesting 

in decades, and two rounds of voting will have a profound impact on the political 

landscape of France for at least the next five years. Even though many of our readers are 

not eligible to vote in France, we encourage all of you to follow the campaign and the seemingly 

complicated but ever-fascinating election procedure. The next president of France 

could well have an impact on the cultural and financial well-being of your lives. 

Beginning with the very first issue of French Accent we have published French and English 

versions of many of the articles and scenarios in order to help our readers improve their 

comprehension of written texts in French. We should point out that the English version of 

the French texts is not always a literal, word for word translation, which would be stilted 

and not at all a realistic rendition of how one would speak in English. We trust it will not 

be confusing for our readers when they don’t find an exact English translation of every 

word and expression in the French articles. We also regret that, due to a technical problem, 

the cross-word puzzle won’t appear in this issue. Rest assured that it will return in May. 

And finally, in our continuing desire to elicit input and suggestions from our readers, we 

have prepared a questionnaire available via e-mail in an easy-to-use online form. You may 

have received the access link already. We sincerely encourage you to take the time to fill it 

out and provide your valuable and valued input that will help us to continue improving the 

quality and content of French Accent. 

French Accent Magazine 

When you see this symbol: 

click on it to print 

a full column, without colours 

and pictures. 

Printable 

version 

When you see this symbol: 

click on it to access the web page with the audio file 

Cover photo: Dans une jardinerie. Photo Annick Stevenson

Issue Number 5 

Interactive French 

Scenario of the Month: Frequently Misused Verbs Page 5 

“Le coin des branchés”: A few useful interesting expressions Page 7 

The “Dictée” of the Month Page 7 

Real Life 

Interview with an Expatriate: Sue Bailey Page 8 

At the Garden Center Page 11 

Tips & Traps: What to do in case of a car accident Page 12 

“Le bricolage pour tous”: Natural Insulation Page 14 

This is France 

French Accent, April 2007 

Gardening in France Page 15 

- Vegetable Gardening In Spring Page 15 

- Your Ornamental Garden Page 16 

- A Few Garden Fairs in April and May Page 17 

- Vocabulary Page 17 

French Politics 

French Presidential Elections Page 18 

Our Planet 

Building out of Wood and Straw Page 21 

The Environment in our Daily Life Page 22 

The French Scene 

Sommaire 

Agnès Jaoui Page 24 

A Selection of DVDs Page 25 

A Song and a Poem Page 26 

Letters to the Editor Page 4 

+ They're talking about us! Blogs and Forums Page 4 

Oh la la la la!... Unbelievable but True Stories from France Page 20 

Une recette de cuisine: gratin de saumon et pommes de terre Page 28 

Page 3


CLICK HERE 

Advertise 

with us: 

Click 

HERE 

Authentic French Products 

Could you possibly include 

some information in a future 

magazine on authentic French 

products which can be bought 

by internet purchase. I am 

thinking of food stuffs and 

interiors. I would also love to 

see an article on how to achieve 

the French interior look for 

houses. My husband and I have 

a house in Brittany that we are 

modernising and are into all 

things French. He would love 

to see an article on gardening in 

Brittany climate. We live in 

Belfast, Ireland, and our kids 

are learning French so maybe a 

kids section would be possible 

in the future. I came across a 

link to you on Total France 

Letters to the Editor 

(www.totalfrance.com) and now 

three in our family have 

requested a copy to our PC’s. 

Many thanks for a wonderful 

resource. We have spent hours 

reading singing to the songs and 

doing the crosswords. Keep up 

the good work. 

Brenda Kelly 

Lyrics of French Songs 

I have to confess that although I 

have been sent a copy of the 

magazine since its inception, I've 

only just got round to reading 

the February issue this week! 

Congratulations! I think it's a 

wonderful idea and hugely 

inventive! 

They're talking about us!... 

Excerpts from various blogs and forums* 

New magazine online! 

LizzyinFrance 

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 

Hope this is the right place to 

tell others about this new 

magazine. 

A friend passed it on to me - a 

free online mag to help with 

learning French and settling in 

France. I think they are on their 

3rd issue, have a look at the 

website: 

www.frenchacccentmagazine.com 

It looks really good - what do 

others think? 

Liz 

fuzzyfelt30 

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 

It does look really useful. 

Looking through the previous 

issues, there are interactive 

sections, with role plays and 

dictées (which, being in England, 

will really help with listening to 

the language), as well as handy 

info on everyday situations. 

For those of us with fairly 

limited French skills, I think it 

will be très pratique!! 

http://Riviera.angloinfo.com/ 

forum/topic.asp? 

Topic_id=86461 

helen 888 writes: 

Posted: 09/03/2007 

I don't have any personal 

involvement with this 

publication and admittedly, I've 

not read it all the way through, 

but it looks pretty good; 

ameri-cannes writes: 

Posted: 09/03/2007 

Thank you, Helen! That really 

looks great. Unfortunately, I 

don't have time at the moment 

for a real thorough look at it, 

but I thinks it's gonna be a 

really big help. Good for those 

late hours when the kids 

(including hubby) are in bed & I 

If it's not an infringement of 

copyright laws to print the song 

lyrics then I'm sure that I 

wouldn't be the only one who 

would appreciate seeing them in 

your magazine. 

Sharon Le Poidevin 

Audio Links (OK) 

Just a quick line to say how 

much we enjoy your Magazine, 

it is just the right mix of 

interesting articles containing 

just what you need to know 

in new situations but we lack 

the background and French 

social skills, your articles are 

helping to fill those gaps. The 

audio links are also excellent, 

please keep up the good work. 

Mike Brimson, Bordon, UK 

can enjoy some peaceful 

reading! (Lord knows I need the 

help learning French!) 

Thanks again. 

www.completefrance.com/cs/ 

forums/897638/ShowPost.aspx 

Loulou71, 11 March: 

I don't know if this link has 

been posted before, but I've 

found a really lovely free 

resource for learning French. 

There's a free magazine to 

download and it's got audio 

built in so you can listen to the 

articles! 

Hope this helps someone. 

Louise


I ’m going back to Paris, I’m 

visiting a friend and I’ll return 

on Monday! The translation of 

these verbs is not always 

straightforward. 

You’re visiting a friend? 

Instinctively, a native English 

speaker will say je visite. In 

French, we visit a city or a 

touristy place but not a person; 

therefore we cannot use the verb 

visiter in this situation! We would 

have to use ‘going to see’ (aller 

voir) or ‘passing by’ (passer voir) or 

‘to render a visit’ (rendre visite)! 

You’re at work, you need to go 

out for a break and you say to a 

co-worker: ‘I will return in 15 

minutes’? In French, we cannot 

use the verb retourner in this 

situation. Retourner means ‘to go 

back’, not ‘return’! We need to 

say ‘I’ll come back in 15 

minutes’ (Je reviendrai dans 15 

minutes)! 

Following is a list of the most 

commonly used verbs of motion 

backed up with some examples – 

hope this will bring you some 

clarification: 

1) Sortir = to go outside or to go 

for an outing. 

Ex : Je sors ce samedi soir ! = I’m 

going out this Saturday evening! 

Ex : Je sors un moment dans le jardin ! 

= I’m going out for a while in the 

garden. 

Note: In this case, sortir is 

conjugated with the auxiliary être 

in the passé composé (hier soir, je suis 

sorti(e) = yesterday, I went out). 

Sortir = to take something 

outside. 

Ex: Je sors la poubelle = I’m taking 

the trash outside. 

Note: In this case, sortir is 

conjugated with the auxiliary avoir 

in the passé composé (hier, j’ai sorti la 

poubelle = yesterday, I took out 

the trash). 

2) Rentrer = to go home! 

Ex: Je suis fatigué, je rentre ! = I’m 

tired, I’m returning home. 

Note: In this case, rentrer is 

conjugated with the auxiliary être 

in the passé composé (hier soir, je suis 

rentré(e) à 23h = last night, I went 

home at 11pm). 

Rentrer = to bring or take 

something inside. 

Ex : Je rentre la voiture dans le garage 

= I’m putting the car in the garage. 

Note: In this case, rentrer is 

conjugated with the auxiliary avoir 

in the passé composé (hier, j’ai rentré 

la poubelle = yesterday, I brought 

the trash bin in). 

3) Visiter = to visit a place or a 

tourist destination. 

Ex: Demain, je vais visiter Notre- 

Dame = Tomorrow, I’m going to 

visit Notre-Dame. 

Note: Visiter is conjugated with 

the auxiliary avoir in the passé 

composé (hier, j’ai visité Notre-Dame 

= yesterday, I visited Notre- 

Dame). 

4) Rendre visite à or aller voir 

or passer voir = to pay a visit to 

or to go see someone! This is 

how the French express 

themselves when they’re visiting 

SOMEONE. 


Interactive French — Scenario of the Month 

Frequently Misused Verbs: 

visiting, returning & coming back 

Je sors la poubelle... 

Ex : Après le travail, je vais rendre 

visite à Caroline. 

Ex : Après le travail, je vais aller voir 

Caroline. 

Ex : Après le travail, je passe voir 

Caroline. 

Note: Rendre visite is conjugated 

with the auxiliary avoir (hier, j’ai 

rendu visite à Caroline= yesterday, 

I visited Caroline). 

Note: Aller voir is conjugated with 

the auxiliary être (hier, je suis allé(e) 

voir Caroline= yesterday, I went to 

see Caroline). 

Note: Passer voir is conjugated 

with the auxiliary être. 

5) Venir = to come 

Printable 

version 

Ex: Je viens demain ! = I’m coming 

tomorrow. 

Note: Venir is conjugated with 

the auxiliairy être (je suis venu(e) te 

voir hier = I came to see you 

yesterday). 

6) Revenir = to come back/to 

be back (expressed when you’re 

telling someone you’re coming 

back to the place where you’re 

standing at that moment). 

Ex : Ce restaurant était délicieux, je 

reviendrai samedi prochain avec des 

amis = this restaurant was delicious, 

I’ll be back next Saturday. 

Note: Revenir is conjugated with 

the auxiliary être (je suis revenue(e) 

hier = I came back yesterday. 

7) Retourner = to go back to a 

place you’ve been to before but 

you’re not standing at that place 

when you’re expressing it. 

Ex: You’re in England and 

you’re saying to a friend = Je 

retournerai en France dans 2 mois = 

I’ll go back to France in 2 

months. 

Note: Retourner is conjugated with 

the verb être (je suis retourné(e) en 

France il y a 2 mois= I went back 

to France 2 months ago). 

Page 5


Click here 

Click here 

Scenario (cont'd) I’m leaving for England tomorrow. 

8) Partir = to leave and to depart. 

Ex: Je pars pour l’Angleterre demain = 

A Role Play 

There is nothing like putting it all in context in order to make real sense out of it. The 

following role play includes most of these verbs. Please listen to it: 

Jacques est en train de passer un entretien pour un 

travail avec Mme Fournier. 

Mme Fournier : A votre travail actuel, vous finissez 

à quelle heure ? 

Jacques : Je rentre chez moi vers 19h. 

Mme Fournier : Votre client principal est en Espagne. 

Est-ce que vous retournez régulièrement le 

voir ? 

Jacques : Oui, je vais le voir une fois par mois. 

Mme Fournier : Est-ce que vous partez souvent en 

voyage d’affaires ? 

Jacques : Oui, je pars deux à trois fois par mois. 

Mme Fournier : Quand les clients viennent vous 

rendre visite, est-ce que vous vous occupez d’eux ? 

Jacques : Oui, on va généralement visiter les usines 

la journée et on les sort au restaurant le soir. D’ailleurs, 

lundi dernier, je suis sorti avec deux de mes 

clients danois pendant toute la soirée. 

Mme Fournier : D’accord – excusez-moi, mais je 

dois sortir parler avec mon directeur pendant juste 

quelques minutes et je reviens tout de suite ! 

Jacques : Bien sûr, je vous attends. 

Mme Fournier : Me voici de retour ! Est-ce que 

vous avez la possibilité de revenir demain pour un 

deuxième entretien ? Votre profil nous intéresse 

vraiment beaucoup. 

Jacques : Je ne pourrai pas revenir demain car je 

dois partir pendant quelques jours et je rentrerai 

dimanche prochain. 

Mme Fournier : D’accord alors pouvez vous passer 

voir le directeur lundi prochain ? 

Jacques : Oui avec plaisir ! Est-ce qu’il serait possible 

de venir l’après-midi ? 

Mme Fournier : Mon directeur vient de sortir pour 

l’après-midi. Je vous appelle demain matin et je vous 

tiens au courant de l’heure. Est-ce que ça ira ? 

Jacques : C’est parfait et je vous remercie beaucoup 

pour l’organisation de ce deuxième entretien. Je me 

réjouis de rencontrer votre directeur. 

Ex: Le train part à 16h = the train is 

leaving at 4 pm. 

Note: Partir is conjugated with the 

verb être (je suis parti(e) hier pour 

l’Angleterre = I left yesterday for 

England); (le train est parti à 16h = 

the train left at 4 pm). 

Céline Anthonioz 

Jacques is in the midst of having a job interview with 

Mrs Fournier. 

Mrs Fournier: At your current job, at what time do 

you finish your work? 

Jacques: Generally, I go home around 7 p.m. 

Mrs Fournier: Your main client is in Spain. Do you 

regularly go back to see him? 

Jacques: Yes, I go see him once a month. 

Mrs Fournier: Do you often leave on business trips? 

Jacques: Yes, I leave two to three times per month. 

Mrs Fournier: When the clients visit you, do you 

take care of them? 

Jacques: Yes, we go visit the factories during the 

day and we take them out to a restaurant in the 

evening. As a matter of fact, last Monday, I went out 

with two of my Danish clients for the whole evening. 

Mrs Fournier: OK – sorry but I must go out and 

speak with my director for just a few minutes and I’ll 

be right back! 

Jacques: Of course, I’ll wait for you. 

Mrs Fournier: I’m back! Do you have the possibility 

to come back tomorrow for a second interview? 

Your profile is very interesting to us. 

Jacques: I cannot come back tomorrow because I 

must leave for a few days and I will return home 

next Sunday. 

Mrs Fournier: OK, so can you stop by to see the 

Director next Monday? 

Jacques: Yes, with pleasure! Would it be possible to 

come in the afternoon? 

Mrs Fournier: My director has just gone out for the 

afternoon, I’ll call you tomorrow morning and I’ll let 

you know of the time –will that be alright? 

Jacques: That’s perfect and I thank you very much 

for organising this second interview. I look forward 

to meeting your director.


Le coin des branchés 

La dictée du mois 


S ince we’re into spring with this issue and our thoughts are turning to the 

beauties of nature and our vegetable gardens, a few idiomatic expressions this 

month dealing with fruits and vegetables are in order. From the list below, it 

would appear that cabbage is the favourite vegetable in France. 

Vegetables 

1) Cabbage 

Chou = darling. 

Mon (petit) chou = somewhat outdated expression for “My dear/darling”. 

C’est un chou = He’s a darling. 

C’est chou = It’s cute. 

Mon petit chou... 

Un petit bout de chou = a term of endearment for a child. 

Etre bête comme chou = to be really stupid. 

Il n’a rien dans le chou = He has no brains, nothing on top. 

Une feuille de chou = a very basic and short newsletter or newspaper. 

Avoir les oreilles en feuille de chou = to have cauliflower ears. 

Faire chou blanc = to draw a blank. 

Un chouchou = a) a coloured flexible band used to put one’s hair in a pony tail. b) the teacher’s (or 

the boss’s) pet. 

2) Others 

Je n’ai pas un radis = I don’t have a cent (penny), I’m flat broke. 

Avoir un cœur d’artichaut = to be very sensitive and fall in love easily. 

Un navet = a poor (terrible) film or play. 

Faire le poireau = to hang around waiting, to bide one’s time. 

Une grande asperge = to be skinny as a bean pole. 

Occupe-toi de tes oignons ! = Mind your own business! 

Mettre du beurre dans les épinards = to bring in extra revenue which comes as a relief. 

Avoir la tête comme une citrouille = to be somewhat dizzy from thinking too much. 

Etre une vraie courge = to be totally stupid. 

Pousser sur le champignon = to exaggerate. 

Appuyer sur le champignon = to drive too fast (to stomp down on the accelerator). 

Un gros légume = a big shot, bigwig. 

Prendre de la graine = to learn from experience. 

Avoir du blé = to have (lots of) money. 

Fruits 

Tomber dans les pommes = to faint. 

Etre haut comme trois pommes = to be very short. 

Avoir la pêche = to feel really chipper. 

Une fraise = as well as the fruit, it can also mean a bit for a router. 

A la noix = crummy, lousy. 

Poire = face, mug (Il a une bonne poire). 

En pleine poire = right in the face. 

Etre une poire = to be a sucker. 

Semer des peaux de bananes = to create difficulties or obstacles for others. 

Roger Stevenson 

Click on the link below to listen to the "dictée". Try and write the "dictée" without making 

any mistakes. You can compare it to the original text on page 27. 

CDs, DVDs, 

and 

French and 

English books 

delivered 

to your home 

CLICK HERE 

Page 7


S ue Bailey and her husband left good 

paying but stressful jobs in England to 

resettle in Brittany. Both have started 

their own businesses, and their lives have 

changed considerably, but for the better. 

Vincent Anthonioz: When 

and why did you and your 

husband move to the 

Brittany area? 

Sue Bailey: For years, we’d had 

this little fantasy about ‘when 

we win the lottery, we’ll buy a 

house in France’, never really 

thinking we’d do it. Then Barty 

(my husband) got made 

Interview of the Month: Sue Bailey 

redundant with an extremely 

generous payout, and we knew 

we could either stay in London, 

pay off the mortgage but still 

have to work, or we could take 

the chance to change our lives 

completely. We felt that if we 

stayed in London, we’d always 

regret taking the safe option, 

and wonder what our lives 

could have been like if we’d 

been more adventurous. So we 

set out to look at houses in June 

2004, and two days later, we’d 

bought one! The fact that it was 

little more than a shell, had no 

upstairs, no heating, no bathroom 

didn’t seem to bother us then – 

we were both completely in love 

with the house. 

V.A.: What professions did you 

both have before moving to 

France? 

S.B.: We both had very boring 

office jobs: Barty worked for an 

insurance company, and I’d been 

working for Camden Council. 

We’d really had enough of 

commuting into town, office 

politics, and the whole slave 

We felt that if we stayed in London, we’d always wonder what our lives could have been like if we’d been more adventurous. 

Printable 

version 

mentality of working in London. 

Moving to France seemed to 

offer a way out of the grind: we 

wanted to be able to work to 

live, not live to work. 

V.A.: What motivated you to 

move to France? 

S.B.: Brittany was far enough 

from England to be a complete 

change, but close enough that if 

we needed to go back to see 

family or friends, that was easy 

to do. We had some English 

friends who already had a house 

here, and we’d visited the area 

several times before and loved it: 

the countryside is beautiful, and 

the weather is perfect. Though 

neither of us was very proficient


Interview of 

the Month (cont’d) 

in French, we both felt that we 

could learn the language fairly 

easily if we came to live here. 

And, like most English people, I 

must admit that the house prices 

were very attractive too! 

V.A.: In moving to the 

countryside, what kind of 

welcome did you receive from 

the French locals when you 

first moved in? 

S.B.: It was good. Our 

neighbours have been lovely. I 

was actually surprised at how 

friendly everyone is in France; if 

you meet children walking 

through the village at night, they 

say “bonsoir” to you, which 

would never, ever happen in 

London! Though one thing I 

noticed – French people are 

much openly curious, they pull 

up in their cars outside our 

house and have a look at what 

we’ve been doing... 

V.A.: Did you encounter any 

obstacles when you moved to 

France? 

S.B.: Our biggest problem was 

actually caused by an 

Englishwoman. We had to 

complete various applications to 

renovate our house and turn the 

barns into living space, etc., 

which also needed architectural 

drawings to go with them. We 

hired an Englishwoman who 

lived near here, as we were 

intending to stay in London 

until our house was habitable, 

and we weren’t completely au 

fait with the planning process. 

She said she was a qualified 

architect and that she’d deal 

with everything. To cut a long 

story short, a year and several 

thousand pounds later, she had 

done nothing at all except take 

our money and waste our time. 

Upon further investigation, we 

discovered that she wasn’t a 

qualified architect at all, and that 

we were not the first people to 

whom she’d done this. So I 

would advise anyone moving 

here, however much you feel 

you need help from a friendlyseeming 

person, to take up 

references, do some 

investigation, and keep a tight 

control over what’s going on. 

V.A.: What is your overall 

experience living in France? 

S.B.: I love it. I love how 

relaxed everything is, how it 

doesn’t all run on a manic 

timetable like London does. I 

love being able to stand outside 

and look at the sunshine and 

not feel that I’m wasting time I 

should be spending doing 

something productive. 

V.A.: Do you feel that you’ve 

integrated well in French 

society (Do you watch 

French TV? Have you been 

able to establish a 

relationship with some of the 

French locals? Have you 

joined any clubs, 

etc….)? 

S.B.: I think we can 

count our neighbours 

as friends now. It’s 

difficult, because the 

house is very 

isolated, so there 

really aren’t many 

people around: I 

have to grab every 

chance for a 

conversation in 

French that I can get! 

So I try to watch 

some French 

television, read a 

newspaper or a 

magazine in French, 

or listen to the radio 

at least every day. I 

don’t think there’s 

any point moving 

here if you’re not 

going to at least try 

to become a little bit 

integrated. 

V.A.: Do you speak 

French on a daily 

basis? If yes, 

mostly in what 

situations? 

S.B.: Yes, I do. At 

first I think the 

postman and the lady 


in La Poste thought it was very 

funny that I wanted to practice 

my French on them, but they’re 

used to me now! And now I can 

manage conversations with our 

neighbours and the local farmers, 

so I don’t feel quite as foreign as 

I used to. I also have many 

French customers via the 

internet, so I am writing nearly as 

many emails in French as I am in 

English. This meant I had to 

learn French textspeak too – 

which is a whole other language! 

V.A.: Sue, you run your 

business from France – can 

you describe it and explain 

your experience owning a 

business in France? 

S.B.: When we first decided to 

buy a house here, neither of us 

had a clue what we were going to 

do to earn money. It seems crazy 

now, but I see a lot of people 

Page 9 

move over on the proceeds of a 

UK house sale and then, with no 

further source of income, they 

run out of money, and they have 

a horrible time. That was 

absolutely not going to happen 

to us, but we both felt that 

running either gites or a bar or 

restaurant would be far too 

much like hard work! 

I already had some experience of 

selling on eBay, and so I decided 

I would become a full-time seller 

of beads, craft items and 

jewellery via the internet. I also 

do web design, and it seemed to 

me that both of those jobs could 

be done as well from France as 

from the UK. 

Barty fell into his jobs almost by 

accident. As when we bought the 

house, broadband internet access 

wasn’t available, he found a 

company who provided internet


Interview of 

the Month (cont’d) 

access via satellite – and having 

bought a system off them, then 

cheekily asked if he could have a 

job, and they said yes! Having 

been trained up by them, he also 

set up his own business 

providing television systems to 

expats, which is also doing very 

well. 

V.A.: Was it easy to 

understand the French 

bureaucratic process in order 

to start your business? What 

were the difficulties or the 

surprising discoveries 

throughout the process? 

S.B.: The big shock was how 

formal the French process is 

compared to the UK. There 

were a lot more forms to fill in 

before we could even start 

trading, which seemed daunting, 

and with so many different 

organisations dealing with social 

charges, I sometimes felt that 

we would get buried under the 

paperwork. However, once 

you’ve got your head around 

which bit of paper relates to 

what, it’s not very complicated, 

not really much different from 

running a business in the UK. 

The thing I’d really recommend 

to anyone running a business – 

in any country – is to find 

yourself a good accountant: 

they’re worth their weight in 

gold and can save you a fortune, 

as well as all the stress of having 

to wade through the paperwork 

yourself. 

V.A.: When you are not busy 

with your work, how do you 

keep busy with your time in 

France? 

S.B.: Well, we have a house to 

renovate, which seems to be 

taking an awfully lot longer than 

we anticipated. I’m also making 

a garden in what was the 

paddock behind the house: 

having spent so long gardening 

in small containers on the 

balcony of a flat, having a huge 

area to turn into garden is very 

exciting and very daunting. 

We’re having fun exploring the 

Breton countryside, tracking 

down menhirs hidden in fields, 

and visiting the beautiful towns 

and coastal area around here. 

V.A.: Have you both 

acquired any new habits 

since you’ve been living in 

Brittany? 

S.B.: We’re much more relaxed, 

and much more healthy! We 

eat better food – proper, fresh 

food, rather than processed 

rubbish out of packets – and 

take longer to enjoy our meals. 

We go for long walks every day 

with the dogs. I sleep better 

than I ever have in my life, and 

have largely stopped being 

horribly stressed about things, 

the way I used to be in London. 

V.A.: Is there an aspect of 

French life you are both 

having difficulty adapting to? 

Don’t be 

afraid to move 

outside your 

comfort zone 

and do some 

things that 

scare you, 

because you 

never know 

what you 

might discover. 

S.B.: This sounds a bit silly, but I 

still can’t get my head around 

how often the shops are closed! 

Bricolages closing for lunch on 

Saturday and not opening at all 

on Sunday, for example, seems 

crazy to me – but I know that’s 

just because I lived in London 

and was used to everything being 

open all the time. I have to be a 

lot more organised with 

shopping now I can’t just pop 

out for a bottle of milk at 9 

o’clock at night! 

V.A.: What suggestions or 

advice would you give to 

someone who is 

contemplating moving to 

France? 

S.B.: Do it! Start learning 

French as soon as you can, even 

if you’re not living here. I 

thought there was no point in 

lessons while I still lived in 

London, but I wish now I’d 

started lessons as soon as we 

bought the house – I’d be fluent 

by now! And really my best 

advice is that if you’re going to 

move to France, then don’t try 

and bring England with you. I 

hear so many English people 

saying, oh there’s a great new 

fish and chip shop in such a 

place, or they’ve lived here 

twenty years and can’t have a 

conversation in French, and I 

think it’s tragic, because they’re 

missing out on such a wonderful 

country with such a fantastic 

culture, just because they want 

things they’re comfortable with. 

Don’t be afraid to move outside 

your comfort zone and do some 

things that scare you, because 

you never know what you might 

discover. 

Sue’s website: 

www.allyoubead.com


Real Life — At the Garden Center 


O ne of the joys of spring can be planting new flowers and 

vegetables in your yard and garden. However, as with all such 

endeavours, there is a specific and often very precise 

vocabulary to be used, especially when visiting your local 

garden centre looking for plants, seeds and advice. The 

following scenario will provide you with some of that 

vocabulary in a real-life setting. 

Alex veut s’aventurer dans la jardinerie. Il n’a pas l’habitude de 

s’occuper d’un jardin mais il veut absolument apprendre. Il se 

rend dans une jardinerie pour acheter des arbustes et pour se 

renseigner. Heureusement, il tombe sur une vendeuse bien 

patiente et serviable. 

Alex : Bonjour Madame, j’aimerais planter quelques arbustes à 

fleurs. Qu’est ce que vous pouvez me conseiller ? 

La vendeuse : Même si la période de plantation idéale est l'automne, 

les arbustes cultivés en conteneur peuvent être mis en terre 

au printemps. 

Alex : Ah bon ! Ca se plante comment les petits arbustes ? 

La vendeuse : Evitez de planter les arbustes en plein milieu d'une 

pelouse. Idéalement, ils devraient s’appuyer le long d'un mur, à l'angle 

d'un garage ou dans un coin de terrasse. Mettez l'arbuste à tremper 

pour mouiller la motte. Creusez un trou deux fois plus large que 

le conteneur, et un peu plus profond. Mettez au fond du trou un peu 

d'engrais et mélangez-le à la terre. Installez l'arbuste au fond du 

trou ; comblez avec un terreau de plantation ou un peu de compost, 

mélangé à parts égales avec la terre sortie lors du creusement. Arrosez 

copieusement, même s'il pleut. 

Alex : Concernant l’arrosage – il faut le faire souvent ? 

La vendeuse : Il faudra l'arroser régulièrement pendant toute la 

saison ; c'est crucial en été (de juin à août, même en septembre). Un 

gros arrosoir de 10 litres par semaine est une bonne moyenne. 

Mieux vaut un arrosage important une fois par semaine que de petits 

arrosages quotidiens. 

Alex : Merci pour cette info ! Pouvez-vous me dire quand je dois 

les tailler ? 

La vendeuse : Les arbustes à floraison printanière sont taillés après 

leur floraison, en fin de printemps. 

Alex : Merci pour toutes ces précisions ! Est-ce qu’il est trop tard 

pour semer des légumes ? 

La vendeuse : Non ! Vous pouvez semer des carottes, des 

concombres, des courgettes, des épinards, de la laitue, des radis, des 

potirons, et d’autres encore ! 

Alex : Ah c’est intéressant ! Je n’ai jamais semé de ma vie, pouvezvous 

me donner quelques indications ? 

La vendeuse : Creusez de petits sillons d'un centimètre et demi de 

profondeur, espacés d’entre dix et quarante cm, selon le légume. 

Placez les graines et recouvrez-les légèrement de terre. Tassez à la 

main ou avec une planche. Mais attention aux escargots et aux limaces 

! Arrosez régulièrement. Refaites ensuite des semis, toutes les 2 

ou 3 semaines, par exemple. Cela vous assurera une production 

continue. 

Alex : Je vous remercie beaucoup pour tous vos conseils ! Je vais 

d’abord choisir quelques arbustes. Au revoir, Madame ! 

A Role Play 

Page 11 

Printable 

version 

Alex wants to try his hand at gardening. He has no experience 

at gardening but he really wants to learn. He goes to a garden 

centre to buy some flowering bushes and get some 

information. Thankfully, he finds a patient and helpful 

salesperson. 

Alex: Hello Madam, I would like to plant a few flowering bushes. 

What advice can you give me? 

The salesperson: Even if the ideal planting time is the autumn, 

bushes grown in pots can be planted in the spring time. 

Alex: Oh really! How do you plant small flowering bushes? 

The salesperson: Avoid planting small flowering bushes in the 

middle of a lawn. Ideally, they should be placed along a wall, at the 

angle of a garage, or at the corner of a terrace. Soak the bush in 

order to wet the turf. Dig a hole twice the size of the container, and 

make it a bit deeper. Put some fertilizer in the bottom of the hole 

and mix it with some soil. Place the bush in the hole; fill it with 

some potting soil or compost mixed with equal amounts of the soil 

left over from digging the hole. Water it copiously, even if it’s 

raining. 

Alex: About watering – is it necessary to do it often? 

The salesperson: You’ll have to water it regularly throughout the 

whole season. It’s crucial in the summer (from June to August, even 

in September). A big watering can of 10 litres per week is a good 

average. It’s better to water it a lot once a week rather than small 

amounts on a daily basis. 

Alex: Thanks for the information! Can you tell me when I should 

prune them? 

The salesperson: The flowering bushes are trimmed after they have 

flowered, at the end of spring. 

Alex: Thank you for these details. Is it too late to plant vegetable 

seeds? 

The salesperson: No! You may plant carrots, cucumbers, 

zucchinis, spinach, salads, radishes, pumpkins and a few others! 

Alex: Ah that’s interesting! I have never planted seeds in my life; 

could you give me some pointers? 

The salesperson: Dig some small furrows one centimetre and a 

half deep, and spaced from between 10 and 40 centimetres, 

depending on the vegetable. Place the seeds in the furrows and 

cover them lightly with soil. Tamp the soil down with your hand, or 

with a board. But watch out for snails and slugs. Water them 

regularly. Sow some new rows of seeds every 2 to 3 weeks, for 

example. This will assure a continuous production. 

Alex: I thank you for all of your good advice! First of all, I’m going 

to choose a few bushes. Good bye, Madam!


Tips & Traps 

What to do in case 

of a car accident? 

You’re sitting in your car at a red 

light in France waiting patiently 

for the light to change when 

suddenly a shock lifts you right 

out of your seat! You realise that 

you’ve been rear ended by 

another car. From that point on, 

what should you do in order to 

make sure that all the damage to 

the car and any bodily injury are 

covered by the respective 

insurance policies? 

S.R., who lives in the South of 

France, had a similar experience 

recently. Even though the 

woman who hit S.R.’s car tried 

to persuade her not to declare 

the accident with the insurance 

company and offered her money 

up front instead (a small amount 

which would not have covered 

the expenses for repairs), S.R. 

refused to give in and went 

through the entire process. As a 

result, repairs to her car were 

properly reimbursed by the other 

woman’s insurance company. At 

the time of the accident, S.R. 

asked the woman to fill out a 

constat amiable (accident report) 

but the woman resisted doing so 

as she felt that the car ‘looked 

fine’. Nevertheless, S.R. knew 

that no one can come to this 

conclusion from just looking at 

the exterior of a car. A careful 

and thorough examination of the 

body and the mechanics of the 

car needed to be made. If S.R. 

had not insisted on filling out the 

constat amiable, she would have 

been stuck with a huge bill to 

pay! 

Advice: Do not settle for cash 

when you don’t know what the 

real damages are – it is safer to 

go through the proper insurance 

claim process! 

What is the proper Insurance 

claim process? 

- At the accident scene, you and 

the other driver implicated in 

the accident must fill out a 

constat amiable. You should 

always have an insurance claim 

form in your glove compartment 

(your insurance company should 

automatically provide you with 

one when you take out the 

policy. If not, they will gladly 

furnish you with one). You and 

the other driver must sign it. In 

case of an accident involving 

serious damage, you should 

note the contact details of 

anyone who may have witnessed 

the accident, and if there are no 

witnesses, you should call the 

police or the gendarmerie. If 

you’re suffering from bodily 

injury, make sure you call the 

firemen (pompiers) AND the 

police. 

- In a situation where you are the 

victim of a hit and run, try to 

write down the licence number 

of the vehicle and file a 

complaint at the police station. 

- Send the signed constat amiable 

to your insurance company 

within 5 days of the accident. 

Make sure you review your 

insurance policy for any 

particularities. Make a copy of 

the constat amiable for your own 

records, then send the original to 

your insurance company. 

Important: make sure that you 

send it en recommandée avec accusé de 

réception, also called avis de réception 

(a registered letter with proof of 

receipt). Your indemnity will 

depend partly on your own 

responsibility, if any, in the 

accident and on the insurance 

coverage you subscribed to i.e. 

assurance aux tiers, assurance tous


Tips & Traps (cont'd) 

risques. If your car needs repairs, 

an insurance adjuster approved 

by the insurance company will 

estimate the amount of the 

repairs. 

Take note of these important 

telephone numbers: 

18 = Firemen (pompiers) 

15 = Samu (emergency 

medical care) 

17 = Police 

112 = Emergency number in 

all the European countries 

These numbers can be dialled 

from a mobile telephone even if 

your telephone subscription is 

limited. If you are on the 

highway, you may use one of the 

orange phone boxes located in 

the emergency lanes. 

An example of a conversation with the Police 

at a time of an accident 

Marc : Allô, je viens d’avoir un accident et j’aimerais un témoin pour faire un 

constat amiable. = Hello, I’ve just had an accident and I would like a 

witness to fill out an accident report. 

La Police : Où êtes-vous situé ? = Where are you located? 

Marc : Je suis à l’intersection entre le boulevard Legrand et le boulevard Marachel 

à l’extérieur de la ville d’Aubenas ! = I’m at the intersection of the 

Boulevard Legrand and the Boulevard Marachel intersection 

outside of Aubenas! 

La Police : Il y a des blessés ? = Has anyone been hurt? 

Marc : J’ai un peu mal au cou ! = I have some pain in my neck! 

La Police : Combien de voitures sont impliquées dans l’accident ? = How 

many cars are involved in the accident? 

Marc : Deux. = Two. 

La Police : Où est placée votre voiture actuellement ? = Where is your car 

currently located? 

Marc : Sur le côté de la route – dans la voie d’urgence. = On the side of 

the road, in the emergency lane. 

La Police : Donnez-moi le numéro d’immatriculation de votre voiture, s’il 

vous plaît ! = Give me the licence plate number of your car, please! 

Marc : C’est le….= it’s … 

La Police : Très bien – on arrive tout de suite ! = Very well, we’ll be 

there right away! 


Special offer for subscribers to French Accent Magazine 

Stop Wasting your Money! 

Get 500 minutes of free 

communication 

Internet Provider 

Hotlines 

In our February issue, we 

complained that most Internet 

provider hotlines were 

expensive. Apparently we are 

not the only ones to express our 

discontent, and most consumers 

protest especially that they are 

obliged to pay the exorbitant 

tolls even if they never get 

anyone on the line, or have to 

wait for a long time before being 

able to speak with a person who 

can help them. One of the main 

providers, Cegetel 9, announced 

in March that it had decided not 

to charge anymore for the 

waiting time on their hotline. (By 

the way, they used the word 

“hotline” in French too, and we 

have noticed that this word is 

little by little creeping into the 

French language). This measure 

will go into effect immediately. 

The other providers are still 

thinking about it. 

from our partner: 

Travel: The Best 

Prices 

Une publicité dans 

notre Magazine? 

Cliquer ICI 

Page 13 

When you are looking for the 

best ticket price for a flight, you 

should be aware that the deals 

offered on many websites that 

are supposed to be looking for 

the best offers are not always the 

best. Why? Because airline 

companies simply pay to have 

their flights or bookings appear 

first on these sites. Which 

means, for example, that most of 

the time the low cost companies 

are not even suggested, as they 

are not going to add to your 

ticket price by paying this type of 

fees. A new website, a Spanish 

one, not only offers a very good 

and a “real” selection of the best 

prices (including low costs, if 

you click on the special option 

button). In Spanish, Portuguese 

and French only so far, but very 

easy to use: 

www.terminala.com 

Simply click on the logo above and mention French Accent Magazine


L’alternative chanvre. 

For more information 

www.iso-techna.fr 

www.technichanvre.com 

http://batirsain.free.fr 

a site with lists of providers of 

natural building materials all 

over France. 

Le bricolage pour tous — Alternatives to Fibreglass: 

“Natural” Ways to Insulate Your Home 

C onstantly rising energy 

costs and the predicted 

scarcity of energy resources 

make it all the more urgent to 

insulate our dwellings against 

heat loss during the winter 

and to keep them cooler in 

the summer months. A noninsulated 

home can loose a 

high percentage of heat, 

which not only costs the 

homeowner money, but 

requires additional energy to 

maintain a comfortable 

temperature zone, thereby 

increasing carbon dioxide 

emissions. While most of the 

newly constructed homes in 

France are adequately insulated 

during their construction, many 

of us have purchased older 

homes that may require adding 

insulation to make them more 

energy efficient. The types of 

insulating materials as well as 

techniques for applying them 

are quite varied, and the choice 

of what to use and how to 

install it will depend in large 

part on your home and how it 

was originally built. 

There are products for 

insulating the exterior walls by 

placing insulating material to 

the outside of the walls or else 

thin layers of insulation on the 

inside. All of which requires a 

major investment and total 

change of appearance to the 

house. By far the most 

common way to increase the 

energy efficiency of your home 

is by adding insulation to the 

attic either on top of the ceiling 

joists or else in between the 

roofing rafters, or both. 

Basements, while not very 

common in France, should also 

have insulation in between the 

beams that support the floor 

above them. 

The most common insulating 

material used in most home 

construction and readily 

available at any building 

materials centre is the 

ubiquitous yellow fibreglass 

that comes in either rolls or 

panels. However, there is an 

increasing market for more 

natural insulating materials that 

offer distinct advantages over 

fibreglass and especially over 

some of the chemical foam 

insulation that is sprayed on. 

The natural materials are all 

renewable resources, don’t 

require extensive processing in 

their manufacture and provide 

an excellent R factor of 

insulation. They include: hemp, 

lambs wool, cellulose fibres, 

wood fibres, bird feathers, cork, 

flax and even straw. Each of 

these natural materials has its 

own particular use in insulating 

a home, depending on the 

space to be insulated and the 

type of construction. One of 

the most efficient, easy to use 

and a bit more readily available 

than the others is hemp. 

While almost impossible to find 

in the United States because of 

federals laws prohibiting even 

the growing of industrial hemp 

because of its resemblance to 

cannabis, hemp is increasingly 

used in Europe as an excellent 

alternative to fibreglass 

insulation. It can be found in 

loose form, in semi-rigid panels 

and in rolls, can be mixed with 

concrete to make a better 

insulated floor slab or exterior 

wall and can even be mixed 

with plaster for exterior walls. 

The advantages of using hemp 

L’isolation = insulation 

Les combles = the attic space 

beneath the roof structure 

La toiture = the roof structure 

La laine de verre = fibreglass 

insulation 

Un rouleau = a roll 

La paille = straw 

Vocabulaire utile 

insulation are many: it is an 

agricultural product and 

renewable resource; it provides 

excellent insulation against heat 

loss as well as noise (a 100 mm 

thick panel provides an R-5 

insulating coefficient); it is 

recyclable and reusable (Have 

you ever tried to reuse old 

fibreglass insulation?); it is 

impervious to insects; it is nontoxic. 

The only drawbacks to 

using hemp over fibreglass are 

its cost and difficulty in finding 

it. 

You won’t find hemp 

insulation at any of your 

normal building material 

outlets. At present, it is only 

available from speciality 

manufacturers and suppliers 

and has to be ordered and 

possibly shipped to your home. 

There are some excellent 

internet sites with information 

about where you can find it 

(see below). Prices vary 

somewhat according to the 

supplier. For example, semirigid 

panels 100 mm thick cost 

from 12 to 15 € per square 

metre. A packet of six panels 

that measure 1.2 metres by 0.6 

metres each and will cover 4.32 

square metres will cost roughly 

60 € when the VAT has been 

included. While more 

expensive that fibreglass, 

installing natural insulating 

materials is a wise investment 

that will not only be better for 

your home, but also for the 

planet. 


Un panneau = a panel 

Le chanvre = hemp 

Le liège = cork 

Le lin = flax 

La laine de mouton = lambswool


This is France — Gardening 

in France 


Le jardinage en France 

Vegetable Gardening at Spring Le potager au printemps 

N ow that spring has sprung, with at least two weeks advance 

over normal years, it’s time to start thinking about that vegetable 

patch and what to begin planting so you can enjoy fresh, homegrown 

produce as early as possible. In spite the cool nights, there 

are a number of vegetables that can be planted in March and April 

that won’t be affected by cold night weather. 

What you can plant early: onions and shallots, peas, garlic, early 

varieties of potatoes and strawberry plants. You can also set out 

salad plantings, but they must be protected with a cloth or plastic 

covering at night. If you grow your own seedlings from seeds, now 

is the time to start thinking about planting them. You probably 

have noticed that one of the year-round staples of French gardens 

is the hearty leek. You can plant your own seedlings, but they are 

also available as starter plants at your local garden centre. You can 

plant them early and late and they winter over very well. They 

make a delicious addition to soups, risottos, quiches and a variety of 

other dishes. 

Early spring is also the time to add 

organic matter to your garden 

patch from your compost pile 

and/or from fertilizers. In rural 

areas there is usually an abundance 

of farm manure that can often be 

had for the asking, provided you 

have some means of transporting 

it. If not, there are other products 

available at garden centres. Bags 

of composted steer and horse 

manure are excellent organic 

fertilizers for your vegetables, and 

Agri-Sud sells a fish-based 

fertilizer called Guanumus priced 

at a little over 14 euros for a 40 

kilo bag. It is an very rich 

fertilizer at a very reasonable price. If you are into making your 

own, and you have an abundance of nettle growing in your yard, a 

wonderful liquid organic fertilizer can be made by letting the nettle 

plants macerate for up to two weeks in a container with water and 

then applying it, in diluted form, directly to the plants. See the 

following site, in French, for an exact recipe and the account of an 

unfortunate incident involving a man who promoted his “purin 

d’orties” in workshops and on printed fliers and found himself in 

trouble with French authorities. It is truly worthy of our “Oh la la 

la la!!!” section: 

www.grainvert.com/article.php3?id_article=1014 

You can set out salad plantings, but they must be protected 

at night. 

Happy gardening. The thought of the taste of fresh garden 

produce that you have grown by yourself is usually all the incentive 

one needs to grab the spade and head for the garden. 


M aintenant que le printemps a commencé, avec au moins deux 

semaines d’avance par rapport aux années normales, il est temps de 

penser à ce petit coin de jardin et à ce que vous pourriez commencer à 

planter pour profiter le plus tôt possible des produits de votre propre 

récolte. Même si les nuits sont encore fraîches, certains légumes peuvent 

déjà être plantés en mars et avril sans risquer d’être affectés par le 

froid de la nuit. 

Parmi ceux que vous pouvez planter tôt : des oignons et des échalotes, 

des pois, de l’ail, des variétés précoces de pommes de terre et des 

fraisiers. Vous pouvez aussi commencer à planter des salades, mais 

celles-ci doivent être protégées la nuit par un revêtement en tissu ou 

en plastique. Si vous cultivez vos plantes à partir de semis, il est temps 

de vous y mettre. Vous avez probablement remarqué qu’un des légumes 

de base en France est le poireau. Vous pouvez semer des graines 

de poireaux mais vous trouverez aussi de jeunes pousses déjà disponibles 

dans votre jardinerie locale. Vous pouvez les planter aussi bien 

tôt que plus tard, ils tiendront une 

bonne partie de l’hiver. Les poireaux 

sont savoureux dans les soupes, les 

risottos, les quiches et un grand nombre 

d’autres plats. 

Le début du printemps est aussi le 

moment de préparer son jardin à partir 

de son propre compost et/ou d’engrais. 

Dans les campagnes on trouve 

généralement très facilement du fumier 

chez les fermiers, il vous suffit de leur 

demander, pourvu que vous ayez la 

possibilité de le transporter vousmêmes. 

Sinon d’autres produits de 

remplacement sont disponibles dans 

les jardineries. Le compost à partir de 

bouses de vaches ou de fumier de cheval 

est excellent, de même que les engrais 

bio pour les légumes. Les jardineries Agri Sud vendent aussi un 

engrais à base de poisson appelé Guanumus, qui coûte un peu plus de 

14 euros le sac de 40 kg. C’est un engrais très riche et au coût raisonnable. 

Et si vous voulez faire votre propre engrais, et que vous avez 

beaucoup d’orties qui poussent dans votre terrain, un excellent engrais 

peut être composé en laissant macérer les orties pendant deux semaines 

dans un récipient plein d’eau. Il vous suffit ensuite de l’appliquer, 

dans sa forme diluée, directement sur les plantes. Consultez le site cidessous, 

en français, pour la recette exacte de cette formule, et aussi 

pour lire la mésaventure d’un homme qui, en voulant faire la promotion 

de son propre purin d’orties dans des ateliers et sur des prospectus, 

a eu des ennuis avec les autorités françaises. Une histoire qui entrerait 

très bien dans notre rubrique “Oh la la la la!!!”: 

www.grainvert.com/article.php3?id_article=1014 

Page 15 

Printable 

version 

Bonne chance ! Le meilleur encouragement pour se mettre au travail 

dans le jardin est de penser au goût absolument unique des légumes 

frais que vous aurez cultivés vous-mêmes…


Your Ornemental Garden Votre jardin d’ornement 

I n whatever region of France 

where you might live, it is always 

best to wait until the end of the 

month of April, or preferably 

until the beginning of May, to 

plant the flowers that will grace 

your flower garden throughout 

the summer. Even though it is 

beautiful and warm weather, 

especially this year with the 

rather odd winter that we have 

had and that really wasn’t much 

of a winter at all, there is always 

the possibility of frost in April. 

The chances of that happening 

are, of course, greater in the 

mountain areas, which are the 

coldest parts of France, 

especially in the Alps, and in the 

north and east of France. 

The flowers that one sees in the 

gardens all over France in April 

and May can be divided into two 

categories: annuals, which will 

only last for the summer, and the 

perennials, which will come back 

the following years. With a drier 

climate than what one finds in 

Great Britain, most of these 

plants don’t need as much water 

as the azaleas and the ever- 

beautiful rhododendrons that 

bloom all over England. These 

flowers are less common in 

France. 

As early as mid-April you will 

find a wide choice of annuals 

In general, the labels 

laced in the flower pots 

will have instructions 

as to whether you should 

place the plant in direct 

sunlight of if it would 

be better in a shaded area. 

and perennials in the garden 

centres. The list is far too 

numerous to include here. Just 

one bit of advice: try and avoid 

planting too many geraniums. 

They are found in so many 

flower beds and on balconies in 

France that they have really 

become a bit too common. 

In general, the labels placed in 

the flower pots will have 

instructions as to whether you 

should place the plant in direct 

sunlight of if it would be better 

in a shaded area, if it likes 

humid, wet soil or grows better 

in rocky soil, etc. You can also 

ask the salespersons at the 

garden centres for advice, or 

else your neighbours. But one 

word of caution: the French 

have a tendency to prefer 

“French” gardens, which are at 

times a bit too traditional with a 

prescribed balance of colours 

and placement of the various 

plants and where the designated 

symmetry can be a bit boring. 

Don’t be afraid to establish 

what the French call “English 

gardens” where the colours, 

plant varieties and their 

disposition in the garden are 

more natural and more like the 

flowers that would grow in a 

wild or natural garden. Such a 

garden would undoubtedly be a 

great success with your French 

neighbours. 

Q uelle que soit la région dans 

laquelle vous habitez, il est toujours 

préférable en France d’attendre 

la fin du mois d’avril, ou 

de préférence le début du mois 

de mai, pour planter les fleurs qui 

égaieront le jardin d’agrément 

jusqu’à l’été. Même s’il fait très 

beau et chaud, surtout cette année 

avec ce drôle d’hiver que 

nous avons eu qui n’en était pas 

vraiment un, il est toujours possible 

que des gelées se produisent 

en avril. Bien sûr, ce risque est 

plus grand dans les zones de 

montagne, et les régions les plus 

fraîches de France, surtout dans 

les Alpes, et dans le nord et l’est 

de la France. 

Les plantes qui fleurissent beaucoup 

dans les jardins français dès 

avril ou mai se divisent en deux 

catégories : les annuelles, qui ne 

dureront qu’un été, et les vivaces, 

qui repousseront l’année prochaine. 

Le climat étant plus sec 

qu’en Grande-Bretagne, la plupart 

de ces plantes n’ont pas un 

aussi grand besoin d’eau que les 

azalées ou rhododendrons si 

beaux que l’on trouve partout au 

Royaume-Uni mais un peu moins 

en France… 

Dès mi-avril vous trouverez dans 

les jardineries une multitude de 

plantes annuelles et vivaces au 

choix. Nous ne pouvons en don- 

ner la liste tant elles sont nombreuses, 

et elles poussent inégalement 

selon les terrains et régions. 

Un seul conseil : évitez 

peut-être de vous entourer de 

trop de géraniums, que l’on 

trouve tellement nombreux dans 

les jardins et sur les balcons en 

France qu’ils sont vraiment 

devenus trop banals ! 

En général, il est précisé sur des 

étiquettes placées dans les pots 

de fleurs si elles sont à exposer 

en plein soleil ou si elles préfèrent 

l’ombre, si elles aiment les 

sols humides ou poussent mieux 

dans les rocailles, etc. Vous 

pouvez aussi demander l’avis 

des conseillers de la jardinerie, 

ou de vos voisins. Mais attention 

: les Français ont tendance 

à préférer les “jardins à la française”, 

parfois un peu trop traditionnels, 

avec des équilibres 

entre les couleurs, les dispositions 

des plants et les symétries 

qui peuvent être un peu ennuyeuse. 

N’hésitez pas à tenter 

ce que l’on appelle en France les 

“jardins à l’anglaise” mêlant 

couleurs, variétés et emplacements 

de manière plus naturelle, 

comme si les fleurs poussaient 

dans un jardin sauvage, et vous 

aurez sans doute un grand succès 

auprès de vos voisins français 

! 

Annick Stevenson


A Few Garden Fairs 

in April and May 

M any fairs or garden 

markets will take place all 

over France during the spring. 

See below a short selection of 

the most important ones. 

More complete lists, classified 

by department, date and type 

of event, can be found on the 

web. 

Aquitaine 

1 May: Fête et Bourse des Plantes, 

Jumilhac le Grand, Dordogne. 

4 to 8 May: Floralies du Bassin 

d'Arcachon, La Teste-de-Buch 

(Gironde). 

17 May: Bourse aux plantes et 

foire aux fleurs, Toulenne 

(Gironde). 

Basse Normandie 

13 to 15 April: Jardins et potagers 

au Manoir d'Apreval, Honfleur-Pennedepie 

(Calvados). 

13 May: Foire au jardinage, Ménil-Erreux 

(Orne). 

Bretagne 

8-9 April: Festival de la Plante 

Kastell-Lys, Saint-Pol-de-Léon 

(Finistère). 

22 April: Foire aux plantes, 

Plouguerneau (Finistère). 

4-6 May: Vannes côté Jardin, 

Vannes (Morbihan). 

Centre & Val de Loire 

29 April: Les jardins de Louis en 

fête, Aubigny-sur-Nère (Cher). 

13 May: Fête des plantes au 

Lycée horticole et paysager Ste- 

Jeanne d’Arc, Verneuil sur Indre 

(Indre-et-Loire). 

Ile de France 

21 April: Marché aux fleurs de 

Rosny sous bois (Seine-St- 

Denis). 

Nord et Pas-de-Calais 

7-9 April: Vivre au jardin, Villeneuve 

d’Ascq (Nord) 

27 April to 1 May: Floralies du 

Littoral, Gravelines (Nord). 

Pays de la Loire 

21-22 April: Marché aux fleurs, 

La Baule-Escoublac (Loire- 

Atlantique). 

22 April: Bourse aux plantes et 

fête du jardin, Saint-Colomban 

(Loire-Atlantique). 

Rhône-Alpes 

22 April: Expo-vente de plantes 

Grézieu Nature, Grézieu-la- 

Varenne (Rhône). 

8 May: Marché au fleurs et troc 

de plantes, Mirabel et Blacons 

(Drôme). 


A Book We Recommend 

The recently-issued, Savoir tout faire au jardin (Knowing How to do 

Everything in the Garden), published by the French team of the 

Reader’s Digest Editing Company, is very well done, extremely 

practical and complete. It is not a translation of a previouslypublished 

English version but has been specially designed for 

France, and for the French characteristics of type of soil, climate, 

plants one can find in the country, French gardening methods and 

tools, disease and pest control, tips and 

advice, etc. There is also a complete list of 

plants, flowers, vegetables and their 

characteristics, illustrated with very clear 

pictures. And, it also includes organic 

gardening. 

Savoir tout faire au jardin 

Editions Sélection du Reader’s Digest, 34,95€ 

Le vocabulaire de base du jardinage 

A Spring 

Garden 

© Le 

Jardin 

de Sophie 

Annuel(le) = an annual 

Arrosage = watering 

Arroser = to water 

Un arrosoir = a watering can 

Bêcher/bêchage = to spade 

Biner/binage = to hoe 

Un bourgeon = a bud 

Cultiver = to cultivate/grow 

Un engrais = a fertilizer 

Le fumier = manure 

Les graines = seeds 

Le jardin = the yard or garden 

Une jardinerie = a garden centre 

Un jardin d’ornement/de fleurs = a flower/ornamental garden 

Un jardinier/une jardinière = a gardener 

Une jardinière de fleurs = a planter for flowers 

Les mauvaises herbes = weeds 

La plantation = planting/vegetable patch or bed 

Des plantes = plants 

Un plant = a seedling/bedding plant 

Planter = to plant 

Un potager = a vegetable/kitchen garden 

Repiquer = to transplant 

Le repiquage = transplanting 

Semer = to sow 

Le semis = a seedling 

Tailler = to trim/prune 

Le terreau = potting soil 

La tourbe = peat moss 

Un tuteur = support stake 

Vivace = perennial 

Page 17 

A few useful websites 

www.ijardin.com 

A few articles and information 

of interest to gardeners, with a 

link to an English version. 

Not as complete as the 

French one, though, but at 

least a good initiative. 

www.gerbeaud.com 

Good advice, lots of info by 

theme, calendar, selection of 

books, list of events, etc. 

French only, though. 

www.aujardin.info 

A lot of good advice, tips, 

testimonies, a garden calendar, 

and even a glossary of 

gardening (Le dico du jardinier - 

French only). Also a list of 

garden centres all over France 

(click on “La carte des pros” to 

find the ones in your region). 

And a forum. Only thing 

missing: an English version. 

www.frenchgardening.com 

This one is in English only, 

and very well presented, 

written by an American 

woman who is fond of France 

and lives there. Contains a few 

interesting articles, especially 

on vegetable gardens.


French Politics — 

Presidential Elections 

How to Make Heads 

and Tails 

of the Whole Process 

T he entire process of 

electing a president in France is 

complicated, difficult to 

fathom at times and at the 

same time extremely 

fascinating. The format and 

the various subtle nuances in 

the French elections also make 

them something all together 

different from the presidential 

elections in the US and the 

selection of a Prime Minister in 

England. 

The Constitution of the Fifth 

Republic (1958) stipulates that 

the president is elected by 

universal suffrage, as opposed 

to an electoral college, as is the 

case in the US, to a five-year 

term. There is no limit on the 

number of mandates a single 

individual may serve. A 

candidate must be a French 

“For whom is Bayrou 

knitting his sweater?” 

Cartoon by French 

cartoonist Placide 

who very kindly 

permitted us 

to reproduce 

it free of charge, 

since the objective 

of French Accent 

is to help our readers 

learn French. 

citizen and be at least 23 years 

of age. All French elections 

take place on a Sunday, which 

may account, in part, for the 

very high voter turnout, 

especially when compared to 

other countries. 

France has a true multi-party 

system, and the number of 

candidates can be, at times, 

confusing. There were 

originally over forty declared 

candidates for the upcoming 

elections, although a good 

number of them did not 

succeed in obtaining the 

necessary 500 signatures of 

support from elected officials. 

After the March 16th deadline 

for turning in their lists, only 

twelve candidates have their 

signatures and will appear on 

the official ballot. Several 

previously announced 

candidates have also withdrawn 

from the race, including 

Corinne Lepage of the CAP 21 

environmentally-oriented party. 

The official list of the 

Les élections 

présidentielles 

Comment 

ne pas perdre 

les pédales 

L ’ensemble du processus 

d’élection d’un président en 

France est compliqué, parfois 

difficile à saisir, et en même 

temps tout à fait fascinant. La 

forme que prennent ces élections, 

avec toutes leurs nuances subtiles, 

est très différente de celle des 

élections présidentielles aux 

Etats-Unis ou de la sélection d’un 

Premier ministre en Angleterre. 

La Constitution de la cinquième 

République (1958) stipule que le 

Président est élu pour cinq ans au 

suffrage universel, et non pas 

désigné par un collège électoral 

comme aux Etats-Unis. Il n’y a 

pas de limite dans le nombre de 

mandats que peut remplir un 

même Président. Pour être candidat 

il faut être citoyen français, et 

être âgé d’au moins 23 ans. Les 

élections présidentielles françaises 

ont toujours lieu un dimanche, ce 

Printable 

version 

qui explique en grande partie le 

nombre très élevé de votants 

comparativement à d’autres pays. 

De 40 à 12 candidats 

La France a un véritable système 

multipartite, et le nombre de 

candidats est parfois source de 

confusion. Si au début des préparatifs 

des prochaines élections 

le nombre de candidats déclarés 

était de quarante, la plupart d’entre 

eux n’ont pas réussi à obtenir 

des élus les 500 signatures de 

soutien nécessaires. Après la date 

limite de retour de leurs listes du 

16 mars, seulement douze candidats 

avaient obtenu leurs signatures 

et figureront sur la liste officielle. 

Plusieurs autres candidats 

avaient également annoncé leur 

décision de se retirer de la 

course, dont Corinne Lepage du 

parti pro-environnemental CAP 

21. La liste officielle des candidats 

ayant satisfait à toutes les 

exigences requises est publiée au 

Journal officiel par le Conseil 

constitutionnel au moins 15 

jours avant le premier tour. En 

2002, par exemple, le nombre de


Presidential 

Elections (cont'd) 

candidates meeting all the 

requirements is published in 

the Journal Officiel by the 

Constitutional Council at least 

15 days prior to the first round. 

For the 2002 elections, for 

example, there were eventually 

sixteen candidates on the ballot 

for the first round. 

Two crucial rounds 

Although there are two rounds 

of the elections, it is feasible 

for one candidate to win the 

overall election on the first 

round should he or she obtain 

an absolute majority of the 

votes cast. That has never 

happened in the elections held 

during the Fifth Republic. If 

there is no clear winner after 

the first round, the two 

candidates who have received 

the largest number of votes 

will then face each other in the 

second round, held two weeks 

later. That two-week period 

during the first and second 

rounds is a time of intense 

negotiations between the 

candidates for the second 

round and the leaders of the 

various other parties who 

promise to encourage their 

party members to vote for a 

particular candidate in return 

for a ministerial post or other 

influential favour in the 

formation of a government. 

What usually happens, of 

course, is that the parties from 

the right agree to support the 

candidate on the right, and the 

parties to the left support the 

candidate on the left. For 

those of you who remember 

the 2002 elections, the whole 

picture was radically changed 

when the outcome of the first 

round surprised nearly 

everyone in France. The 

incumbent Jacques Chirac 

came in first place with 19.88% 

of the votes. It had all along 

been expected that his 

opponent for the second 

round would be the Socialist 

candidate and then prime 

minister Lionel Jospin. To the 

shock of the entire nation, the 

extreme right candidate from 

the Front National Jean-Marie 

Le Pen barely edged out Jospin 

with a score of 16.86% to 

Jospin’s 16.18%. With such a 

scenario facing the French 

voters, there was no need for 

All eyes are on the 

three frontrunners 

and their respective 

positions in the 

polls: Ségolène 

Royal, François 

Bayrou & Nicolas 

Sarkozy. 

negotiations among party 

leaders. Both the left and the 

moderate right joined forces in 

voting for Chirac, who won the 

second round with an 

overwhelming margin of 82,2% 

of the votes. 

In the lead-up to the first 

round on April 22 nd, all eyes 

are on the three frontrunners 

and their respective positions 

in the polls: Ségolène Royal, 

François Bayrou & Nicolas 

Sarkozy. It is expected that 

two members of this trio will 

face each other in the second 

round, but the question at this 

point is which two. Royal has 

been loosing ground to 

Sarkozy in the most recent 

polls and Bayrou has enjoyed 

an amazing surge in his poll 

percentages in the early weeks 

of March. In fact, one poll put 

him nearly even with Ségolène 

Royal for votes cast in the first 

round. There are even three 

recent polls that indicate that 

should Bayrou make it to the 

second round, he would defeat 

either Sarkozy or Royal in the 

runoff, which is a sign of 

surprising appeal among the 

public for a candidate who only 


Elections 

Présidentielles (suite) 

candidats au premier tour était 

de seize. 

Bien que l’élection soit prévue en 

deux tours, il est tout à fait possible 

qu’un candidat ou qu’une 

candidate soit élu(e) dès le premier 

tour s’il (ou elle) remporte 

la majorité absolue des votes. 

Cela ne s’est jamais produit durant 

la cinquième République. 

S’il n’y a pas de gagnant évident 

après le premier tour, les deux 

candidats qui ont obtenu le plus 

grand nombre de voix se retrouveront 

donc face à face au second 

tour, qui se tiendra deux 

semaines plus tard. Ces deux 

semaines entre les deux tours 

sont une période d’intenses marchandages 

entre les candidats. 

Les responsables de tous les 

partis qui ne sont plus en course 

promettent de soutenir tel ou tel 

des deux candidats restants, en 

échange d’un poste ministériel 

ou de toute autre position d’influence 

dans la formation du 

futur gouvernement. Ce qui se 

produit souvent, bien évidemment, 

c’est que les partis de 

droite acceptent de soutenir le 

candidat le plus proche de leur 

orientation politique, et ceux de 

gauche font de même de l’autre 

côté de l’hémisphère politique. 

Mais pour ceux d’entre vous qui 

se souviennent des élections de 

2002, toute cette tradition a totalement 

basculé en raison des 

résultats très surprenants du 

premier tour. L’ancien titulaire 

du poste de Président, Jacques 

Chirac, était arrivé premier avec 

19,88% des voix. Et on s’attendait 

à ce que la seconde place 

revienne au candidat socialiste, 

qui était alors le Premier ministre, 

Lionel Jospin. Mais, et cela a 

causé un choc énorme pour 

toute la nation, le candidat de 

l’extrême droite, leader du parti 

Front national Jean-Marie Le 

Pen, a légèrement dépassé Lionel 

Jospin (qui avait obtenu 16,18% 

des voix) avec 16,86%. Les Français 

se retrouvant confrontés à 

un tel scénario, il n’y a eu aucun 

besoin de négociation entre les 

responsables de partis. Aussi 

Page 19 

bien la gauche que la droite modérée 

ont uni leurs forces pour 

voter pour Chirac, lequel, au 

second tour, a obtenu l’immense 

majorité des voix : 82,2%. 

A l’approche du premier tour des 

élections, le 22 avril, tous les 

yeux sont tournés vers les trois 

candidats qui, selon les sondages, 

sont en tête : Ségolène Royal, 

François Bayrou et Nicolas Sarkozy. 

On s’attend à ce que deux 

d’entre eux se retrouvent face à 

face au second tour, mais la 

question qui se pose maintenant 

est : lesquels ? Dans les récents 

sondages, Ségolène Royal a perdu 

du terrain face à Nicolas Sarkozy, 

et François Bayrou a fait 

une étonnante remontée de plusieurs 

points durant les deux 

dernières semaines de mars. L’un 

des sondages le place côte à côte 

avec Ségolène Royal. Et trois 

sondages récents indiquent 

même que si François Bayrou 

arrivait au second tour, il battrait 

aussi bien Ségo que Sarko 

(comme les appellent couramment 

les Français), ce qui est déjà 

en soi une nouvelle surprise pour 

un candidat qui n’avait reçu que 

6,84% des voix au premier tour 

en 2002. 

La liste officielle des candidats a 

été publiée le 20 mars, et la campagne 

officielle va démarrer le 9 

Les deux semaines 

entre les deux tours 

sont une période 

d’intenses 

marchandages 

entre les candidats. 

avril pour s’achever le vendredi 

précédant le premier tour. Le 

second tour aura lieu le 6 mai et 

Jacques Chirac quittera L’Elysée 

le 17 mai. Quelle que soit la personne 

qui sera élue au poste suprême 

le 6 mai, celle-ci devra 

peut-être attendre les élections 

législatives des 10 et 17 juin 

avant de pouvoir nommer un 

Premier ministre qui formera le 

nouveau gouvernement. On 

s’attend à ce que les élections 

législatives permettent au nou


Presidential 

Elections (cont'd) 

received 6.84% of the votes in 

the 2002 first round voting. 

The official list of candidates 

was published on March 20 th 

and the official campaign 

period begins April 9 th and 

ends on the Friday prior to the 

first round. The second round 

will take place on May 6 th and 

Jacques Chirac will leave office 

and the Elysée Palace, the 

official presidential residence, 

on May 17 th. Whoever is 

elected to the highest office of 

the land on May 6 th, will likely 

have to wait until the June 

legislative elections (10 th & 

17 th) before being able to 

appoint a prime minister who 

will then form a government. 

It is expected that the 

legislative elections will hand 

the new president a majority in 

GOAL! — Last month, the 

TGV Marseille-Paris was 

delayed for 45 minutes. This 

time it was not the fault of the 

SNCF or the strikers: it was 

stopped because a fight took 

place at the station between 

two women’s soccer team 

players. A 13-year old girl, who 

was a supporter of the 

Marseille girls, attacked a girl 

from the other team who had 

to be hospitalised. 

NAP — A very serious study 

released by a Bordeaux 

(Aquitaine) medical team has 

confirmed what every French 

person from the south has 

known for ages: taking a 20minute 

nap each day is not only 

excellent for one’s health, but 

also makes one better 

organized and more efficient at 

work. In fact, a French 

minister recently considered 

making it obligatory in all 

French companies. 

the National Assembly from 

his or her own party. 

However, should that not be 

the case, the country will face 

another semi-crippling period 

of “cohabitation” where the 

prime minister represents a 

political group in the Assembly 

different from that of the 

president, all 

of which 

makes French 

politics and 

elections such 

a fascinating 

spectator 

sport. 


BUT! — Le mois dernier, le 

TGV Marseille-Paris a été retardé 

de 45 minutes. Cette fois ce 

n'était pas la faute de la SNCF ni 

des grévistes : il a été stoppé à 

cause d'une bagarre qui a éclaté 

à la gare entre deux équipes 

féminines de football. Une jeune 

fille de 13 ans, supportrice des 

Marseillaises, a attaqué une fille 

de l'équipe adverse, qui a dû être 

hospitalisée. 

SIESTE — Une étude très 

sérieuse diffusée fin mars par 

une équipe médicale de Bordeaux 

(Aquitaine) a confirmé ce 

que tous les Français du sud de 

la France savaient déjà depuis 

longtemps: faire une sieste d’une 

vingtaine de minutes chaque 

jour est excellent, non seulement 

pour la santé, mais pour 

l’organisation et l’efficacité au 

travail. Récemment, un ministre 

envisageait même de la rendre 

obligatoire dans toutes les entreprises... 

Elections 

Présidentielles (suite) 

veau Président d’obtenir à l’Assemblée 

nationale une majorité 

qui soit issue de son propre parti. 

Mais si tel n’était pas le cas, le 

pays se retrouverait confronté à 

Special Presidential Elections 

During the past few weeks, dozens of books 

have been published by and about almost every 

candidate, or by well-known or totally unknown 

authors who simply use the occasion to toot 

their own horn, or to just make a profit out of 

the event… 

This is certainly not the case for Plantu, one of 

the most famous cartoonists in France. He has 

just issued a very funny book full of his vision 

of the candidates and their often contradictory 

reactions to events. 

La présidentielle 2007 vue par Plantu, Editions du 

Seuil, 16 euros. 

Oh la la la la ! ! ! … Unbelievable but True Stories from France… 

KARCHER PROTESTS — 

The Kärcher company has 

launched a public relations 

campaign to counter the 

repeated use of its brand name 

in the presidential election 

campaign, which tends to give 

the company a bad image. It all 

began last year when the then 

Minister of the Interior, 

Nicolas Sarkozy, threatened to 

clean up troublesome 

neighbourhoods with a 

Kärcher, a high pressure 

cleaning device. 

THE PRICE OF GAS — 

Why have natural gas prices 

risen by 40% since 2002 and by 

22% since 2004, while at the 

same time profits for Gaz de 

France have risen to a record 

2.3 billion €, an increase of 

29% in a single year? That’s 

the very good question 

consumers and union leaders 

alike are asking. Both groups 

are calling for an immediate 

lowering of prices. 

une nouvelle période semiparalysante 

de “cohabitation”, 

dans laquelle le Premier Ministre 

représente un groupe politique 

différent de celui du Président. 

Un aspect, parmi d’autres, qui 

rendent la politique et les élections 

françaises d’autant plus 

fascinantes pour les observateurs 

extérieurs. 

KARCHER PROTESTE — 

L’entreprise Kärcher a lancé 

en mars une campagne de 

presse pour dénoncer l’utilisation 

répétée, et abusive, de sa 

marque dans la campagne 

électorale, qui lui donne une 

très mauvaise image. Tout a 

commencé l’année dernière 

lorsque Nicolas Sarkozy, alors 

ministre de l’Intérieur, avait 

menacé de nettoyer les banlieues 

difficiles au Kärcher, 

appareil de nettoyage à haute 

pression… 

LE PRIX DU GAZ — Pourquoi 

les prix du gaz de ville 

ont-ils augmenté de 40% depuis 

2002 et de 22% depuis 

2004, alors que l’entreprise 

Gaz de France a réalisé un 

bénéfice net record de 2,3 

milliards d’euros, soit une augmentation 

de 29% en un an? 

C’est la bonne question que se 

posent consommateurs et 

syndicats, qui réclament d’urgence 

une baisse des prix.


Our Planet — Building Your 

House Out of Wood and Straw 

I f, for example, in the United 

States the use of wood in home 

construction is quite wide 

spread, that isn’t at all the case 

in France, where houses are 

traditionally built out of stone, 

for the oldest and most 

beautiful homes, or out of 

concrete/concrete blocks for 

the more recent and more 

ordinary ones. Using wood, and 

also straw, is a very new 

phenomenon in France. 

According to ADEME (The 

French Agency for the 

Environment and Energy Use) 

the number of new homes built 

out of wood has gone from 

5,500 in 2001 to 7,900 in 2005, 

and these figures will certainly 

be higher for 2006. The 

number of homes built out of 

straw, the first of which in 

France were built in the Jura, is 

not known. The number is 

certainly still very low, but the 

demand is growing each year. 

The advantages of these new 

construction materials are 

obvious, especially when bales 

of hay are used in conjunction 

with a wood framing to 

construct exterior walls. Not 

only are these materials natural, 

but they also provide a very good 

insulation and thereby reduce 

energy expenditures for heating 

in the winter or for cooling in the 

summer. Moreover, their use is 

less polluting for their 

transportation, because, especially 

in the rural areas, it is often 

possible to find a source of straw 

from local farmers. The straw 

used is most often straw from 

wheat, but you can also use straw 

from flax, hemp, lavender or 

“triticale”, a hybrid of wheat and 

rye. The ideal situation is 

obviously to use the straw that 

comes from organic farming 

operations in order to reduce the 

risk of having it impregnated with 

the pesticides used in nonorganic 

farming methods. 

Contrary to popular belief, straw 

is not very flammable. It is 

compressed so tightly in the bales 

that it is almost impossible to get 

it to burn. It, moreover, stands 

up very well to the wind, 

especially if the wood framing for 

the house is solidly constructed. 

The only possible problem is 

water. It is, therefore, 

Une belle 

Ossature 

en bois. 

Construction 

chez Christophe 

Surville. 

©www.approchepaille.fr 


Our Planet — 

Construire 

Adaptation de la paille dans la maison de M. Garros-Pabois. 

©www.approchepaille.fr 

S i aux Etats-Unis par exemple 

les constructions en bois sont très 

répandues, ce n’est pas du tout le 

cas en France, où les maisons 

sont traditionnellement faites de 

pierre, pour les plus anciennes et 

les plus belles, ou de béton pour 

les plus récentes et les plus ordinaires. 

Utiliser le bois, mais aussi 

la paille, est donc une toute nouvelle 

tendance en France. D’après 

l’Ademe (Agence française de 

l’environnement et de la maîtrise 

de l’énergie) le nombre de maisons 

construites en bois, qui était 

de 5500 en 2001, est passé à 7900 

en 2005, et ces chiffres sont certainement 

encore plus élevés en 

2006. Le nombre de maisons en 

paille, dont les premières en 

France ont fait leur apparition 

dans le Jura, n’est pas connu. Les 

chiffres sont certainement encore 

très faibles, mais la demande 

augmente chaque année. 

Les avantages de ces nouveaux 

matériaux de construction sont 

certains, surtout lorsque les ballots 

de paille sont utilisés avec des 

cadres de bois pour l’ossature des 

murs extérieurs. Non seulement 

ces matériaux sont naturels, mais 

ils garantissent une très bonne 

isolation, et donc une réduction 

des dépenses énergétiques pour 

chauffer l’hiver, ou rafraîchir 

l’été. En plus, ils permettent de 

Page 21 

Printable 

version 

réduire la pollution due à leur 

transport, car souvent, surtout 

dans les campagnes, il est possible 

de s’approvisionner en paille 

auprès des agriculteurs voisins. 

La paille utilisée est le plus souvent 

celle de blé, mais on peut 

aussi se servir de paille de lin, de 

chanvre, de lavande ou de 

“triticale”, un hybride de blé et 

de seigle. Et l’idéal est évidemment 

d’utiliser des matériaux 

issus de l’agriculture biologique 

pour éviter tout risque d’infestation 

avec les produits insecticides 

utilisés lors de la culture des 

plantes par les méthodes non 

biologiques. 

Contrairement aux craintes souvent 

émises par le public, la 

paille résiste très bien au feu. Elle 

est tellement compressée dans 

les ballots qu’il est presque impossible 

de la brûler. Elle est en 

outre très résistante au vent, 

surtout si la structure en bois qui 

l’encadre est construite de manière 

très solide. Le seul élément 

qu’elle peut craindre est l’eau. Il 

est donc conseillé de laisser un 

peu “respirer la paille”, d’autant 

plus qu’elle peut présenter l’avantage 

de permettre une autorégulation 

de l’humidité ambiante. 

Pour cela, il faut éviter de la 

recouvrir d’enduits totalement 

étanches qui empêcheraient à 

l’humidité de circuler.


Wood and Straw 

(cont'd) 

recommended that the straw be 

allowed to “breath”, all the more 

so because that will allow the 

ambient humidity of the straw to 

adjust itself automatically. In 

order to insure that it breaths, 

one must not apply exterior 

coats of plaster that are 

completely waterproof and that 

would otherwise prevent the 

humidity from passing through 

it. 

For more information 

Les compaillons 

In France, the campaigns to 

encourage home construction 

using wood and straw have been 

led by associations. There is a 

French network for straw-built 

homes known as Les compaillons. 

Their Internet site (only in 

French) provides a list of the 

The Environment in Our Daily 

Life 

Wood: an interesting fair 

From 19 to 22 April the Salon 

européen du bois (European Wood 

Fair) will take place in Grenoble 

(Isère). More than 200 

exhibitors will offer their 

suggestions and techniques on 

building with wood and using 

renewable energies. Details at: 

www.salondubois.com 

Until 7 April: 

développement durable 

Vivons ensemble autrement (Let’s 

live together differently) is the 

theme of this National Semaine 

de l’environnement durable (longterm 

environment week) which 

started 1 st April and will end on 

the 7th. Its objectives are to 

introduce the French public to 

the importance of changing its 

habits so as to help in 

protecting the planet. 

professional builders who 

specialize in straw construction, 

useful information designed to 

facilitate the construction of 

this type of dwelling and a list 

of the members of the network 

in various regions of France: 

www.compaillons.fr 

Ecobâtir 

There is also a network of 

associations that provide 

information on 

environmentally-sound building 

methods known as Ecobâtir: 

www.reseau-ecobatir.asso.fr 

To learn more about it (in French 

only, though): 

www.ecologie.gouv.fr/ 

evenementiel 

Ecological vote 

For the coming presidential 

elections, the French government 

Bois et paille 

(suite) 

Où se renseigner ? 

Les compaillons 

Les initiatives de 

construire des maisons 

en bois et paille 

ont été, en France, 

prises par des associations. 

Il existe un 

réseau français de la 

has decided 

by official 

decree that 

the fliers 

sent to the 

voters, and 

the bulletins 

de vote (the 

ballots), by all political parties, 

must be printed on paper that 

contains at least 50% recycled 

fibre, or paper that bears an 

official international certification 

on forest management. The 

candidates who fail to do so will 

not be reimbursed for the cost of 

printing and distributing these 

documents, costs that are 

normally covered by the 

governmental election finance 

funding. 

Banks: among the main 

polluters 

A report issued in early March by 

the international NGO Les amis 

de la terre (Friends of The Earth) 

reveals that French banks 

contribute widely to greenhouse 

gas emissions. Of course, the 

banks themselves produce less 

CO 2 than industries, but most of 

construction en paille, appelé Les 

compaillons. Leur site Internet (en 

français seulement) donne une 

liste de constructeurs professionnels 

spécialisés, et des informations 

utiles, dont la liste des associations 

adhérentes, visant toutes 

à faciliter ce genre d’habitat, 

réparties dans plusieurs régions : 

www.compaillons.fr 

Ecobâtir 

Il existe également un réseau 

d’information, associatif lui aussi, 

sur les constructions écologiques, 

appelé Ecobâtir : 

www.reseau-ecobatir.asso.fr 

them invest in highly polluting or 

controversial industries. Two 

exceptions: Dexia (the bank of 

local communities) that devotes 

one third of its financing to 

renewable energies, and the 

Crédit coopératif (group of the 

Banques populaires), which refuses 

to finance projects related to 

fossil or nuclear energy, or to 

major dams. 

The NGO has estimated that the 

total of greenhouse gas 

emissions indirectly produced by 

French banks to be 1.32 

megaton of CO 2, which means 

3.2 times more that the total 

emissions of France, and 5.06% 

of the whole planet. By 

comparison, several major 

foreign banks (such as Bank of 

America and J.P. Morgan-Chase 

in the US, ABN Amro in the 

Netherlands, or HSBC in the 

UK) have proved to be much 

more respectful of the 

environment. 

More on: 

www.amisdelaterre.org/ 

Banques-francaises-banques

Issue Number 5 French Accent, April 2007 

Page 23 

In the Next Issue of French Accent 

— Scenario of the Month. Prepositions and expressions of time: Depuis, pendant, en, dans, pour, il y a, ça fait... 

— Interview of the Month. Read about Elizabeth's experiences in moving to Paris after spending several 

years in South-East Asia. 

— Real Life. Looking for a job: The first interview with a potential future employer. 

— Tips & Traps. Time to file those income tax returns. Where to get help? Plus several useful and 

practical suggestions to help understand the French bureaucracy better. 

— This is France. Working in France: the culture of the working world. With useful tips and vocabulary. 

— French Politics. The French Labour Organizations. 

— Our Planet: Equitable trade (commerce equitable). What is it? Where to find equitable goods? 

— The French Scene. Jamel Debbouze: A very funny and popular representative of second-generation 

immigrant generation. 

Did you know that? 

In France, the transportation sector is the leading consumer of 

petroleum products, far ahead of the residential-services sector 

(67% and 21% of oil product consumption, respectively). 

The transportation sector is the leading source of CO 2 emissions 

(35% of all emissions of CO 2), producing more than 140 million 

tons of CO 2 emissions in France, ahead of the residential/ 

services/agriculture sectors (119 million tons). 

To transport a load of goods, a combined transport train emits 

130 times less CO 2 than a semi-trailer truck on the highway. 

Of the various types of automobiles available (sedans, minivans, 

station wagons, etc.), 4 x 4s emit the highest levels of CO 2, 

averaging 229 g per km (the average for all vehicles combined is 

153 g per km). In cities, these all-terrain vehicles consume 33% 

more fuel than a traditional vehicle. 

Under-inflated tyres cause fuel consumption to increase by 

approximately 3%. 

Driving with a roof rack also leads to increased fuel 

consumption, which varies from 10% for an empty rack to 15% 

for a full rack.. 

Today’s automotive air conditioning systems increase fuel 

consumption by approximately 30% in town (15% on highways) 

for gasoline engines, and approximately 35% for diesel engines 

(20% on highways). 

Source: www.ademe.fr 

Le saviez-vous? 

En France, le secteur des transports est le premier consommateur de 

produits pétroliers, loin devant le secteur résidentiel-tertiaire 

(respectivement 67% et 21% de la consommation de produits pétroliers). 

Le secteur des transports est le premier émetteur de CO 2 (35% des 

émissions de CO 2) avec plus de 140 millions de tonnes des émissions 

de CO 2 produites en France devant le secteur résidentiel/ 

tertiaire/agriculture (119 millions de tonnes). 

Pour acheminer un chargement de marchandises, un train de transport 

combiné émet 130 fois moins de CO 2 qu'un poids lourd. 

De tous les types de voiture (berline, monospace, break, etc.), les 

4x4 sont les plus gros émetteurs de CO 2 avec en moyenne, 229g de 

CO 2 par km (la moyenne tous véhicules confondus est de 153g de 

CO 2 par km). En ville, ces véhicules tout-terrain consomment 33% 

de carburant de plus qu'un véhicule classique. 

Des pneumatiques sous-gonflés entraînent une surconsommation de 

carburants d'environ 3%. 

Le fait de rouler avec une galerie entraîne également une surconsommation 

de carburants. Celle-ci varie de 10% pour une 

galerie vide à 15% pour une galerie chargée. 

En ville, les systèmes de climatisation automobile actuels augmentent 

la consommation de carburant d'environ 30% (15% sur route) 

pour les moteurs essences et d'environ 35% (20% sur route) pour 

les moteurs Diesel. 

Source: www.ademe.fr


The French Scene — 

The Many Talents of Agnès Jaoui 

I f you are a fan of 

contemporary French cinema, 

you will have undoubtedly seen 

one of the highly popular films 

of the young actress Agnès 

Jaoui, or you may have seen her 

on stage where she has acted in 

plays as varied as Harold Pinter’s 

The Birthday Party or her own 

play Cuisine et dépendances. If you 

watched the French César 

Awards ceremony in 2001, you 

would have seen her collect 

Césars for her film Le Goût des 

autres, for which she also wrote 

the script. But a sign of the true 

extent of her multiple talents has 

recently appeared on posters and 

announcements for vocal 

concerts where Jaoui offers her 

renditions of Spanish and 

Portuguese ballads and love 

songs. One could almost say 

that she truly has the Midas 

touch: each of her endeavours in 

the performing arts has been 

crowned with success. 

Agnès Jaoui was born in 1964 in 

Antony, a suburb just to the 

south of Paris. She attended the 

prestigious Lycée Henri IV in 

Paris and then went on to a 

prep school for the Grandes 

Ecoles until at the age of 20 she 

abandoned her studies to begin 

taking acting lessons. The 

director of the acting school, 

Patrice Chéreau, cast her in the 

film Hôtel de France and she also 

secured roles in several plays, 

including The Birthday Party, 

where she met Jean-Pierre 

Bacri, who was to become her 

partner in life and collaborator 

in both film and stage writing 

as well as acting. Jaoui and 

Bacri have collaborated on the 

scripts for numerous plays and 

films, including Alain Resnais’ 

Smoking/No Smoking (César for 

best filmscript). Resnais called 

on the pair again not only for 

the script but for acting roles in 

his film On connaît la chanson 

(Césars for Jaoui/Bacri for the 

filmscript and for Jaoui as best 

supporting actress). The 

success of their play Cuisine et 

dépendances encouraged them to 

adapt it for the screen, as was to 

be the case a few years later with 

Le Goût des autres, which earned 

the pair Césars for best film and 

best script. As a stage and 

screen actress, film director and 

script writer, the young prodigal 

had already reached the very 

pinnacle of success in her 

profession(s). 

The young prodigal 

has already reached 

the very pinnacle 

of success in her 

profession(s). 

In making the often difficult 

transition from stage and screen 

to singer (the French public 

doesn’t always take too kindly to 

actresses who turn to singing, as 

was the case with Isabelle 

Adjani), Jaoui states that her 

family’s northern African roots 

and her early exposure to that 

music and to flamenco and fado 

© Patrick Swirc 

Les nombreux talents 

d'Agnès Jaoui 

S i vous êtes un fan de cinéma 

contemporain français, vous avez 

sans nul doute vu l’un des films 

les plus connus de la jeune actrice 

Agnès Jaoui, ou vous l’avez peutêtre 

vue sur scène lorsqu’elle a 

joué dans des pièces aussi variées 

que L’anniversaire de Harold Pinter 

ou sa propre création Cuisine et 

dépendances. Si vous avez regardé 

la cérémonie de remise des Césars 

en 2001, vous l’aurez vue 

recevoir plusieurs Césars pour 

son film Le Goût des autres, dont 

elle avait aussi écrit le scénario. 

Mais une indication de la véritable 

étendue de ses multiples talents 

est apparue récemment sur 

les affiches et annonces de 

concerts dans lesquels Agnès 

Jaoui interprète des ballades et 

chansons d’amour espagnoles et 

portugaises. On peut pratiquement 

dire que tout lui réussit : 

chacune de ses tentatives dans les 

arts du spectacle a été couronnée 

de succès. 

Agnès Jaoui est née en 1964 à 

Antony, dans la banlieue sud de 

Paris. Après avoir été élève du 

prestigieux Lycée Henri IV de 

Printable 

version 

Paris, elle s’est inscrite en hypokhâgne 

jusqu’à ce que, à l’âge de 

20 ans, elle ait abandonné ses 

études pour suivre des cours de 

théâtre. Le directeur de l’école de 

théâtre, Patrice Chéreau, l’a sélectionnée 

pour son film Hôtel de 

France, et elle a également obtenu 

des rôles dans plusieurs pièces, 

dont L’anniversaire, où elle a rencontré 

Jean-Pierre Bacri, qui 

allait devenir son partenaire, 

aussi bien dans la vie que dans 

des films et sur scène, ainsi que 

dans l’écriture de pièces. 

Un étonnant couple 

qui cumule de multiples 

dons 

Agnès Jaoui et Jean-Pierre Bacri 

ont collaboré sur les scénarios de 

nombreuses pièces et de films, 

dont Smoking/No Smoking d’Alain 

Resnais (César du meilleur 

film). Alain Resnais a fait encore 

appel à eux non seulement pour 

écrire le scénario mais pour jouer 

dans son film On connaît la chanson 

(pour lequel le couple a obtenu 

le César du meilleur scénario 

et Agnès Jaoui celui de la meilleure 

actrice dans un second 

rôle). Le succès de leur pièce 

Cuisine et dépendances les a encouragés 

à l’adapter à l’écran, tout 

comme ils l’ont fait plusieurs 

années plus tard pour Le Goût des 

autres qui a obtenu le double 

César du meilleur film et du 

meilleur scénario. En tant qu’actrice 

de théâtre et de cinéma, 

réalisatrice de films et auteure de 

scénarios, la jeune femme prodige 

a déjà atteint les sommets 

des succès dans chacune de ces 

professions. 

Une transition réussie 

entre la scène 

et l’écran 

En tentant la transition souvent 

difficile entre la scène ou l’écran 

et le chant (le public français 

n’accueille pas toujours très favorablement 

les actrices qui se 

mettent à chanter, comme ce fut 

le cas pour Isabelle Adjani),


Cuisine et dependences: In this film 

by Philippe Muyl the ambiance is 

similar to that in the play by 

Agnès Jaoui that it was adapted 

from: a group 

of people 

who interact 

in the 

confining 

space of a 

kitchen. 

Even though 

the film has a 

certain 

A Selection of DVDs 

< 

affinity with vaudeville, it is done 

in a much more subtle way, with 

humour and intelligence, with 

cruelty too. Very realistic… 

Smoking No Smoking: A pair of 

films by Alain Resnais (script 

also written by Agnès Jaoui and 

Jean-Pierre Bacri) 

adapted from the plays 

written by Alan 

Ayckbourn. Very well 

done, with the excellent 

actors Sabine Azéma 

and Pierre Arditi. 

led her to want to express herself 

as a chanteuse. She began giving 

concerts in 2005, and her first 

album, Canta, was released in 

Le goût des autres, which won 

several Césars, was directed by 

Agnès Jaoui, who also wrote the 

script together with Jean-Pierre 

Bacri. It is the story of a couple 

where boredom is beginning to 

set in. The husband falls in love 

with an actress, who then rejects 

him. He persists, though, and 

tries to get accepted by her 

network of friends, all of whom 

consider him a loser. 

February 2006 to very good 

reviews and brisk sales. At the 

very recent Victoires de la musique 

awards, the album earned Jaoui 

yet another distinction: victoire de 

l’album de musique du monde de 

l’année (Best World Music Album 

of the Year). Fortunately, her 

new foray into the world of 

music hasn’t led her to 

completely abandon the world 

of cinema. She and Bacri are 

currently working on the script 

for their next film, to be shot 

this summer, entitled Parlez-moi 

de la pluie, in which she will play 

the role of a militant feminist. A 

fitting role for this seeming 

mistress of all performances. 



Buying 

Where to buy or rent DVDs? 

You can buy DVDs in the large stores such as Carrefour, Leclerc, 

Auchan, etc; or in music stores such as Fnac, Virgin, etc. 

There are also a lot of online stores such as: 

www.fnac.com 

www.amazon.fr 

www.virginmega.fr 

www.dvdpascher.net 

www.priceminister.com/video-dvd-vhs 

Renting 

You can always take out a subscription in a video rental store close to 

your home. Another way of renting is to find one of the automated 

video distributors that are conveniently located in many cities; (like 

the “24 self video”). You just need your credit card to rent DVDs. 

The choice can be somewhat limited in both of these outlets, 

however. 

An additional convenient and comfortable way to rent DVDs is to 

rent them online. There is a vastly greater selection of good films, 

depending on the site, and you have the choice of either paying for a 

monthly subscription with an exchange system 

(you get 1, 2 or more DVDs at a time depending 

on your choice and once you send them back, you 

get 1, 2 or more etc.). You can also choose not to 

subscribe monthly but just pay up front for a 

certain number of DVDs. You receive your 

movies in the mail along with a pre-paid envelop 

to send them back in. 

click here 

Agnès Jaoui (cont'd) Agnès Jaoui (suite) 

Her CD: Canta 

Agnès Jaoui affirme que les racines 

nord-africaines de sa famille 

et le fait qu’elle ait très tôt baigné 

dans la musique de cette partie 

du monde, ainsi que dans le 

flamenco et le fado, l’ont incitée 

à s’exprimer en tant que chanteuse. 

Elle a commencé à donner 

des concerts en 2005 et son 

premier album, Canta, sorti en 

février 2006, a reçu de très bonnes 

critiques et s’est très bien 

vendu. Lors de la remise des prix 

des très récentes Victoires de la 

musique, il a permis à Agnès Jaoui 

de recevoir une nouvelle distinction 

: Victoire de l’album de 

Here are some online DVD rental sites: 

www.dvdfly.com 

www.locafilm.com 

www.cinehome.com 

www.glowria.fr 

Page 25 

musique du monde de l’année. 

Heureusement, sa nouvelle incursion 

dans le monde de la musique 

ne l’a pas entraînée à abandonner 

complètement celui du cinéma. 

Bientôt, 

un prochain film... 

Elle et Jean-Pierre Bacri travaillent 

actuellement sur le scénario 

de leur prochain film, qui sera 

tourné cet été, intitulé Parlez-moi 

de la pluie, dans lequel elle jouera 

le rôle d’une féministe militante. 

Un rôle taillé sur mesure pour 

cette femme qui réussit magistralement 

tout ce qu’elle entreprend.


Advertise 

with us: 

Click 

HERE! 

- Je vous trouve chouette ! 

S’est exclamé le chou. 

- Ce que vous êtes chou ! 

A répondu la chouette. 

Et la chouette et le chou 

Ont dit : Marions-nous ! 

- Il fait un temps de chien ! 

Fit remarquer la chèvre. 

- C’est une histoire de fou, 

C’est à devenir chèvre ! 

A protesté la vache. 

Et elle mangea le chou. 

- Ca c’est vache ! 

A soupiré le chien. 

Mademoiselle chante le blues 

Y'en a qui élèvent des gosses au fond 

des HLM 

Y'en a qui roulent leurs bosses du 

Brésil en Ukraine 

Y'en a qui font la noce du côté d'Angoulême 

Et y'en a même qui militent dans la 

rue avec tracts et banderoles 

Et y'en a qui en peuvent plus de jouer 

les sex symbols 

Y'en a qui vendent l'amour au fond de 

leur bagnole. 

Mademoiselle chante le blues 

Soyez pas trop jalouses 

Mademoiselle boit du rouge 

Mademoiselle chante le blues (Refrain) 

Y'en a huit heures par jour qui tapent 

sur des machines 

Y'en a qui font la cour masculine 

féminine 

Y'en a qui lèchent les bottes comme on 

lèche des vitrines 

Et y'en a même qui font du cinéma, 

qu'on appellent Marilyn 

Mais Marilyn Dubois sera jamais 

Norma Jean 

Faut pas croire que le talent c'est tout 

ce qu'on s'imagine. 

(Refrain) 

Elle a du gospel dans la voix et elle y 

croit. 

Y'en a qui se font bonne soeur, avocat, 

pharmacienne 

Y'en a qui ont tout dit quand elles ont 

dit je t'aime 

Y'en a qui sont vieilles filles du côté 

d'Angoulême 

Y'en a même qui jouent femmes libérées 

Petit joint et gardénal qui mélangent vie 

en rose et image d'Epinal 

Qui veulent se faire du bien sans jamais 

se faire du mal. 

(Refrain) 

Patricia Kaas was born in 1966 in 

Forbach (Moselle), and grew up 

in a family of 7 children raised by 

a German mother and a French 

father from Lorraine who was a 

miner. However, her passion as a 

singer developed very early as she 

started giving her first concerts at 

the age of 8. She is well known 

for her deep, raspy voice and her 

personal charm. She was mostly 

very popular in the 1980s-1990s, 

but is still very much appreciated 

by the French public 

as well as beyond 

France’s borders, as 

she travels and 

performs extensively 

around the world. 

Her repertoire 

includes songs in 

French, German and 

English. She has 

produced 13 albums 

that sold a total of 15 

million copies, most 

of them outside 

France. She is 

currently preparing a 

new album for this 

fall. 

Song by Didier 

Barbelivien and B. 

Mehdi. 

Chouette et chou 

Two awards for 

Bénabar 

The French singer Bénabar, 

whom we featured last 

month, recently received two 

awards at the Victoires de la 

musique (March 10 th), the 

most important musical 

awards event in France: 

Artiste interprète masculin de 

l’année (male artist of the 

year), and Chanson originale de 

l’année (most original song of 

the year) for Le dîner, which 

was reproduced in the March 

edition of French Accent. 

Extrait 

de: “Mots polissons 

pour attraper les sons”, 

par Hélène Benait, 

illustrés par Pierre 

Caillou. 

Editions 

Actes Sud Junior, 

Coll. Les grands 

bonheurs. 

9 euros. 

Chosen and recited 

by Alexandra


du tout. Elle a dit qu’elle ne 

voulait pas de bête chez elle et 

regardez-moi un peu ce que 

cet animal a fait de mes bégonias 

! Rex a levé la tête et il 

s’est approché de maman en 

remuant la queue et puis il a 

fait le beau. Maman l’a regardé 

et puis elle s’est baissée et 

elle a caressé la tête de Rex et 

Rex lui a léché la main et on a 

sonné à la porte du jardin. 

Papa est allé ouvrir et un 

monsieur est entré. Il a regardé 

Rex et il a dit : “Kiki ! Enfin 

te voilà ! Je te cherche 

partout. – Mais enfin, monsieur, 

a demandé papa, que 

désirez-vous ? – Ce que je 

désire ? a dit le monsieur. Je 

désire mon chien ! Kiki s’est 

échappé pendant que je lui 

faisais faire sa petite promenade 

et on m’a dit qu’on avait 

vu un gamin l’emmener par 

ici. – Ce n’est pas Kiki, c’est 

Rex, j’ai dit. Et tous les deux 

on va attraper des bandits 

comme dans le film de jeudi 


Rex — Fifth and Last Instalment 

W hen we last left Le Petit Nicolas, his father had agreed to build a 

doghouse for Rex so they could keep him outdoors and away from his 

mother’s armchair. An unexpected visitor brings about a change of 

plans in the final episode of Le Petit Nicolas and the stray dog Rex (see 

Vols. 1 – 4 of French Accent for a brief introduction and the first four 

instalments of the story). 

Nous sommes allés chercher 

des planches dans le grenier et 

papa a apporté ses outils. Rex, 

lui, il s’est mis à manger les 

bégonias, mais c’est moins 

grave que pour le fauteuil du 

salon, parce que nous avons 

plus de bégonias que de fauteuils. 

Papa, il a commencé à trier les 

planches. “Tu vas voir, il m’a 

dit, on va lui faire une niche 

formidable, un vrai palais. – 

Et puis, j’ai dit, on va lui apprendre 

à faire des tas de 

tours et il va garder la maison 

! – Oui, a dit papa, on va 

le dresser pour chasser les 

intrus, Blédurt par exemple.” 

Monsieur Blédurt, c’est notre 

voisin, papa et lui, ils aiment 

bien se taquiner l’un l’autre. 

On s’amusait bien, Rex, moi 

et papa ! Ça s’est un peu gâté 

quand papa a crié, à cause du 

coup de marteau qu’il s’est 

donné sur le doigt et maman 

est sortie de la maison. 

“Qu’est-ce que vous faites ?” 

a demandé maman. Alors 

moi, je lui ai expliqué que 

nous avions décidé, papa et 

moi, de garder Rex dans le 

jardin, là où il n’y avait pas de 

fauteuils et que papa lui fabriquait 

une niche et qu’il allait 

apprendre à Rex à mordre 

monsieur Blédurt, pour le 

faire enrager. Papa, il ne disait 

pas grand-chose, il se suçait le 

doigt et il regardait maman. 

Maman n’était pas contente 

dernier et on va le dresser 

pour faire des blagues à monsieur 

Blédurt !” Mais Rex 

avait l’air tout content et il a 

sauté dans les bras du monsieur. 

“Qui me prouve que ce 

chien est à vous, a demandé 

papa, c’est un chien perdu ! – 

Et le collier, a répondu le 

monsieur, vous n’avez pas vu 

son collier, Il y a mon nom 

dessus ! Jules Joseph Trempé, 

avec mon adresse, j’ai bien 

envie de porter plainte ! 

Viens, mon pauvre Kiki, non 

mais !” et le monsieur est 

parti avec Rex. 

On est restés tout étonnés, et 

puis maman s’est mise à pleurer. 

Alors, papa, il a consolé 

maman et il lui a promis que 

je ramènerais un autre chien, 

un de ces jours. 

Le petit Nicolas, by Sempé and 

Goscinny, Editions Gallimard, 

Collection Folio. 

La dictée du mois 

CDs, DVDs, 

and 

French and 

English books 

delivered 

to your home 

CLICK HERE 

CLICK HERE 

Page 27 

Alain, qui a acheté une vieille ferme en Bretagne, n’a qu’un seul souci: elle est difficile à chauffer 

l’hiver. Il en a parlé à son voisin, qui lui a suggéré de bien isoler les murs extérieurs et les combles 

et de mettre des fenêtres à double vitrage. Après avoir fait ces travaux, sa maison est bien plus 

confortable et Alain est content d’avoir utilisé une isolation naturelle, le chanvre. 

Click here!


Ingredients 

For 4 people 

1kg potatoes 

1 litre milk 

400 g fresh salmon (filet) 

200 g smoked salmon 

50 cl cream 

250 g grated cheese (Comté, 

Gruyère, Abondance…) 

Salt, pepper 

Preparation 

Clean, peel and cut the 

potatoes in slices of about 3 

millimetres (0,12 inches). Do 

not wash them. 

Put the potatoes in a pan and 

add the milk. Bring to a boil 

and then reduce the heat a bit, 

and continue cooking for 

about 15 minutes. 

Strain 

Preheat the oven to 180° C, 

thermostat 6. 

Butter a baking dish. Add a 

layer of potatoes. Salt and 

pepper them. 

Put a layer of sliced fresh 

salmon, add 1/3 of the cream. 

Add another layer of potatoes, 

salt, pepper. Add the smoked 

salmon, 1/3 of the cream, 

then the rest of the potatoes, 

salt and pepper. 

Add the rest of the cream and 

the grated cheese. 

Bake in the oven for about 45 

min. 

Serve with a green salad. 

Bon appétit ! 

La recette du mois: gratin de saumon et pommes de terre 

Vincent Anthonioz 

More potatoes 

and cream. 

… covered with 

more potatoes, 

cream, and grated 

cheese. 

It’s as delicious as it looks!! 

Fresh salmon 

on the first layer 

of potatoes. 

Then, a layer 

of smoked 

salmon.... 

Ingrédients 

Pour 4 personnes 

1kg de pommes de terres 

1 litre de lait 

400 g de saumon frais (filet) 

200 g de saumon fumé 

50 cl de crème fraîche liquide 

250 g de fromage râpé (comté, 

gruyère, abondance…) 

Sel, poivre 

Préparation 

Laver, éplucher et émincer les 

pommes de terre en tranches 

de 3 mm environ. Ne pas les 

laver. 

Mettre les pommes de terre 

dans une casserole avec le lait. 

Faire bouillir puis réduire le 

feu légèrement et poursuivre la 

cuisson environ 15 minutes. 

Egoutter. 

Préchauffer le four à 180°, 

thermostat 6. 

Beurrer un plat à gratin. Mettre 

une couche de pommes de 

terre. Saler, Poivrer. 

Mettre une couche de saumon 

frais coupé en tranches, ajouter 

1/3 de la crème. 

Mettre une autre couche de 

pommes de terre, saler, poivrer. 

Ajouter le saumon fumé, 

1/3 de la crème, le reste des 

pommes de terre, salez, poivrez. 

Mettre le reste de la crème et 

ajouter le fromage râpé. 

Cuire au four pendant 45 mn. 

Servir accompagné d’une salade 

verte. 

Bon appétit ! 

Printable 

version

Issue Number 5 French Accent, April 2007 

Page 29 

click here 

Click 

here 

Cliquez ici 

Click here! 

Translate into 

50 languages 

in 1 click: here!

No one can fully enjoy life in a foreign country without 

speaking and understanding the language! 

You are an expatriate in France or you are thinking of moving to France. 

You need to learn the language to benefit fully your daily life in France. 

You are planning on doing business in France or you are learning the French language 

for pleasure, but… you are tired of learning French on your own 

with CDs and books. 

From the comfort of your home, we offer “one-to-one lessons” with a French 

teacher, a real person on the Internet via Skype or on the telephone! 

An extremely efficient and comfortable way of learning! 

What are the main benefits of the “Learn French at Home Programme”? 

Flexibility - We offer time flexibility – you can change your lesson date 

and time on a weekly basis! 

Personalisation - Each lesson is personalised to your current French level 

and to your goals. You will gain true confidence in speaking! 

Results - Personalised French lessons and homework will get you positive 

results on a weekly basis! Read what the students are saying. 

Credibility - Our French teachers are experienced, patient and friendly. Every lesson 

is backed up with notes and homework. The teacher communicates with the student 

closely at all time and gives continuous feed-back. 

Motivation - The homework deadlines, the corrections of the teacher and 

the "question du jour" in our forum will continuously motivate you to learn 

French and to progress outside of your French classes! 

Commitment - We ask you to commit to only 4 weeks of French lessons 

at one time! The time and financial risks are minimal. 

Recording - For a small fee, you are able to download a recorder which enables 

you to record the entire lesson on Skype and to listen to it as many times as you 

wish. You can also download your lesson on a mp3 file or copy it onto a CD. 

3 French Learning Programmes to choose from! 

If you are connected to the internet, Click here 

Or send us an email at : contact@learnfrenchathome.com 

Learn French at Home 

+33 (0)8 70 40 81 17 (local call cost in France) 

www.learnfrenchathome.com 

TESTIMONIALS 

"I like the flexibility of learning this 

way because I can have weekly 

lessons regardless of where I am in 

the world. I am also learning French 

quicker than other methods or 

lessons." 

Paul in Daglan, Dordogne, 

France. 

"I really enjoy the lessons and my 

neighbours and friends in my village 

comment on my progress, so it's 

great." 

Alana in Aude, France. 

"Learning French at home, is a 

brilliant concept… Every time I visit 

France now my friends and relations 

remark on how my French is 

improving and I am amazed at 

myself sometimes just how much I 

have learnt." 

Marian in Backhurst Hill 

Essex, UK. 

"Since starting with Learn French 

at Home last March 06, my 

confidence on the phone and face to 

face conversation has increased 

incredibly..." 

Shelley in Lot et Garonne, 

France. 

"...When I visited France this 

summer I was very confident to 

speak French and found that I was 

well understood, and didn't revert to 

english at all." 

Joanne in Birmingham, UK. 

"The teacher's answers to my 

questions and explanations of 

concepts are very clear and I feel like 

I'm getting a good vocabulary in each 

lesson. 

Julie in New York, USA. 

"...Tailored to suit my own needs, it 

is fun, interesting and, most of all, 

it's working!!"... 

Tricia in Dordogne, France. 

"I have found the French lessons on 

the telephone extremely useful. You 

are obliged to speak which makes 

you concentrate." 

Carolyn, in the Languedoc- 

Roussillon region in France.

The Bilingual and Audio Online Magazine for Expatriates

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Delete template?

Save as template ?