If the Covid-19 epidemic has proved one thing, it’s that there is such a thing as society. A French opinion poll shows people valuing health and the environment far more than individualistic concerns such as s […]

How do we get out of lockdown? The president has set a date, 11 May, but the plan is a bit short on details at the moment.

There are signs of tension, reports of vandalism and some clashes with police in parts […]

Lockdown has slashed the rate of Covid-19 infection in France. That’s the good news. The bad news is that herd immunity is therefore a distant dream and a second wave of infections is pretty likely.

The n […]

An opinion poll shows growing dissatisfaction with the French government’s handling of the Coronavirus epidemic and divisions have opened up in Macron’s party. Will the crisis shatter preconceived ideas or rei […]

We’re swimming in milk. It’s spring, the cows are calving, making them superproductive milk-wise. But no markets, no restaurants and exports are down.

So – shock! horror! – the rules for some appellation contr […]

The chestnuts are in blossom along the banks of the Marne. But a poster tells us we can’t get to close. We aren’t allowed to walk along the riverbank, thanks to a decree by the local préfet that has also clos […]

Lockdown has dealt a serious blow to the epidemic, French health boss Jérôme Salomon said yesterday, as he announced three successive days of decline in the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 and the n […]

Lockdown in France enters its second month today. It seems to be bearing modest fruits, with admissions to hospital falling for the second day running and the number of people in intensive care falling for the […]

Amazon has closed its warehouses in France for at least five days after a court ordered it to limit its trade to strict essentials because of Coronavirus safety fears. The case was brought by a militant union […]

I’m honour-bound to mention the French president’s interview with my former employer, RFI. Africa being RFI’s beat, Emmanuel Macron told Christophe Boisbouvier that a moratorium should be declared on Afric […]

Emmanuel Macron put on his humble hat in his third television address to the nation last night. For a man whose default mode is technocratic arrogance that must have been difficult.

In a sober speech described […]

Fundamentalist Catholics dodged France’s Coronavirus lockdown to hold a secret mass over Easter. The clandestine service took place at Paris’s Saint Nicolas du Chardonnet church, which has been occupied since 197 […]

In surrealist Coronavirus news, a zebra was spotted cantering along a road in Champigny last night. It was accompanied by two horses.

They had escaped from a circus that has pitched its tents by a huge […]

A Portuguese-run stall on Champigny market last year

I miss the markets. On a normal Saturday I would either be taking the bus down the road to Joinville-le-Pont or trailing my wheely-basket over the bridge to […]

The Cour St Jean, Champigny-sur-Marne

Philippe had the virus. He was exposed to it because he does an indispensable job, even if that job is poorly paid and commands little respect.

Philippe is a dustman, […]

France’s lockdown is to be extended, to nobody’s surprise.

The president is to tell us how long we must remain in our homes on Monday when he will make his third televised address since the start of the cri […]

Over 10,000 people have now died due to the Covid-19 epidemic in France. But the rate of admissions to hospital and to intensive care is down.

The death toll is grim but the admissions figures are the ones to […]