Friday 27 February 2009

Don't touch my Picardy!


The Independent's coverage of French current affairs comes from the top drawer this week. I normally turn to the peerless Charles Bremner of the Times for my French gossip and news, but a change of paper in my local coffee shop meant a daily pre-work flick through the Indie.

In today's paper alone, there are features on the proposed restructure of the French regions - see the hard copy for an excellent map of the newly delineated boundaries - while the frankly laughable minimalist art scene and Ségolène Royal's latest brush with the paps get column inches, too.

Of these three stories, Sarkozy's plan to virtually dispense with Picardy and merge other major administrative chunks is the most eye-catching to anyone who knows and loves France. Given that the French notion of terroir is not merely attributable to wine and food but, crucially, to les habitants and where they were born and bred, a plot to turn someone from a Burgundian to a Franche-Comtois overnight seems incendiary. I predict a riot. Or, failing that, a stroppy march through town or a turnip blockade on the roads if farmers get wind of it.

2 comments:

French Fancy... said...

Yes, I see you want to tickle your 'french fancy' - keep your hands to yourself, matey.

Hello by the way

Justin said...

It's rare that I tickle my own these days, French Fancy. I have a harem of ticklers on minimum wage, just to cater to my increasingly tiresome fondant whims. Hello to you, too!