Day 1906 (Saturday) 27th August 2022

Happy birthday to me!

Badger bit me out of bed this morning wanting to play…this was him last night being lovely and cuddly, a rare occurrence indeed.

Last night Suzanne called round to give me a birthday present and it was wonderful!

A few weeks ago she asked Huw for our favourite photos of Badger and he sent her this one.

She met an artist through the new gallery in town and got this done for me.

This is her dog Isla

It was 42 degrees on the balcony this morning and Huw had made me coffee and presented me with my presents. Badger had helped him wrap them last night and they had great fun.

 

He bought me two books about France, some wonderful pens from Muji, a great Villefranche sur Mer mug and some of my favourite Provencal soaps. I’ve never seen round ones before and they are gorgeous.

We went up to the Saturday morning market and it was as lovely as ever.

I will put the other photos of the market in the following article.

We also bought a small gift for Suzanne’s birthday and a poulet roti for my favourite weekend lunch – chicken and bacon with mayonnaise on pain au mais – delicious.

We had planned to go to lunch tomorrow with Pat and Dee and Suzanne and Sean but these plans changed. Dee’s sister was meant to arrive yesterday from Cannes but her and her husband were sick so they postponed it until today so she needs to spend time with them so we decided to have our big lunch next weekend instead – I was a bit disappointed but totally understand. I had lots of messages saying happy birthday and a really nice surprise this afternoon when Iain and Nancy called me from Atlanta.

This weekend is the start of ‘la rentrée’

Why ‘la rentrée’ means so much more in France than a new school year

As we arrive at la rentrée, here's a look at this French word which, while it's often translated as merely the start of a new school year, in fact has a cultural significance that goes much deeper.

La rentrée simply means the re-entry or the return but its arrival heralds a shift in the winds in France every September, here’s why.

If you spent much time in French cities in August you will have noticed that they were pretty empty – many of the smaller independent shops close up and if you email anyone about a work-related or official matter you’re likely to get an auto-reply informing you that they are out of the office until September.

And because the long August holiday is such an embedded tradition in French life, the return in September is a big deal.

Here are some of the things that la rentrée means and why it defies an easy translation into English;

Schools restart 

La rentrée scolaire is when schools begin again for the new academic year. There is a tradition that this can only happen so September, and this year schools go back on Thursday, September 1st.

A side-effect of la rentrée scolaire is the appearance in shops of huge collections of stationery as stressed-out parents head out to buy the dozens of items on the official lists that schools send out, all of which are deemed essential to educational life.

10 sticks of glue…3 boxes of tissues…2 pencil cases…a shoebox. France set for consumer spending boost as parents rush to get the stationary needed for primary school kids. This is why French supermarkets have huge stationary aisles.

Poor Anastasia leaves Nice on August 31st after spending two months in Nice with her mother – she loves it here and doesn’t want to go back. We are having a face-to-face class on Monday but after that it’ll be back to Zoom.  

Return to work

Of course key workers continue to work throughout the summer but many offices close completely for some or all of August as it’s not at all uncommon to receive out-of-office replies simply telling you that the person will be back in September and will deal with your query then.

Many smaller independent businesses including boulangeries, florists, pharmacies, clothes shops and bars also close for some or all of August as their staff and owners enjoy a break.

If you work in an office, the first few days after la rentrée is often a time for chatting to colleagues, hearing other people’s holiday stories and generally easing yourself back into work gently so it’s not too much of a shock to the system.

Kisbee still hasn’t been fixed because it’s August. We miss her!

Return to parliament 

The French parliament takes a break over the summer and usually resumes sessions in September, while ministers too generally take a few weeks off.

This summer has been slightly different for political reasons – the loss of Emmanuel Macron’s party’s absolute majority meant that parliament sat until the beginning of August in order to pass urgent bills such as financial aid for the cost-of-living crisis. The late end of the parliamentary term means that parliament won’t reconvene until the end of September, but government business restarts on August 24th with the first cabinet meeting.

Usually la rentrée sees governments prepare to present new legislation or reforms, while this year Macron will also have to deal with the deadlocked parliament. Many French newspapers are talking about la rentrée agitée (hectic return) or la rentrée chargée (busy return) to describe this difficult and politically charged return to political business. 

New books are published

There is also a phenomenon known as la rentrée litteraire, which is when hundreds of new books are published in the busiest part of the literary year.

This is partly related to people coming back to work, but is also linked to the fact that many of France’s major literary prizes – including the Prix Goncourt, the Prix Renaudot, and the Grand Prix du roman de l’Académie française – are held in October and November.

Publishers therefore release books that they believe have a chance at a prize in late August or September in the hope that they will be fresh in the judges’ minds.

Summer activities end

As people head back to work and temperatures begin to cool, many of the summer activities and facilities close down too, from small town festivals and open-air cinemas to the Paris plages urban beaches that are dismantled in the last weekend of August.

As much as I love seeing the tourists leave I do feel sad that the official summer has come to an end but we’ll get our beaches back and the trains won’t be so hot and sweaty but the sky is still blue and the sun will shine for a few more months. 

Traffic chaos

With most of France heading home from its holidays at the same time, the final weekend in August is usually the subject of dire warnings about traffic jams, so if you have the option it’s better to avoid being in the car this weekend.

This looks impossible

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