Day 2552 (Monday) 3rd June 2024

Huw found this in the Nice Matin this morning – we had wonderful fireworks in the bay last night…

…and these are the ones I took.

It was a beautiful day today and after doing some chores I spent a few hours sunbathing, I’m determined to be brown when I wear my sari to the party on Saturday.

There was a huge cruise ship in the bay this morning and town was full of large American people.

 

One of the nicer chores I had to do was to deadhead our flowers, this hanging basket is looking lovely.

What’s happening in France this week – the Local France

Aircraft during a flypast over the French national flag at the British Normandy Memorial during the 79th anniversary of the World War II "D-Day" landings in 2023. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / AFP)

From the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings to the end of the French Open and European elections, here's what is happening in France this week.

Monday

Farmers' demonstration and roadblock - French and Spanish farmers have announced they will block roads along the border of France and Spain on Monday. As a result, motorists should expect traffic delays on the A9 and D900 motorways near the border.

Taylor Swift concerts - After her Paris gigs, the American superstar will return to France for concerts in Lyon at the Groupama Stadium, including one on Monday, June 3rd.

Wednesday

Football - The French men's national football team will play against Luxembourg at 9pm in Metz, as part of a friendly match ahead of the Euros. Their first official match will be against Austria on June 17th.

Thursday

D-Day Anniversary - June 6th marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France. Throughout the month, there will be several events to commemorate the historic event, in addition to official ceremonies on the actual day which are expected to be attended by several heads of state, including Britain's King Charles III, US President Joe Biden and France's president Emmanuel Macron.

Cinemas around France will have special screenings of Saving Private Ryan, while the Paris-based cinema club Lost in Frenchlation is screening the classic French World War II film La Grande Vadrouille.

Tax declaration deadlines - Inhabitants of the French départements numbering 55 to 96, as well as the overseas territories, must turn in their French tax declarations by 11.59pm on June 6th. All other départements should have already submitted their declarations.

Saturday

The end of the French Open - The finals of the Roland-Garros tournament will take place on June 8th and 9th.

Sunday

European elections - In mainland France, plus the overseas territories of Réunion, Mayotte, Nouvelle-Calédonie and Wallis and Futuna, polling takes place on Sunday, June 9th. Polling stations will be set up in the same places as for national and local elections - usually town halls, leisure centres and other public buildings - to elect France's representatives in the European parliament.

And now for something totally different…

The 9 boys' names that mean something very different in French

Canadian actor Ryan Gosling who stars as 'Ken' in the Barbie movie. (Photo by Bridget BENNETT / AFP)

Most foreigners who move to France have to accept that their name will be pronounced very differently here - but what about those poor souls whose name takes on a totally different meaning in French?

If your name is not a common one in France it's likely to get a bit of a mangling from unaccustomed French people, but for some people the problem goes much deeper - when their name is actually also a French word that means something totally different.

Ken - in the US, there are estimated to be over 200,000 men named Ken, not including Barbie's love interest of course. But in France, the word Ken is vulgar high-school speak that will get you some weird looks if spoken aloud in a respectable establishment.

It is the verlan of niquer, which means 'to f**k' and it carries just about the same meaning. Adolescents are most likely to use this term, so it might be similar to the English phrase 'to bang' or 'to smash'. You can also use it to describe being screwed over.

Richard - generally seen as a pretty respectable type in the Anglophone world, Richard in French is a flash, loud moneybags. Un gros richard is a French insult aimed at people who are wealthy but flash and obnoxious.

Calling someone a richard is like calling them a fat cat, a toff or a nob.

Kevin - this is another insult, but one directly related to the name and it has a very specific history.

Briefly, the name Kévin enjoyed a short-lived popularity in France in the 1990s and then faded into obscurity again. This meant that 15 years on there was a whole generation of teenage French Kévins and the phrase faire son Kévin began to be used generally about anyone who was behaving in a childish or generally obnoxious and teenage manner.

The Kévins are now grown up and, one hopes, more mature but the phrase arrête de faire ton Kévin! (stop doing your Kevin) lives on. There has even been a documentary film focused on rehabilitating the name and deconstructing stereotypes around it.

 

Peter - the French verb péter has a rather unfortunate meaning for men called Peter - it means to fart. The verb can also mean to burst or to explode and is used in quite a few phrases péter les plombes meaning to blow a fuse or go beserk or péter un câble which means broadly the same thing. You can also say péter le feu (farting fire) to mean being in rude health or firing on all four cylinders.

Colin - in the Anglophone world Colin might work in IT, in France he's more likely to be grilled and served on a bed of leafy green vegetables.

Yes in French colin is a type of fish, known in English as hake, it's very tasty too.

Ben - this one is only likely to cause you confusion if you see it written down. Spend long enough in France and you will notice that many French people begin sentences with a bah ouais . . . (well yeah . . .) but if you ever see this verbal tic written down, in a subtitled film for instance, you will it's actually spelled ben ouais. Which is confusing if you are sure there is no character in the movie called Ben.

 

Benjamin - sometimes a benjamin is a Benjamin but sometimes they are not. Confused? In French, the word benjamin is used to denote the youngest person in a group. It stems from the bible story about Jacob and his youngest son, named Benjamin. To describe a female who is the youngest member of a group, the French say benjamine. 

Connor - this isn't exactly the same, but when spoken out loud Connor sounds perilously close to connard - which means dickhead or asshole in French. So any Connors hanging around tricky driving spots such as the Arc de Triomphe roundabout are going to spend a lot of time thinking that someone is calling their name in rather angry tones.

Nick - God help you if this is your name. In France niquer meant 'to f**k' and nique is one of the verb's more common conjugations. Because French people tend to pronounce the letter 'i' as 'ee', if your name is Nick, it sounds like your name is actually 'f**k'. We would suggest changing your name to 'Nico' - which is how the French shorten the name Nicolas. Good luck.