Day 3014 (Monday) 8th  September 2025

This was the Blood Moon last night, we couldn’t see any of it because of our next door neighbours block it out, so we were happy that our WhatsApp group posted these.

There was another cruise ship in the bay and town was very busy when we went down to Les Palmiers for lunch.

The cafés and market stalls were very busy, let’s hope they made some money.

As always on a Monday here’s What’s happening in France this week. The Local France.

Protesters march in Dunkirk. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)

A confidence vote, a national protest, strikes, and an important day in court for Marine Le Pen are the headline events in a big week in France

Monday

Court: It will likely get lost in the noise of the later confidence vote in the Assembly, but a hearing on Monday morning will set trial dates for far-right Rassemblement National presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen’s appeal against her conviction – and on-hold political ban – for embezzling millions of euro of public funds in a fake job scam.

Confidence vote: The French government, headed by current Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a self-imposed confidence vote in the National Assembly amid an ongoing row over how the country should reduce its budget deficit. If he loses, he is required to resign and the government will fall. It will then be up to president Emmanuel Macron to decide what to do next.

Trial: Former anaesthetist Frederic Pechier goes on trial accused of 30 poisonings, 12 of which were fatal.

Strike: At the start of what promises to be a busy week in a busy month of protests, public transport in the south-eastern city of Lyon is likely to be disrupted as staff walk out in a one-day dispute over pay. Major disruptions are expected across the entire TCL network, affecting all buses, trams, metros and commercial agencies. Further updates are available on the TCL website.

Wednesday

Protests: The mysterious online Bloquons Tout collective has called for everyone in France to ‘block’ the country by refusing to go to school, work or do any shopping on September 10th in protest at prime minister François Bayrou’s cost-cutting budget. 

Sud-Rail union representing train drivers (cheminots) has announced that they intend to join the September 10th action. Sud Aerien, which represents airport staff, has also called for strikes and blockades at airports on September 10th.

The main union representing pupils at lycée (high school) has also called for a 'blockade' of lycées on September 10th.

The CGT civil service union called for strike action on both September 10th and 18th, the head of the union, Sylviane Brousse, told the French press. As a result, government buildings, such as local town halls and préfectures, could be closed.

The French security services have warned of possible 'acts of sabotage' during the protest day.

EU Politics: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to deliver her annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg.

Thursday

Music: Fans of electronic music and culture, assemble! The 13th annual Paris Electronic Week tunes up in Pantin. For more information, head over to the website.

Friday

Economy: credit agency Fitch updates its rating for France on the same day as monthly inflation rates for August are published.

Le goûter: The importance of the afternoon snack in France

(Photo: Pierre Verdy / AFP)

The French have developed an entire cultural tradition around the idea of an afternoon snack. It's called "Le goûter" and here's what you need to know about it.

With all those pâtisseries and viennoiseries tempting the tastebuds in high street boulangerie after boulangerie, there can be little wonder that France  - which takes food very seriously - has also invented the correct time to eat them.

Let us introduce you to the cultural tradition of le goûter - the noun of the verb “to taste”, and a cultural tradition in France dating back into the 19th century, perhaps even as far back as the Renaissance ... allowing for the fact that people have snacked for centuries, whether or not it had a formal name. 

It refers to a very particular snack time, usually at around 4pm daily. 

Officially, le goûter is reserved for children. This is why many schools, nurseries and holiday activity centres offer it and offices don't.

The idea is that, because the family evening meal is eaten relatively late, this mid-afternoon snack will keep les enfants from launching fridge raids, or bombarding their parents with shouts of, “j’ai faim !”. Depending on the age of the child, goûter might be something that parents offer when their children come home from school, or something that is served in after-school club.

Most adults, with their grown-up iron will-power, are expected to be able to resist temptation in the face of all that pastry, and live on their three set meals per day. Le grignotage - snacking between meals - is frowned on if you're much older than your washing machine.

But, whisper it quietly, but just about everyone snacks (grignoter), anyway - a baguette that doesn’t have one end nibbled off in the time it takes to travel from boulanger to table isn’t a proper baguette. Besides, why should your children enjoy all the treats? 

We’re not saying ignore the nutritionists, but if you lead an active, reasonably healthy lifestyle, a bite to eat in the middle of the afternoon isn’t going to do any harm. So, if you want to join them, feel free.

What do you give for goûter 

It’s a relatively light snack, but the key is sweet treats.

Think a couple of biscuits, a piece of cake, a pain au chocolat (or chocolatine, for right-thinking people in southwest France), piece of fruit, pain au lait, a croissant, yoghurt or compote.

It can also be bread-based - either a slice of bread slathered in Nutella or buttered baguette with a piece of chocolate. The Nutella option is probably the most popular and might account for the slightly-obsessive love that many French adults feel for the sticky, hazelnut spread.

Things might get a little more formal if friends and their children are round at the goûter hour - a pre-visit trip to the patisserie may be a good idea if you want to avoid scratching madly through the cupboards and don’t have time to create something tasty and homemade.

Not to be confused with

Une collation - adult snacking becomes socially acceptable when it’s not a snack but part of une collation served, for example, at the end of an event, or at a gathering of some kind. Expect, perhaps, a few small sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a few small pastries, coffee and water.

L’apéro - pre-dinner snacks, often featuring savoury bites such as charcuterie, olives, crisps and a few drinks, including alcoholic ones, as a warm up to the main meal event, or as part of an early evening gathering before people head off to a restaurant or home for their evening meal.

Un en-cas - this is the great adult snacking get-out. Although, in general, snacking for grown-ups is considered bad form, sometimes it has to be done. This is it. Call it un en-cas, (in case) pretend you’re too hungry to wait for the next meal, and you’ll probably get away with it.

Le goûter in action

Pour le goûter aujourd’hui, on a eu un gâteau - For snack today, we had some cake.

Veuillez fournir un goûter à votre enfant - Please provide an afternoon snack for your child.

J’ai faim ! Je peux avoir un goûter ? - I’m hungry! Can I have a snack?