Day 3042 (Monday) 6th October 2025

This is Menton

and this is Place Massena in Nice.

 

It was another beautiful day and there was a cruise ship in the bay.

Our thermometer said it was 33 degrees.

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

Tourists visit the Pantheon in Paris on May 8, 2023. Former justice minister Robert Badinter will be inducted to the Panthéon on Thursday. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

From the start of the EES passport checks to a French budget deadline, an air traffic controllers' strike, and a new addition to the Panthéon, here's what is happening in France this week.

Monday

Appeal in Pelicot trial - Frenchwoman Gisèle Pelicot, whose ex-husband recruited dozens of strangers online to sexually assault and rape her while drugged, will appear in court on Monday for an appeal trial triggered by one man’s bid to overturn his conviction. The appeal is expected to last no more than four days.

Journées France Services - The France Services network, with its network of 2,800 locations across the country, will host special visiting days from October 6th to 18th. These dates are meant to be an opportunity for the general public to visit their nearest facility and learn about the type of help they can get there, whether that be daily admin procedures, like applying for a driving licence or filing a tax return.

Tuesday

Air traffic controllers' strike - The largest union representing air traffic controllers has filed a strike notice from Tuesday, October 7th, to Thursday, October 9th, as part of a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions. Ryanair has announced that it expects to cancel up to 600 flights during the strike period. If you are travelling, be sure to check with your airline before heading to the airport.

First Budget deadline - Technically, the first draft of France's 2026 Budget should be presented to the council of ministers by the first Tuesday in October, meaning October 7th. After that, it should be submitted to the Assemblée Nationale no later than October 13th to ensure parliament has 70 days to debate it.

Wednesday

Sarkozy appeal - Just one week after the former French president was convicted in a separate case for criminal conspiracy, Nicolas Sarkozy's appeal over another conviction (this time in the Bygmalion case, for excessive campaign spending) will be heard by a French court on Wednesday, October 8th.

Thursday

No more bank transfer mistakes - Starting on October 9th, French banks will be required to inform customers if the name of the person receiving a transfer (virement) matches their bank number (IBAN). This will help ensure that remote banking transactions are more secure.

Badinter inducted to the Panthéon - On the 44th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, the country's former minister of justice, Robert Badinter, will be honoured and inducted into the Panthéon on October 9th.

Paris museum exhibit - The Paris Musée Marmottan-Monet will launch its exhibit about the representation of sleep in art, titled L’Empire du Sommeil, on Thursday. It will run until March 1st, 2026.

Sunday

EES passport control - The EU’s long-delayed biometric passport checks, known as the Entry & Exit System, will start to come into effect on October 12th, 2025. However, due to concerns about readiness, the introduction will be phased, spanning until April 2026.

Here is some advice when drinking wine in France…

Top 5 Common Wine Mistakes by Camille Chevalier

1. Trying to Imitate the Wine Experts

If you don’t know what you are doing, and start stirring your glass or looking at its colour in a grand ceremony in front of the sommelier, you won’t fool anyone….

It’s an art form to know how to taste wine like the experts, so keep it simple.

This being said, it doesn’t mean, you can’t enjoy a good bottle, and remark about it:

What do you taste?

Any special flavour like fruits, chocolate, or maybe earthy forest?

Do you like it? Why?

Is it strong or light?

It’s fun to see what the wine makes you think of, so don’t be shy, but be humble.

2. Putting Ice into Your Wine

Although many French people do it at home, it’s considered “sacrilège” and should never be done at a fancy restaurant with a good bottle of wine.

Now if in a small bistro in Provence, in the middle of the August heat wave, you feel like adding a couple of ice cubes to your “pichet de rosé”, a lot of people will forgive you.

3. Pouring too Much Wine in the Glass

Technically, you need to leave room in the glass so you can swirl it. But now, in France, not pouring a full glass is more a question of “bonnes manières (French etiquette)”.

You never fill a glass to the top, that’s all…

And you don’t gulp your wine down. It’s meant to be tasted and enjoyed slowly.

4. For a Woman – Pouring Her Own Glass of Wine

Here again, it’s a question of etiquette. A French woman usually doesn’t pour her own wine.

The man next to her keeps an eye on her glass and pours it when needed. (So what should you do if there are only women at the table you may ask? Then women would pour wine… It’s not that it’s forbidden for women to pour wine or anything like that… It’s more a question of being a gentleman, showing you care… Like holding the door for the next person…

Some people find this rule sexist. And it may be. By all means, you don’t have to follow it if it makes you uncomfortable. I often pour wine for my guests in my house… Maybe because it’s my husband Olivier who cooks, so I’m usually in charge of the wine!

Whether you agree or not, it’s useful to be aware of such cultural differences and what may typically “expected” of you when traveling to a foreign country, isn’t it?

5. Drinking/Pouring Your Bordeaux Till the Very Last Drop

It’s like Turkish coffee… Wines often have what is called “un dépôt”, it is ” la lie de vin” (sediment, lees). It’s thick and muddy, it doesn’t taste too good although it’s not toxic…

So if you are opening a good bottle, be careful when you are coming towards the end: you might want to leave about 1/2 inch in the bottle so that the sediment stays in there.

If by mistake your host pours it into your glass, just don’t drink it. Leave it in your glass, maybe swirl it a little discreetly so the sediment deposits around your glass: your host should see it and change your glass (hopefully)

Bonus Tip – Wait To Drink

In France, it’s customary to wait for everybody to have their drink ready to start drinking. Someone often offers a toast, or when everybody is ready, people often click glasses and to cheer, we often say “tchin-tchin”, “bonne santé”, or “à la tienne / à la vôtre”.

It’s Ok to drink water if you are super thirsty. But for “fancier” drinks, even if there’s no alcohol in them, it’s more polite to wait for everybody to be ready to drink.