Day 3405 (Monday) 5th October 2026.

This is Villefranche-sur-Mer

and this is Saint Tropez

 What’s happening in France this week

Students blockade a lycee in Lille. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP)

The first round of the presidential primary for France’s left-wing parties gets under way, protests and strikes aplenty, and the curtain goes up on a major cinema festival.

Monday

Journalism – The 33rd edition of the prestigious Prix Bayeux Calvados-Normandie for war correspondents gets under way.

Integration – The sixth annual Week of Integration for Newly Arrived Foreigners in France, organised by the Directorate General for Foreigners in France, gets under way with events planned across the country. 

Sport – France’s senior men’s football team play Belgium at Stade de France in the fourth round of the Uefa Nations League. The match kicks off at 8.45pm and is broadcast live in France on TF1.

More lycée protests? - Students at French high schools staged protests on Thursday and Friday that flared into violence in some areas, the Education Ministry has confirmed that around 500 schools will remain closed on Monday, some due to damage sustained during the protests. Meanwhile a further strike day is planned for Tuesday.

Tuesday

Protest – The CGT Federal Union of State Employees has called on public sector workers to show their support for the ongoing student protests demanding better study conditions, more teachers, smaller class sizes, the repeal of Parcoursup, and better government help for students heading to university.

Thursday

Fuel – A strike has been announced at TotalEnergies, called by the CGT, on all of the group’s sites, with possible effects on refineries, depots and some service stations in the network. Workers are protesting “deteriorating working conditions and job security, staff shortages, and the loss of purchasing power”. Disruptions to fuel supplies are possible.

Childcare – Parents of young children take note: staff of establishments and services providing collective and individual early childhood care are set to walk out on strike demanding improved pay and conditions.

Friday

Politics – The two-day first-round voting in the primary for a centre-left candidate in next year’s Presidential elections opens. The candidates for nomination are: Philippe Brun, Olivier Faure, Raphaël Glucksmann, Jérôme Guedj, Emmanuel Maurel, and Ségolène Royal. A second round, if required, will be held on October 16th and 17th.

Saturday

Festival – The curtain rises on Lumière Festival, celebrating classic cinema, in Lyon. The festival looks back at cinema’s rich history through restored classics, retrospectives, special guests, tributes and film concerts. Almost 450 screenings will take place, many introduced by actors, filmmakers, critics or members of the festival team.

9 French Expressions To Say I Feel Great by Camille Chevalier

The French language is full of idioms. Some are easy to understand, or translate the same way as in English, others can be quite obscure. Here are nine very common expressions used in French to say to feel great, to be full of energy.

1 – Être Bien Dans Sa Peau 🧴

To be good in your skin.

This French expression is not too difficult to understand: if you feel good in your skin, well, you just feel good.

2 – Avoir la patate, Avoir la frite 🍟

To have the potato / to have the French fry

Both French expressions have to do with the shape of the vegetable.

A potato looks like a head, and therefore, if you have a good head, you feel good…

Then you make French fries with potatoes… I know, it’s a bit discombobulated.

Note, we don’t say “avoir la pomme-de-terre”, only “avoir la patate/la frite”… I don’t know why.

3 – Avoir la pêche 🍑

To have the peach

The origin of this French expression is not really known: some say it has to do with the shape of a head, others that it comes all the way from China where the peach is symbol of good health… I even saw blogs saying that the three expressions above have to do with boxing terms.

I’m not sure, but all I can tell you is that they are all common idioms in French.

Note that we also often say “j’ai une pêche d’enfer” – ‘I have a peach from hell’ – meaning that you are feeling particularly great.

4 – Avoir la Banane 🍌

To have the banana

Yet another weird French fruit expression. This one has to do with the smile, shaped like a banana.

5 – (Ne pas) Être Dans Son Assiette 🍽

To (not) be in one’s plate (or seat)

This French expression is mostly used in the negative, to say you don’t feel great.

It has to do with horseback riding, and nothing to do with “une assiette”: a plate in French.

“L’assiette” in horseback riding means your “seat”, how balanced you are sitting on your horse. So, when “vous n’êtes pas dans votre assiette”, it means you are off balance. Hence you cannot feel great.

6 – Avoir Mangé du Cheval 🐴

To have eaten some horse.

It’s an old belief that eating some kind of living-being will give your its attributes. Since a horse is strong, you’d get the life force of a horse it you were to eat it and then feel great.

7 – Avoir mangé du lion 🦁

To have eaten some lion

Same idea as above. You’d be strong as a lion.

8 – Péter le feu 🔥

To explode with fire

Here again, there is a misconception about this French idiom: people often translates “péter” vulgarly as “to fart”.

This French idiom is not about farting fire. Although this is a fun image.

“Péter le feu” means exploding with fire, meaning to be full of energy.

9 – Être en (pleine) forme 🧍🏻♀️

To be in full shape

This French expression is probably the most common way to say to feel great in French, and it was weird to me at first when my English speaking students didn’t get it, because it is so frequently used in French.

“Être en pleine forme” has little to do with the external shape of your body, but more with your health, and your level of energy.