Stories du Moment

France vs Hydration, drunk tourists, Olympics news & more

This summer has been…. Odd. Going on a weeklong holiday in early June has numerous benefits but it also means returning to work when everyone else departs on what seems like months of nothing but pure adventure. My  plans for mid summer were upended by a flare up of an old herniated disc injury and so I’ve mostly been working on gaining strength and mobility. Maybe it’s a good thing I was laid up while some construction was underway at our house à la campagne? The good news is the construction is completed (we have more than one toilet now!), my back is healing, and I’ve done far more reading than I thought I would.

Some of that has been research for a special two-part series I’ll launch on The New Paris podcast this fall (stay tuned!!), some for a bigger writing project I can’t yet say more about (but it should be cool!) and some for pure leisure (A Perfect Vintage by Chelsea Fagan was a fun escape, highly recommend). 

And of course, the news. I couldn’t stay away. So with that, here are some of the stories that caught my attention, as well as some other bits and bobs.

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BERTRAND GUAY | AFP

PARTIAL SUCCESS: THE TRIATHLETE TEST TRIALS
After initially cancelling a Seine swimming event in early August due to water quality levels, the city’s Olympic and Paralympic delegation were able to move forward with the women’s triathlete test trials in the last week. 65 women swam 1500 meters before going on to cycle and run, finishing on the Champs-Elysées. But by Saturday, poor water quality forced organisers to cancel the swimming portion of the Para Cup test event.

The city is still working on building a retention pond that would block rainwater, currently the major obstacle, before it filters into the Seine. In other words, there’s still hope this well get sorted in time for next summer.

FOR THE LOVE OF WATER: FRENCH BOTTLED WATER & THE AMERICAN OBSESSION WITH HYDRATION

I had to LOL because anyone who has lived in Europe for a long time notices A) that hydration isn’t a recurring topic of conversation unless we’re in a heatwave and the government puts out reminders to drink way more water than usual B) Americans (and Australians but sticking with the former for now) fixate on the lack of ice served with water in restaurants and tote around big, colorful water bottles in what can smack of virtue signalling: look at how hydrated I am! That’s the observation that inspired a recent NYT styles story about Americans and their obsession with hydration but even more fascinating was a deeper dive into the obsession.

One of my readers tipped me off to this 2021 podcast episode of Slate’s Decoder Ring that discussed the manufactured obsession with hydration, beginning with marketing bottled water. And you know who we can largely thank for that industry ? The French! Perrier came first in 1898. Evian landed on the market in 1978 and was pitched as the pathway to peak health and fitness. Bottled water more generally, particularly when it reached US consumers, was framed as a sophisticated object of wellness and advertisements only further shored up that promise.

The episode also talks about Gatorade (another fascinating tidbit on that!) but really, listen for the aqua talk. 

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FILE UNDER: TOURISTS BEHAVING BADLY ….
In the Eiffel Tower. Just… don’t do this. (USA Today)

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WOULD YOU LIKE BEER IN YOUR WINE?
At this year’s Taste of Paris festival, I tried a blend of wine and beer that Gallia — a once-indie craft beer brewery that has fully been acquired by Heineken— calls Vière. It’s not available everywhere and it is, as I discovered, quite good! My pal Lauren Collins reported on it for The New Yorker.

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BIG BROTHER: FROM NAPOLEON TO MACRON
In time for the Olympics (and thereafter) next July, France will deploy large-scale, real-time, algorithm-supported video surveillance cameras — a first in Europe. (Not included in the plan: facial recognition.) But the first surveillance apparatus capable of intercepting private communications and monitoring travel and movement of its citizens via identification documents and paper files dates back to Napoleon. As Politico reported, “the French emperor revived the Paris Police Prefecture — which exists to this day — and tasked law enforcement with new powers to keep political opponents in check.” (Politico)

SPEAKING OF NAPOLEON….

Perhaps you saw the trailer for the forthcoming Ridley Scott biopic Napoleon, which releases in November. A few thoughts from what I’ve seen thus far: they chose an actress more than ten years younger than Phoenix to play Josephine when she was, in reality, 6 years older than Napoleon! This strikes me as not only an important historical detail insofar as it related to children and inheritance (she was widowed with two children when they met and didn’t produce an heir with him) , but it suggests yet again that actresses over 40 can’t possibly play women their own age. From the trailer alone it’s clear other historical inaccuracies abound (and the poster tagline reads: He Came From Nothing. He Conquered Everything. He did not come from nothing!!) but I am a sucker for Tahar Rahim who was cast so I will see it for that and to be able to deconstruct the inaccuracies and see how it addresses the many horrors he wrought (re-instituted slavery, for one). I’d like to do a podcast episode on this when it comes out— any Napoleon experts/historians out there who aren’t forgiving of his legacy? Please let me know!

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2024: PRE-AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED FOR TRAVEL TO EUROPE
Americans, Australians, Kiwis, and Canadians will need pre-authorisation “visas” prior to departure to visit Europe as of early 2024. The European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) is similar to the ESTA required by the United States of foreign travelers. The process involves a quick online application(and $8 fee) with approval sent by email within 96 hours. Just a heads up for next year! (NPR)

CARE TO WIN A TRIP TO PARIS & SUPPORT A WORTHY CAUSE?
More on that here from Veggies to Table.

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NEW FROM ME

“People can try to ban books and music, but they can’t ban eating or conversation. Food is art, food is political.”

That’a little nugget from my profile of the triple Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn who, after thirty years in San Francisco, has finally laid some roots in Paris with Golden Poppy. Read the piece  in the Sept / Oct issue of Conde Nast Traveler on newsstands now! 

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I was interviewed on the popular travel podcast All the Hacks about visiting and traveling through France! You can listen to that here. I’ve gotten so many enthusiastic emails from listeners since the episode aired— and tour requests ! About that: I’m booked through this month and most of September but beyond that I am flexible so please drop me a note if you’d like to discuss.

Another podcast interview, this one in French with Yasmine of Le Français avec Yasmine. I think we speak quite clearly so if you’d like to practice your French, ecoutez notre échange!

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