Culture

Nine Weeks of Music and Emotion Light Up Paris
Nine Weeks of Music and Emotion Light Up Paris

A massive free concert will celebrate World Music Day in Paris this Saturday, with a major highlight: the return of the Olympic cauldron. It will rise into the night sky to the sound of a new version of a classic Daniel Balavoine song, all under sweltering summer temperatures. Forty years after its release, Sauver l’amour—a beloved French ...

Six Unforgettable—Yet Flawed—Fathers of Anglo-American Cinema
Six Unforgettable—Yet Flawed—Fathers of Anglo-American Cinema

Cinema has long been fascinated by the figure of the father. Sometimes a mentor, sometimes a tyrant, he represents legacy, authority, and at times, profound vulnerability. Through drama, comedy, and even animation, filmmakers have explored the many layers of paternal responsibility—the duty to raise, protect, and love. To mark Father’s Day, ...

From Freedom to Forced Veiling: The Broken Destiny of Iranian Women
ExplainerFrom Freedom to Forced Veiling: The Broken Destiny of Iranian Women

During the 1960s and 1970s, Iran underwent sweeping transformations. In a bid to modernize the nation, the Shah launched a series of reforms under the banner of the “White Revolution.” Women stood at the forefront of this societal shift: they gained the right to vote in 1963, entered universities, joined the civil service and were gradually ...

Before the Olympic Cauldron, a Balloon in the Tuileries: A Flight Through History
Before the Olympic Cauldron, a Balloon in the Tuileries: A Flight Through History

Before the Olympic cauldron—suspended from a helium balloon 60 meters above the ground—returns this Saturday to the Tuileries Gardens in Paris for the entire summer, the iconic location had already played host to one of the very first hydrogen balloon flights, dating back to 1783. On December 1 of that year, over 200 years ago, scientist ...

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu: A French Icon of Poise and Grace
PortraitPhilippine Leroy-Beaulieu: A French Icon of Poise and Grace

Born on April 25, 1963, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Leroy-Beaulieu was raised in a creative environment. The daughter of actor-director Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu and model Françoise Laurent, it felt natural for her to turn toward acting. Trained in Italy, she began her career on stage before stepping into French cinema. Her breakout role came in 1985 ...

How the Seine River Secretly Cools the Louvre and Paris
How the Seine River Secretly Cools the Louvre and Paris

As Paris braces for a heatwave this weekend, a little-known network of underground pipes will be cooling the Louvre Museum and other storied landmarks using water from the River Seine. Since 1991, the river water has been cooling more than 800 buildings via a humble but hard-working system that is still relatively underutilized worldwide. Paris ...

'Animaj' Raises €75 Million to Expand Ai-Driven Animation for Kids
'Animaj' Raises €75 Million to Expand Ai-Driven Animation for Kids

French startup Animaj, which acquired the popular Spanish children’s animation brand Pocoyo in 2023 and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to produce kids’ content, announced on Wednesday that it has raised €75 million to accelerate its growth. The fundraising round was led by Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank, and HarbourView ...

#SkinnyTok: Anorexia Reflected in a Wordless Screen
Spotlight#SkinnyTok: Anorexia Reflected in a Wordless Screen

Beneath TikTok’s dance videos and colorful filters lies a darker reality, a world where adolescents are drawn into a dangerous ideal. Under the hashtag #SkinnyTok, anorexia is not just present, it is glorified. The app gives young people the tools to expose themselves, compare and become captivated by an ideal of thinness that has quietly become ...

Paul Marshall’s Rise as Britain’s New Anti-Woke Media Tycoon
Paul Marshall’s Rise as Britain’s New Anti-Woke Media Tycoon

Unlike Rupert Murdoch, he is barely known, but the UK has a new right-wing media mogul: Paul Marshall, who has quietly built a powerful empire that reaches millions of Britons. The 65-year-old added to his impressive stable last autumn when he purchased The Spectator magazine, viewed as the bible of Britain's Conservative Party, for £100 million ...

Hellfest 2025 Opens Thursday with Korn, Muse and Linkin Park Headlining
Hellfest 2025 Opens Thursday with Korn, Muse and Linkin Park Headlining

Rock giants Muse, Scorpions and Linkin Park, the nu metal of Korn, punk legends the Sex Pistols... The 18th edition of Hellfest, one of Europe’s biggest extreme music festivals, kicks off Thursday in Clisson, western France. The headliner on opening day will be the iconic California-based band Korn, considered one of the pioneers of nu metal ...

‘Frankenstein’: A Creature of Paper and Screen Born from a Stormy Night Among Friends
Story‘Frankenstein’: A Creature of Paper and Screen Born from a Stormy Night Among Friends

Summer of 1816 was not actually a summer. Across Europe, skies remained dark, veiled by the ash of Mount Tambora, which had erupted the year before. In Geneva, it rained relentlessly, lightning flashing over the shores of Lake Leman. It was in this strange atmosphere that a small group of English literary exiles found themselves confined indoors. ...

'Spectacular' Viking Burial Site Found in Denmark, Filled With Rare Treasures
'Spectacular' Viking Burial Site Found in Denmark, Filled With Rare Treasures

In an accidental find, a 10th -century burial site believed to have belonged to a Viking noble family has been discovered in northern Denmark, packed with a "spectacular" trove of ancient objects, a museum announced Tuesday. The discovery came when pearls, coins, ceramics, and a box containing a gold thread were unearthed during ...