Jul 5
clipped from www.france24.com

Le Monde news daily sold to billionaire trio
A trio of French businessmen won control of leading French news daily Le Monde on Monday despite government efforts to halt the takeover. Founded in 1944, Le Monde has struggled to stay afloat in the Internet age.

AFP – A French internet billionaire, a patron of the arts and a flamboyant banker won control of Le Monde newspaper on Monday despite President Nicolas Sarkozy’s bid to stop them.

The trio includes Xavier Niel, an internet entrepreneur who first made his money from sex chat services and later shook up the French internet market with cheap connection packages.

With him is Pierre Berge, the super-rich partner of the late fashion guru Yves Saint-Laurent, and Matthieu Pigasse, a senior figure at investment bank Lazard who owns the alternative news and culture magazine Les Inrockuptibles.

Their bid won the approval of the paper’s supervisory board, 11 of whose members voted for it, a source close to the board told AFP.

Jun 27
clipped from www.centredaily.com
In Paris, the classic suit gets a poetic makeover

Billowing panels and fluttering swaths of fabric transformed the classic suit into something brooding, romantic and poetic as Paris menswear designers from Dior Homme to emerging Croatian talent Damir Doma served up voluminous silhouettes for spring-summer 2011 on Saturday.

Pants at both houses sat low on the hips, with drooping crotches and full hips, and seams were often left raw – in keeping with a minimalist statement at Dior and the hermetic aesthetic that reigned at Doma.

Belgium’s Raf Simons, in the other hand, was all clean lines and sharp angles, though his silhouette – futuristic, layered, uni-sexy shapes featuring body-hugging tunic vests and miniskirts – was no more conventional.

For men who can’t go to work dressed looking like a Hindu sadhu or a “Star Trek” crewmember, Kenzo served up inviting linen suits with just a dollop of zaniness.
France Fashion

Jun 15
clipped from www.contactmusic.com
Renee Zellweger – Renee Zellweger’s Celebrity Double Date
Renee Zellweger picture
Bridget Jones‘ actress Renee Zellweger and her boyfriend Bradley Cooper reportedly went on a double date with Kate Hudson and Matthew Bellamy in Paris last night (13.06.10).

Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper went on a double date with Kate Hudson and Matthew Bellamy.

The ‘Bridget Jones’ actress and her boyfriend – who have been dating since last summer – reportedly joined the ‘Nine’ star and her new lover yesterday (13.06.10), when the two couples accidentally dined in the same tiny restaurant in Paris, France.

According to People.com, Kate and the Muse frontman – who are believed to be dating – turned up at the L’Ami Louis bistro at about 9am with a group of pals – two hours before Renee and Bradley arrived.

Although the pair weren’t immediately seated with the larger group, they quickly pushed their tables together and partied into the early hours of this morning.

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Jan 13
Conceptual Art in Paris
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Conceptual art first emerged in the late 60s in response to freeing the concept of art from museums, galleries or any space or object where art is shown. Conceptual art takes the principles of the idea, not the object.

Duchamps Urinal

The artists of conceptual art don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t believe in art exhibitions in museums and neither have they believed in painting or sculptures. They think about going beyond the traditional art space or turning any objects into a work of art. So, the idea of art is more important than the object of the work.

The basis of this artistic movement can be found in the European Dadaist movement of the early twentieth century. Creator was Marcel Duchamp, who also invented the concept ‘ready-made’. A concept that is very difficult to define even for its creator and it is based on a reaction to visual art.

Read the original here at Paris Travel Blog

Dec 18

Kate Moss is buying an apartment in Paris. The supermodel is believed to investing in a new home in the area of Paris known as the ‘Golden Triangle’.

Kate has already put down a deposit on the apartment, reported to be worth £20m. According to The Daily Mirror, Moss’s new Paris apartment is on the banks of the river Seine, “just a baguette’s throw from the flagship Chanel store”.

The six bedroom apartment has views of the Eiffel Tower from the reception room. Overall, the flat measures 6,290 sq ft.

Read more here at Holiday Lettings

Sep 23

Strippers are the most desirable girls on earth. Since the first nudes appeared in France in the late nineteenth century with the arrival of the New-Burlesque, striptease is part of our culture. At that time, a libertine and challenging city of Paris turned the music hall industry into one of the most acclaimed spectacles, until the famous ‘sexual revolution’ appeared in the 60s, normalizing total nudity among the whole society.

cabaret-striptease-paris

Still, striptease artists have always lived surrounded by an aura of sensuality and eroticism. They are devoted purely to provocation. Each of the stripper’s contortions are thought to excite the public and they make use of elements such as dance bars, chairs and special costumes etc.

Mata Hari was one of the first recognized erotic dancers. In Paris she became a real diva of striptease. She became so famous that people paid astronomical amounts of money to get seats in the front rows just to see her show.

Why not take a trip to the city of lights and rent an apartment in paris. You’ll have a great time and be able to take in a few shows, too!

Aug 4

From June 24th until September 14th, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in this unique exhibition and discover a major artist of the beginning of the XXth century: Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. Born near Orleans in 1891, Henri Gaudier decides to go to England to try and become an artist. Along with him goes a Polish writer by the name of Sophie Brzeska.

Henri Gaudier

Although he never received any artistic training, Gaudier-Brzeska fell in with the Vorticism movement of Ezra Pound and Wyndham Lewis, becoming a founding member of the London Group. This movement is considered to be the only significant British movement of the early 20th century but lasted fewer than three years. Often referred to as the English version of futurism, its real goal was to capture movement in an image. Admirer of Rodin, he became a supporter of direct carving which involves sculpting marble or stone directly through his contacts with Jacob Epstein and Constantin Brancusi. Henri Gaudier Brzeska enrolled in the French army at the age of 23 and was killed in World War I after fighting bravely.

The Centre Pompidou offers this summer a wonderful exhibition in cooperation with the Museum of Fine Arts in Orleans where some of the masterpieces of the artist are kept. You’ll get to see many sculptures but also drawings made by Gaudier Brzeska.

original source: Apartments Blog

learn french like a rocket

Jul 24

We all know about the horrible sequence of events during the Second World War and although the majority of the world population wasn’t born at that time, they know what had happened in many countries due to the terrible actions by the national socialists. We have all heard a lot about the Night of Broken Glass, the book burning, the censorship and oppression of the freedom of speech, etc. Art, an essential part of our society, had also been the victim of the Nazi regime, and not only in Germany, but also the art in the many other countries invaded by the Germany’s soldiers. The Louvre, one of the most important museums in the world, is putting on a unique exposition of photography about the dark parts of world history: The Louvre during the war – Photographs 1938-1947.

louvre-during-the-war-exhibition

Original source: The Louvre During the War

learn french online

Jul 7
Rock en Seine 2009
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Rock en Seine 2009 looks set to be the big attraction this summer in Paris. Check out the video below.

French language courses

Jul 7

Every rock music fan worth his/her salt shouldn’t miss this festival. During the weekend of 28th till 30th of August, Paris celebrates the fantastic Rock en Seine Festival which is directed especially to the maniacs of music culture. Artists and impressive bands, like Oasis, Bloc Party, The Offspring, The Prodigy, Yann Tiersen, Amy Macdonald and lots more, are waiting passionately to rock their audience in the city of lights.

rock-en-seine-paris

The wonderful Saint-Cloud Park, created by Henry Bernard in 1912, offers you more than 460 hectares of green open space, uncountable gardens, lakes, little forests and waterfalls which are extended to the Seine. It’s without a doubt a perfect place for Rock en Seine 2009 – one of the most spectacular festivals of the year. Paris is also one of the best cities in the world for learning French.

French Language Courses

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