France

The Breton language of northern France does not derive from Gaulish – it has its roots in migration from Devon and Cornwall

The protests about pension reform in Paris recently started calmly and cheerfully, but by nightfall the mood had shifted

At a rundown Paris fleapit in the 1950s and 60s, it didn’t matter if you had no money – you could pay the rent by using art

Emmanuel Macron refuses to realise people did not vote for his pension reforms – they voted against Marine Le Pen. Now France is on the verge of explosion

The skiing season and Europe’s winter sports culture are under existential threat from rising temperatures

Arguably the greatest footballer in the world has inspired a plethora of songs across Europe

The sight of tracksuit-wearing Brits entering one of the most beautiful brasseries on the Left Bank left me gasping and prostrated

The borderlands of Paris are home to great works of architectural modernism – and some terrible mistakes

The story of the Senegal-born boxer the IRA couldn’t knock out – and his fatal drift into dissipation

The language arrived in Wales much earlier than England thanks to links between Britons and ordinary Romans

How the jazz musician’s iconic soundtrack to Lift to the Scaffold still resonates today

From The Rolling Stones and The Cure to Jean-Louis Murat: How musicians excel at melding literature and song

Some credited him for paving the way for the nouvelle vague, but the Frenchman seemed to be content being known for his wives

A French-Colombian professor wants to rewire our metropolitan areas – and the city of lights is first

One scene, for which she was not prepared, defined the career of an actress who never wanted to be a star

What a new collection by some of France’s greatest writers tells us about the art of the short story

For over half a century, a Parisian company based in an old munitions factory has been delivering explosive theatre

How France’s invasion of the Ruhr and its execution of a saboteur 100 years ago fuelled Hitler’s rise

The French composer who grew up in a cult and found solace in the power of music

Nearly 20 years after his death Sacha Distel is enjoying an afterlife through his music

Not many people travel from the extreme left to the hard right and back again. But Robert Ménard has

Only a third of Leavers still see it as a success. So why won’t Starmer speak up?

He is little-known today, but when he died in 1952, thousands lined the streets of Paris to show respect. What happened to Paul Éluard?

The French director's obsessive desire for perfection proved ultimately self-destructive

Despite British perfidy over the protocol, and the reneging of basic humanitarian values when it comes to migration, the French seem more bemused than belligerent

The National Gallery’s failure to properly showcase female artists continues with its treatment of Eva Gonzalès

Migrants on the southern border are causing France to re-examine its own history

Anne de Henning left a career in Paris fashion to become a photo-journalist – and ended up recording ‘history in the making’ at the birth of Bangladesh

Why Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's novel remains a story for all eras

Headscarf protests by Iranian women have electrified the world. Will a similar rebellion follow in France?

The prestigious French award is a reliable source of controversy