FRANCAIS AVEC MONSIEUR CALDWELL

From Reuters By James MackenzieTue Jan 30, 9:48 AM ET Smoking restrictions tighten this week as France tries to drive the once-ubiquitous cigarette from public spaces, but many smokers are angry and deeply suspicious of government attempts to coax them into healthier habits. From Thursday smoking will be banned in French schools, hospitals and youth centers. A wider ban from January 1, 2008 will incorporate bars, restaurants and workplaces. It is a significant change in a country whose moody, chain-smoking filmstars have contributed to the air of glamour that can still cling to the cloud of a glowing Gauloise. "It's b*llsh**," fumed Paris office worker Aida Malika, shivering outside her workplace in Paris. "They're taking away our small pleasures. They're just treating us like cattle, that's really what it is," she said, before heading back to work. Anyone who disobeys the ban faces a fine of 68 euros ($88), while a building's management could be...

from news.france.com/ The people of France agree on very little, but for decades one touchstone of national feeling has been respect and love for a frail, bearded, beret-wearing force of nature named Abbé Pierre. The death on Monday, at the age of 94, of France's "voice of the voiceless" has inserted a pause in a divisive presidential election campaign as France pays homage to a man of unerring courage and compassion; a man who embodied the best of French traditions. In a land of foxes, Abbé Pierre was a hedgehog. His one big idea: that the plight of the poor and homeless calls for constant outrage and action. His organization, Emmaüs, created in 1949 to enlist the homeless themselves in the work of building shelters and a future, is now present in 35 countries. Every public figure in France has lamented his passing. President Jacques Chirac said that France "loses an immense figure, a conscious, an incarnation of goodness." The offspring of a well-off family i...

Learn about some French New Year's Traditions and Customs (from About.com) In France, New Year's Eve (31 December) is called la Saint-Sylvestre,* and is usually celebrated with a feast, called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre. The feast tends to include special items like champagne and foie gras, and the accompanying party can range from an intimate dinner with friends to une soirée dansante (ball).At midnight, everyone kisses under the mistletoe** and offers their best wishes for the new year.On New Year's Day, le Jour de l'An, friends and family share their New Year's resolutions and may also exchange cards and gifts.The end of the holiday season is Epiphany, on 6 January, which in France includes a traditional cake called la galette des rois . *Saint Sylvester was Pope from 314 to 335 A.D., during the time of Constantine the Great. zSB(3,3) There is no particular link between Saint Sylvester and the new year; it just so happens that 31 December is his feast day. L...

A French prisoner who killed his cellmate "very probably" ate some of the victim's body parts, a prosecutor in the northern town of Rouen said on Friday. The victim's body was discovered in a prison cell on Wednesday, with a large wound to the chest. The alleged killer, who shared the cell, told investigators he had removed and eaten his victim's heart. Investigators initially discounted the possibility of cannibalism after the victim's heart was "found intact in its usual place and in its membrane which was also intact," Rouen state prosecutor Joseph Schmit said in a statement. However an autopsy revealed that pieces of muscle from the victim's rib area and part of his lung were missing. "The absence of these anatomic elements, which have not been found on the scene of the crime, render the confessions of cannibalism by the presumed perpetrator of the crime very probable," Schmit said. The case comes less than a year after a court in G...

On va skier dans les Alpes - We're going skiing in the Alpes.

Où vas-tu - Where are you going?

J'attends avec impatience les vacances - I'm looking forward to going on holiday.

Pas de chocolat ou de crème glacée cette année - I gave up chocolate and ice cream this year .

Quelles sont tes bonnes résolutions pour le Nouvel An? - What are your New Year's resolutions?