France: Population, Politics, Crime, Etiquette, Weather & Hamsters

As usual, the news in France is varied. This week, some of the highlights include: France’s population boom, are the French rude, the weather, politics, crime statistics and … hamsters. Population: France’s population has topped 65 million and more women are having babies after they’ve reached 30 or even 35 years of age. For the first time since the 1970s, the birth rate has weighed in at 2.1 infants per woman. This statistic is not because of immigration but because the French are … simply sexier? Weather: According to Météo France, 2010 was the coldest year France has seen since 1990. If you needed to buy an extra coat, it was because the weather averaged 0.3 degrees Celsius 

less than the norm. If you missed it, yes, there was snow. Etiquette: Even the French say France isn’t what it should be and behavior among the younger generation is deteriorating. In spite of France topping international surveys regarding “quality of life,” not everyone feels that way. In a poll of 1000 people conducted by Ipsos, 65% of the respondents said there had been a decline in public spiritedness in the past ten years.  It was generally voiced that individuals should show one another more respect and etiquette should be a part of people’s lives. Politics: Marine Le Pen, daughter of far-right figurehead Jean-Marie Le Pen, has been elected the new leader of the French far right party Le Front national. A mother of three, 42-year-old Marine Le Pen is considered less abrasive than her father. Jean-Marie Le Pen, the 82-year-old party founder of the FN in 1972, spoke at the conference where his daughter was elected the new head. He bid farewell with an impassioned defense of his polemic anti-immigration, anti-Islam platform. Crime: Crime is down in general in France, but violent crime is up, the latest figures reveal. 

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux announced crime has decreased in France for the 8th consecutive year. That’s the good news. Thefts of “smart phones” and other electronic devices have rocketed in the Paris metro and other means of transport. Whatever you do, keep those items concealed until you’re in a less visible place. Who needs to be mugged because you’re texting? On a positive note, the number of homicides has reached its lowest in decades: 675 in 2010 compared to 1,119 in 2002 – a decrease of 40%. Hamsters? France is failing in its duty to protect the Great Hamster of Alsace, a cute fur-ball that is facing extinction according to the advocate-general of the EU Commission. Figures show its numbers fell from 1,167 in 2001 to as few as 161 in 2007. This is no laughing matter. France could land a multi-million-euro fine since it failed to implement agro-environmental measures in 2008. (c) Paris New Media, LLC [email protected] If you’re coming to France and want to remove the stress out of any and all planning, dynamo Lisa Buros-Hutchins of www.YourParisExperience.com can arrange anything and everything, including planning your honeymoon and/or making dinner reservations. Nothing is beyond her. Say Bonjour Paris referred you and put her to the test of making your stay in France perfect.