News of the week from February 9 to 15, 2020:
- Election of the new Mayor of Paris
- First gay marriage in Northern Ireland
- Kidnapping and murder of a one-year-old baby in France
- The Beatles' favorite pub listed as a historic monument
- Birthday of Europe's oldest person
- Vocabulary of the week explained
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Transcription
Hello,
Welcome to the HelloFrench news review, the podcast that immerses you in the week's news to help you improve your French.
Headlines for the week of February 9 to 15:
- Election of the new Mayor of Paris. The majority party candidate resigns one month before the vote.
- Northern Ireland celebrates its first gay marriage after the law's adoption.
- In Angers, France. After being kidnapped by her mother, baby Vanille found dead.
- The Beatles' favorite pub listed as a historic monument in Liverpool.
- Europe's oldest person celebrates her 116th birthday.
A dramatic turn of events in the election of the next Mayor of Paris. Benjamin Griveaux, En Marche candidate (the French president's party), resigned one month before the elections to protect his family. On Wednesday, an intimate video and sexually explicit messages addressed to a woman were shared on a website. Behind this release? Piotr Pavlenski, a Russian artist and political refugee in France. The woman to whom these messages and the video were addressed is actually the artist's partner. These videos were reportedly filmed in 2018, when Benjamin Griveaux was government spokesperson. Piotr Pavlenski explains that he released these messages and videos to denounce the candidate's hypocrisy. Benjamin Griveaux is a politician particularly known for basing his communications on family values. The former candidate filed a complaint on Saturday for "invasion of privacy."
Robyn and Sharni were married last Tuesday near Belfast in Northern Ireland. This couple of two women is the first to marry after the adoption of a law authorizing marriage between people of the same sex. This wedding was celebrated the day after the law's adoption, on February 10, 2020. The "Love Equality" campaign had been led by various organizations including Amnesty International to push Ireland to authorize these marriages. Northern Ireland is therefore now in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, where gay marriage has been legal since 2014.
A terrible tragedy shook France this week. A kidnapping alert was issued last Saturday evening to find Vanille, a one-year-old baby. The mother had lost custody of her daughter. Placed in a foster family, the mother had permission to see her a few hours per week. The kidnapping alert was launched after she did not return her daughter at the scheduled time. The mother, found alone in a hotel by police, was taken into custody. She quickly confessed to having killed her baby and then led investigators to the body. Vanille was found lifeless on Sunday evening in a clothing donation container where her mother had left her. The mother, however, has still not explained her actions.
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, the Beatles' favorite pub where they loved to gather, has just been listed as a Grade I historic monument. A first for a Victorian-era pub in England. It is now one of the Kingdom's treasures, alongside Buckingham Palace. For John Lennon, the biggest downside of fame was not being able to quietly have a pint of beer in this pub. The Beatles' affection for this place remains very strong since two years ago, Paul McCartney gave a completely improvised concert there. This new status will help preserve the exceptional interior and exterior of this establishment, whose front door is considered one of the most beautiful in the United Kingdom.
116 years old. That is the age of Europe's oldest person, Sister Andre, born on February 11, 1904. This Frenchwoman from southern France celebrated her birthday in the retirement home where she lives, in the company of the town's Mayor. While she holds the European record, she is surpassed worldwide by a Japanese woman born in 1903.
Vocabulary of the week
Expand your French vocabulary - download our list of key words from the week of February 9 to 15, 2020.
■ La démission (resignation): to leave your position, your job.
■ Le coup de théâtre (dramatic turn of events): an unforeseen event, something unexpected that happens, that occurs.
■ Intime (intimate): something personal, private, secret. We speak of "la vie intime" (private life).
■ La diffusion/être diffusé (broadcast/to be broadcast): to be shown, to be shared. For example, you can say "cette émission est diffusée à la télé" (this show is broadcast on TV).
■ Le réfugié politique (political refugee): someone who had to leave their country because their life is in danger due to their ideas. They are therefore a refugee in another country.
■ L'hypocrisie (hypocrisy): the act of lying, of not being sincere about who you really are or what you really want.
■ Le candidat (candidate): someone who applies for a position, a role, or a job. For example: "Je suis candidate pour le poste de chargée de communication" (I am a candidate for the communications manager position).
■ Le mariage (marriage): to marry, to wed someone you love, the union of two people.
■ Gay/être gay (gay/to be gay): to be attracted to people of the same sex. For example, a woman who is attracted to women or a man who is attracted to men.
■ Épouser, se marier (to marry, to get married): to unite religiously and/or administratively with someone.
■ Autoriser (to authorize): to make legal, to accept, to give people permission to do something.
■ L'adoption d'une loi (the adoption of a law): a law, a new rule for society has passed, has been validated.
■ Enlever quelqu'un/Être enlevé (to kidnap someone/to be kidnapped): to kidnap someone, to make someone disappear, to take them somewhere against their will.
■ L'enlèvement (kidnapping): the act of kidnapping someone.
■ Perdre la garde (to lose custody): to no longer have the right to live with or take care of your children. For example, when a court removes a child from their parents to ensure their safety. Generally, someone loses custody of their child because they are unable to properly care for them.
■ La famille d'accueil (foster family): a family that will take in a child who has been removed from their original family for safety or because the child is an orphan, no longer has parents.
■ Être placé en garde à vue (to be taken into custody): when the police bring someone to the police station for questioning, because that person is suspected in a case.
■ Le conteneur à vêtements (clothing donation container): a large receptacle, resembling a trash bin, where you can deposit clothes you no longer use to give them to charities.
■ Adorer (to adore): to love someone or something, to really appreciate them/it.
■ La célébrité (celebrity/fame): a term used to refer to someone famous. Example: "La célébrité vient d'entrer sur scène" (The celebrity just walked on stage), meaning a star is about to start their concert. You can also say: "La célébrité a aussi des désavantages : on n'est jamais tranquille dans la rue" (Fame also has disadvantages: you're never left alone in the street).
■ Tranquillement (peacefully/quietly): to do something calmly, without being bothered, in a peaceful manner.
■ La pinte (pint): a glass that holds 50 centiliters of liquid.
■ L'affection (affection): the act of loving someone or something, of having a lot of attachment.
■ Improviser (to improvise): to do something that was not planned, that was not scheduled. For example: "Nous avons fait des vacances improvisées en Italie. Nous sommes partis alors que ça n'était pas prévu" (We took an impromptu vacation in Italy. We left even though it wasn't planned).
■ La doyenne (the oldest person - feminine): the oldest person in a group. We say "le doyen" for a man.
■ La Soeur (Sister): a nun, a woman who has devoted her life to religion. Generally, sisters live in a convent.
■ L'anniversaire (birthday): the day in the year when you celebrate the day of your birth. "Aujourd'hui, c'est mon anniversaire, je vais recevoir des cadeaux" (Today is my birthday, I'm going to receive gifts).
■ La maison de retraite (retirement home): the place where elderly people can live together, with people who help them eat, wash, do activities, receive medical care...
