Podcast #9 Press Review February 9-15, 2020

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Podcast #9 Press Review February 9-15, 2020

News for the week of February 9-15, 2020:

  • Election of the new mayor of Paris [spp-timestamp time="00:00:46″]
  • First gay wedding in Northern Ireland [spp-timestamp time="00:01:54″]
  • Kidnapping and murder of a one-year-old baby in France [spp-timestamp time="00:02:35″]
  • The Beatles' favorite pub listed as a historic landmark [spp-timestamp time="00:03:28″]
  • Birthday of Europe's oldest woman [spp-timestamp time="00:04:20″]
  • Explanation of the week's vocabulary [spp-timestamp time=”00:04:52″]

Every week, HelloFrench publishes a podcast that immerses you in the news of the week. Each press review is accompanied by a transcript, a vocabulary list and a quiz, so you can improve your French and test yourself.

All of our episodes are available for listening on Spotify, Youtube, and Itunes as well as in all Tesla's!

Quiz: did you understand everything?

Test your understanding of French! Listen to the episode and take the quiz to see if you understood everything.

Start the Quiz!
What decision did Benjamin Griveaux, the candidate for mayor of Paris, make?
What unprecedented event took place in Northern Ireland?
According to John Lennon, what was the major drawback of fame?
How old is Sister André, the oldest woman in Europe?
What do you call an unforeseen event?
What do you call the oldest person in a group?
What is the name of the day of the year when we celebrate someone's birth?
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Transcription

Hello,

Welcome to HelloFrench's press review, the podcast that immerses you in the news of the week, to help you improve your French.

In the spotlight for this week of February 9 - February 15:

  1. Election of the new mayor of Paris. Resignation of the candidate of the majority party one month before the election.
  2. Northern Ireland celebrates its first gay wedding after the law was passed.
  3. In Angers, France. After being kidnapped by her mother, little Vanille was found dead
  4. The Beatles' favorite pub listed as a historic monument in Liverpool
  5. Europe's oldest woman celebrates her 116th birthday

Coup de théâtre in the election of the next mayor of Paris. Benjamin Griveaux, candidate of En Marche, the party of the French president, has resigned a month before the elections to protect his family. This Wednesday, an intimate video and messages of a sexual nature addressed to a woman were broadcast on a website. At the origin of this dissemination? Piotr Pavlenski, a Russian artist and political refugee in France. The woman to whom these messages are addressed and the video is actually the companion of the artist. These videos would have been shot in 2018, when Benjamin Griveaux was spokesman for the government. Piotr Pavlenski explains that he released his messages and videos to denounce the hypocrisy of the candidate. Benjamin Griveaux is a politician particularly known for basing his communication on family values. The former candidate filed a complaint this 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 get married after the adoption of a law that allows marriage between people of the same sex. The wedding took place the day after the law was passed, on February 10, 2020. The "Love Equality" campaign had been led by various associations including Amnesty International to push Ireland to allow these marriages. Northern Ireland is now in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, where gay marriage is legal since 2014. 0032479798385

It is a terrible tragedy that has shaken France this week. A kidnapping alert had been triggered last Saturday night to find Vanille, a one-year-old baby. The mother had lost custody of her daughter. Placed in a foster home, the mother was allowed to see her a few hours a week. The kidnapping alert was launched after she did not bring back her daughter at the scheduled time. The mother was found alone in a hotel by the police and was taken into custody. She quickly confessed to killing her baby and then led investigators to her body. Vanille was found lifeless on Sunday evening in a clothes container where her mother had left her. However, her mother has not yet explained her actions.

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, a favorite pub of the Beatles, where they loved to meet, has just been classified as a first class historic monument. A first for a Victorian era pub in England. It is now part of the Kingdom's joyous, as well as Buckingham Palace. For John Lennon, the biggest inconvenience of fame was not being able to have a quiet pint of beer in this pub. The Beatles' affection for this place is still very strong since two years ago, Paul McCartney had done a concert there totally improvised. This new status will preserve the exceptional interior and exterior of this establishment whose front door is considered one of the most beautiful in the UK.

116 years old. This is the age of the oldest woman in Europe, Sister André, born on February 11, 1904. This Frenchwoman from the South of France celebrated her birthday in the retirement home where she lives, accompanied by the Mayor of the city. If she holds the European record, she is surpassed at the world level by a Japanese woman born in 1903.

Vocabulary of the week

Enrich your French vocabulary, download our list of key words for the week of February 9-15, 2020.

■ Resignation: leaving one's position, one's job.

■ The coup de théâtre: an unforeseen event, something we didn't expect and it happens, it happens.

■ intimate: something personal, private, secret. We're talking about intimate life.

■ Broadcast/being broadcast: being shown, being shared. For example, we can say "this program is being shown on TV".

■ Political refugee: someone who had to leave his country because his life is in danger because of his ideas. He is therefore a refugee in another country.

■ Hypocrisy: lying, not being truthful about who you really are or what you really want.

■ The candidate: someone who applies for a position, job or even a job. For example, "I am applying for the position of communications officer."

■ Marriage: to marry, to be married to someone one loves, the union of two people

■ Gay/being gay: being attracted to people of the same sex as oneself. For example, a woman who is attracted to women or a man who is attracted to men.

■ Marry, marry: to unite religiously and/or administratively with someone

■ Authorize: to make legal, to accept, to give permission for people to do something.

■ The passing of a law: a law, a new rule for society is passed, is validated.

■ To kidnap someone/to be kidnapped: to kidnap someone, to make someone disappear, to take them somewhere against their will.

■ Kidnapping: is the act of taking someone away.

■ To lose custody: to no longer have the right to live with or care for one's children. For example, when a court takes a child away from his or her parents for safekeeping. Usually, someone loses custody of their child because they are unable to care for them properly.

■ The foster family: this is a family that will take in a child who has been removed from his or her family of origin for safety or because the child is an orphan, no longer has parents.

■ Being taken into custody: when the police bring someone to the police station for questioning because that person is a suspect in a case. 

■ The clothing container: it is a large container, which looks like a trash can, where you can put the clothes you no longer use to donate them to associations.

■ Adore: to love someone or something, to like it very much.

■ Celebrity: a term used to refer to someone famous. Example: "The celebrity just went on stage", to say that a star is about to start his concert. We can also say : " The celebrity has also disadvantages : we are never quiet in the street ".

■ Quietly: to do something quietly, without being bothered, peacefully.

■ The pint: this is a glass that holds 50 quarts of liquid.

■ Affection: the act of loving someone or something, of having a lot of attachment. 

■ Improvise: do something that was not planned, that was not planned. For example, "We went on an impromptu vacation to Italy. We went when it wasn't planned."

■ The dean: is the oldest person, the oldest in a group of people. We say "the dean" for a man. 

■ The Sister: this is a nun, a lady who has dedicated her life to religion. Generally, sisters live in a convent. 

■ Birthday: this is the day in the year when you celebrate the day you were born. "Today is my birthday, I'm getting presents".

■ The nursing home: this is the place where the elderly can live in a group, with people helping them with food, bathing, activities, care...

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