French presidential election day, the first round

Coucou les French learners,

today is the first round to vote for the next French president and in my mailbox, I received the programs of each of the eleven candidates along with their names printed on a piece of white paper. I am supposed to bring these papers to the isoloir, the private cabin where the French citizens insert the paper of their chosen candidate in an envelop.

Later tonight, we will know who are the two final candidates for the second round of the elections on the 7th of May. To be honest, I am quite nervous about the results and the future for my own country. I am hoping for the best because France is in a bad shape to say the least!

Songs to vote (or not to vote)!

Fortunately, I received Wunderkammern’s newsletter this afternoon which cheered me up a bit. In his latest blog post, the wonderful Jean-Christophe Pucek evokes La Clique des Lunaisiens, directed by Arnaud Marzorati. This band specializes in bringing forgotten French chansons back to life. They released Votez pour moi, Vote for me! which is a recital commissioned by the Palazzetto Bru Zane in 2016.

It is an escapade worth relishing into the world of politics. Any resemblance to current political upheaval is purely coincidental! The 19th century saw a succession of antagonistic governments, creating an infinite repertoire of satirical and demagogic works dedicated to elections and sovereignty.

I particularly like the song entitled Droite, Gauche, Centre by Gustave Nadaud (1820-1893). The refrain goes:

La droite qui boite, emboîte, déboite ses preux.
La gauche qui fauche, embauche, débauche ses gueux.
Le centre qui rentre son ventre, reste entre les deux.

which translates into English more or less that way:
The right which limps, nestles, dislocates its valiant men.
The Left who mows, hires, lays off his beggars.
The center that retracts its belly, remains between both.

You can read the all repertoire and the explanation in English here.

Besoin de lunettes ?

To finish on a lighter note, watch my latest story about looking for glasses, les lunettes. I cannot believe it is already the 20th French story!!! It is inspired by a Spanish story script ” Buscando gafas ” by Martina Bex. It gave birth to a fun teaching sequence back when I was a middle school Spanish teacher.

You will acquire the question word où ? where? as well as:
Elle n’a pas ses lunettes = she doesn’t have her glasses
Elle ne sait pas où = she does not know where
Elle a besoin de = she needs
J’en ai besoin = I need them
Elle demande = she asks
Elle/il répond = s/he answers

Do you wear des lunettes, glasses or des lentilles, contact lenses or rien, nothing? Make sure to leave a comment below this post or on Youtube.

Happy French acquisition!

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues or clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it 🙂