Lifelong francophiles have a tendancy to employ a certain rhetoric when they express feeling perpetually beguiled by France. The key to this fascination is seduction. We find ourselves seduced by the way of life, the people, the architecture, the food and made powerless in its force. Is it any wonder that expats who tirelessly complain about red tape and bureaucratic nonsense muster the will to stay, often for their entire lives?
Seduction is at play, however, beyond a simple plate of macarons or cruise along the Seine. It’s anchored in French history and if anyone knows a thing or two about the role of seduction in France it is longtime Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, Elaine Sciolino. After decidedly serious, political tones to her first two books, Elaine sought to demystify the French mystique with the perfect marriage of fact and wit. It is through personal tales (e.g. encounters with former French President Jacques Chirac) and historical anecdotes of public figures in La Séduction that she offers us entertaining insight into French culture. Today, she shares some of her favorite aspects of expat life in France!
Describe what you love about France in three words.
Conversation without…
