French People

Every time the news exposes a public figure as an adulterer someone invariably brings up the French. The French, we say, are more civilized and realistic about affairs. Look at the famous photograph of Prime Minister Francois Mitterand's wife, mistress and illegitimate daughter grieving together in 1996 at his funeral, for instance.

Reporting from Paris — As Brigitte Bardot approaches her 76th birthday, her starlet aura has been enjoying a broad resurgence — and the woman herself, plenty of attention. In the year since her widely commemorated 75th birthday, a fashion elite — Dior, Lagerfeld and Gaultier — have offered their catwalk homages to France's famous "sex bomb. " The actress' tantalizingly retro 1960s-era face looks out over shoppers from the posh Lancel store on the Champs-Élysées (where they sell the recently launched eco-chic Brigitte Bardot Bag)

On the last day of 1985, Laurent Fabius, the 39-year-old premier of France, turned up at the mountain training camp of the French national soccer team in the Pyrenees. "Next year, the World Cup (soccer tournament) will capture the attention of all France," he told the team. "It is normal that the government should come and say, 'We're with you.'

With the fast beat of Gypsy music rousing the crowd over loudspeakers, thousands marched in Paris and other cities Saturday to protest the French government's deportations of Roma immigrants in the name of crime prevention. Police said 77,000 protesters, led by left-leaning political parties and human rights organizations, hit the streets in 130 towns across France in opposition to President Nicolas Sarkozy's program to dismantle illegal Roma camps. As part of his new security policy, nearly 1,000 Roma have been sent back to Bulgaria and Romania since the end of July.

Reporting from Paris — As Brigitte Bardot approaches her 76th birthday, her starlet aura has been enjoying a broad resurgence — and the woman herself, plenty of attention. In the year since her widely commemorated 75th birthday, a fashion elite — Dior, Lagerfeld and Gaultier — have offered their catwalk homages to France's famous "sex bomb. " The actress' tantalizingly retro 1960s-era face looks out over shoppers from the posh Lancel store on the Champs-Élysées (where they sell the recently launched eco-chic Brigitte Bardot Bag)

Popcorn now comes in camouflaged pots in French cinemas. With conscription on its way out, the army is turning to moviegoers to try to recruit soldiers. The cartons, with cinematic shots of soldiers in action, hit cinemas late last month. France scrapped conscription in 1996. "Today . . . the situation has changed," the army said in a statement. "It is up to the army to make contact with young French people."

Thursday is Bastille Day -- or le 14 Juillet, as it's known in France. For me, that's cause to think about French food. And to bemoan the fact that my husband and son and I won't be going to France this summer as usual to visit my in-laws, who are obsessed with the stuff. It's tough for me to get it into my zucchini that we don't have enough sorrel to go this year. Our rear ends aren't exactly surrounded by noodles. Zucchini? Sorrel? Noodles? Well, that's how French people talk.

Not a huge fan of the French, are you? In recent weeks, On the Spot [April 6 and March 30] has taken issue with the French. Let me tell you about those French people. They don't really believe small children should have to stand in line. Off the train in Paris, we were pulled out of an excruciatingly long line and given priority at the taxi stand. We were ushered directly into popular museums. Those French always seemed happy to greet our daughter. Megan Bowers Redondo Beach

The people of this hardscrabble hill town in the French Massif Central Range never thought of themselves as heroes. They didn't think twice when several thousand terrified Jews came here seeking shelter during World War II and Nazi Germany's occupation of France. The townspeople were mostly Protestant Christians whose ancestors suffered centuries of persecution in Roman Catholic France. When the Jews asked for refuge, Chambon-sur-Lignon gave it.

Thomas Maugh's May 31 column, "Study Dilutes the Wine Theory," neglected to mention the way French people take their meals and their general lifestyle as far as heart attacks are concerned. I have spent a month in France on more than one occasion, and when I returned home, I had lost 15 pounds each time. While I was there I ate what they ate and lived as they live. The French take their largest meal in the middle of the day--not in the evening as we do. They also eat slowly, and have a variety of fruits and vegetables with their meals over several small courses.

In terms of respect, French director Jean-Jacques Beineix is sort of the Rodney Dangerfield of filmmaking in his country. When his first film, 1981's "Diva," opened in France, the critics gave it a resounding thumbs down. But word-of-mouth built for the quirky story of a postman and opera buff who ends up recording his singing idol. "Diva" became a huge hit not only in France but also internationally.

Not a huge fan of the French, are you? In recent weeks, On the Spot [April 6 and March 30] has taken issue with the French. Let me tell you about those French people. They don't really believe small children should have to stand in line. Off the train in Paris, we were pulled out of an excruciatingly long line and given priority at the taxi stand. We were ushered directly into popular museums. Those French always seemed happy to greet our daughter. Megan Bowers Redondo Beach

Four members of a French family were killed during a robbery in eastern Mauritania, police said. The four, who were on a picnic, were robbed at gunpoint and then sprayed with automatic weapons fire, said Mohammed Ould Lemine, police chief of Aleg, a town 150 miles east of Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott. The father of the family survived the attack, but was seriously injured and is being treated at a nearby hospital, Lemine said. Two children were among the dead. No identities were released.

A French aid worker tearfully thanked the Taliban for releasing her Saturday after more than three weeks in captivity, and pleaded for the freedom of four colleagues still held in southern Afghanistan. The woman -- identified only by her first name, Celine -- was kidnapped April 3 in the southwestern province of Nimruz with a French co-worker, identified as Eric, and three Afghans who worked for the charity Terre d'Enfance.

Ten French tourists were kidnapped in northern Ethiopia, a businessman and a tour operator who work in the region said. The tourists were in a convoy of four vehicles in Dalol, 400 miles northeast of Addis Ababa, the capital, when they were kidnapped, the businessman said. Officials did not immediately confirm the report.

Three French nationals who ran a nonprofit group that helps poor children were stabbed to death at their headquarters near Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach, and three suspects were arrested, police said. Police said the slayings were part of a scheme to protect a Brazilian accountant, Tarsio Wilson Ramires, 25, accused of stealing money from the group. He was one of those arrested. The group is called Terr'Ativa, roughly "Active Earth."

With the fast beat of Gypsy music rousing the crowd over loudspeakers, thousands marched in Paris and other cities Saturday to protest the French government's deportations of Roma immigrants in the name of crime prevention. Police said 77,000 protesters, led by left-leaning political parties and human rights organizations, hit the streets in 130 towns across France in opposition to President Nicolas Sarkozy's program to dismantle illegal Roma camps. As part of his new security policy, nearly 1,000 Roma have been sent back to Bulgaria and Romania since the end of July.

Americans haven't been very nice to their French friends lately. First, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, frustrated at France's outspoken position that the international community pursue a peaceful disarmament of Iraq, dismissed the country as part of "the old Europe." Then America's longtime allies were called "weasels," "cowards" and "cheese-eating surrender monkeys." There were threats to boycott their wines and cheeses as punishment for not supporting a speedy war.

I CAME TO FRANCE to see how the country is responding to November's violent suburban riots and the increasing social diversity they symbolized. What I found was a nation that has been forced to acknowledge the existence of its alienated minorities yet stubbornly refuses to concede that the French model of integration has failed. It's not easy to talk about race or ethnicity in France.

A French engineer taken hostage in Iraq last month has been freed, Iraqi police said today. Bernard Planche was found Saturday night in the western Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib, Police Maj. Falah Mohammadawi said. Authorities said it appeared the captors were trying to move him when they encountered a U.S. and Iraqi army checkpoint. They bundled him out of the car and fled. "He is now safe and in the hands of the U.S. military," an Interior Ministry source said.