France inspires the world's imagination, but what inspires the French? FRANCE 24 journalist Joseph Bamat homes in on the French trends, big and small, that you should know about. From best sellers and chart toppers to opinion leaders and political contenders, the Fuss takes a wide temperature reading to find out what and who is hot in France.

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Declaration of… Love

The French movie Declaration of War is a rare crowd pleaser. Rare because deadly brain cancer is at the center of the plot – rare because both artsy-intellectual types and thrill seekers are cheering.

Do or die time for one-man party man

Bad news in the Clearstream trial could be the nail in the coffin for one presidential hopeful.

Stealing the thunder

Back in France, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a liability to fellow Socialists Party members. But his arrival has imparted at least one favor on his political camp.

Sex controversy kicks off school year

Eighty conservative lawmakers have written a concerned letter to education minister Luc Chatel and sparked a lively debate about gender and sexuality in France. The 80 angry men and women want certain textbooks pulled from classrooms.

Rebranding destination France

France is already the first tourist destination in the world, but the ministry of tourism is launching a new aggressive campaign to rebrand the country as a more welcoming holiday destination.

Parisushi

Sushi restaurants have sliced through the wave of fear that was unleashed by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, to confirm they are now a fixture of Parisians' eating habits.

Dual citizenship in the cross-hairs?

In its drive to charm ultra-nationalist voters, members of Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party are taking shots at dual citizenship in France. But the latest debate on French hides a different and more worrying trend.

The Socialists’ two-horse race

The Socialist Party’s primaries are still months away and many candidate names have been floated. But the contest that will decide the main challenger to Nicolas Sarkozy’s re-election bid in 2012 is fast turning into a two-horse race.

Chirac attacks Sarkozy in memoirs sequel

After skirting questions from the French press for years, former president Jacques Chirac has finally broken his silence over his bitter relationship with successor Nicolas Sarkozy.

The growing menace of the center

Jean-Louis Borloo's candidature for France's 2012 presidential elections remains unofficial, but in a recent interview the centrist has left little doubt he is ready to challenge President Sarkozy re-election bid.

Road Rage

A government plan to ban road signs that warn drivers of speeding radars has run into trouble with lawmakers from President Sarkozy’s own party. Paris is putting on the breaks.
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The other dark chapter of Strauss-Kahn’s life

A young French novelist has said she is considering pressing charges against Strauss-Kahn for a sexual assault that allegedly took place in 2002. The IMF chief’s dramatic arrest in New York could reopen a troubling chapter of his life.
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World’s best bread finds new home

The Best Baguette in Paris (and therefore Best Bread in the World) has a new address, but it is still nestled in picturesque Montmartre.
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A croissant in the oven at the Elysée?

The rumor mill in France is turning at a frantic pace with the following, and still unconfirmed, tale: First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will give us an Elysée baby in the Fall.

In defense of rap

The firing of a radio station boss has rallied DJ's, hoards of teens, musicians and politicians behind a single, all-important cause.
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The Élysée Palace on show at Cannes

Powerful forces have brought French President Nicolas Sarkozy and First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy together at Cannes 2011, but it’s a movie date they may be reluctant to keep.

TV eco-warrior plans to pollute his reputation

Nicolas Hulot, a television host who has been waging war on behalf of Mother Nature for decades, is loved by all in France. That is, until now.

Are fashionable stripes right for French footballers?

The mariner-striped chemise that is flabbergasting the French is not part of Jean-Paul Gaultier’s spring collection.
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On His President’s Secret Service

The country’s most dazzling intellectual and sometimes spy hero, Bernard-Henri Lévy, is back with another blockbuster.
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Voting? So passé!

Recent elections in France have seen record-low turnouts by voters, and Sunday’s cantonal elections are expected to accentuate that no-show trend.
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