I've started to read French newspapers. I was starting to feel ashamed at my dearth of knowledge on current event topics - especially given the fact that Europeans can debate American politics almost as good as anyone I've met in DC. I had to start reading up on what was going on in France or at least Paris. American newspapers don't have enough international news and certainly very little about France, so I had to start reading Le Figaro, Le Monde, and France24 (which is in English).
Some hot topics during the last few days include - Same sex marriage and adoption reform in France. This was one of Hollande's campaign promises. I noticed some mobilization by the Catholic Church against the law last fall. The homilies I've heard here in France have been mostly academic, but I did take notice when the Priest pointedly started talking about how marriage should be defined. Soon after, it was a hot topic during dinner parties. Pamphlets, against the law, started appearing around town. The big news this weekend, was the huge protest (half a million reportedly) in Paris on Sunday. Hollande still intends to push for the reform. It is to be presented to parliament at the end of the month. Detractors of the law claim they are mostly against the idea of same sex couple adopting children - they need to protect the children who don't have a choice when it comes to choosing parents.
Headlines today also include France's military operations in Africa. One was a failed attempt to rescue a French hostage in Somalia. The other was the Malian-French joint operation to retake control of the Islamist controlled north. There is heightened security here in Paris because of threats by these rebels - a response to France's action in West Africa. This means there are more armed military personnel on the streets of Paris. Reminds me a bit of living in DC. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to get used to that.
On a lighter note, snow also made the front page of some French news website. This is only the second day in the last two months where we've actually seen the white stuff. It is forecast through tomorrow, so maybe we can get some decent ground cover. I was warned though that if it snows, I may not be able to get into work tomorrow. They could be right. We were walking home from the train station about two hours after the snow started. No one had treated the roads. If it is in the same state tomorrow morning, I could be working from home... If that is the case, I am going to stop by the supermarket to see if the French react to snow storms like Washingtonians - stocking up on toilet paper, milk, bread, and eggs like it is the end of days.
Off topic. Thomas and I went to a gathering of Americans living in Paris this evening. We worked our table gathering information on where folks have found things like real American bacon (I am still on a mission to find it here!). Folks were jealous that we had an oven (a luxury here in Paris). There were even some crazy Americans there... and not crazy in a fun way. A regular who provides some local color to the meetings and thinks the organization is there to solve her problems created a scene. As a bystander and non participant, it was a little funny especially when the crazy lady would respond to people's pleads by repeating what the other person said. Not so funny when the crazy lady stared at me as I ate my burger. This is why we do not live in the city...