Even art-loving dogs had to wrap up during the recent cold snap in Paris. Photo: Eric Tenin of Paris Daily Photo.
Wednesday, 15 February 2012 11:13
Paris Update Fashion Flash
FRENCH MICHAEL MOORE TAKES ON NATIONAL FOOD INDUSTRY
The motto of Le République de la Malbouffe: "Opacity, Obesity, Precarity."
Xavier Denamur, the owner of five small restaurants in Paris, is a man on a crusade. It began with the 2009 decrease in value-added tax from 21.6 percent to 5.5 percent on restaurant meals, which he says favored big chain restaurants without helping the small independents as promised. Going beyond that issue, he blames French government policies and a lack of transparency in the food industry for the increasing industrialization of food preparation and delivery, the degradation of food quality in France, and increasing obesity and public health costs. One of his campaigns calls for legislation that would create a label informing restaurant customers whether the food is prepared from fresh ingredients on-site or is factory-made or frozen.
Denamur has formed an association called La République de la Malbouffe (The Republic of Bad Food) and has just released a documentary film of the same name, directed by Jacques Goldstein. Unfortunately, the film lacks focus and does not get his laudable message across clearly. Shown only in a handful of Paris cinemas, it is also available on DVD (with issue no. 17 of Rue89 magazine, for €5). Denamur continues to hold debates and chase politicians, hoping to get them to listen to his call for transparency. “My goal is to get citizens interested in politics again,” he says, by encouraging them to vote and write to their representatives. Heidi Ellison
Tuesday, 14 February 2012 23:00
Paris Update Art Notes
ANDREAS SLOMINSKI
Recent works by Andreas Slominski at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris (through February 29). Video by Nikolaï Saoulski. Click here for larger screen.
Paris Update This Week's Events
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Above: relaxing first-class color scheme. Below: more vibrant second-class hues.
April 27, 2005: One endearing thing about the French is the way they have of dressing up public servants, even meter maids, in designer outfits. Air France employees have just donned new uniforms by haute couture designer Christian Lacroix, and the country's trains are also fashion victims. The ubiquitous Lacroix has created the decorative scheme for the interiors of the new TGV (high-speed train) Est line, which will finally provide a long-awaited high-speed connection between Paris, Strasbourg and Nancy. The only problem is that the spiffy new trains, which will be gradually put into service beginning in September, won’t actually be traveling at high speeds until 2007, when the trip from Paris to Strasbourg will be cut from four hours to two hours and 20 minutes, at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour. It may still be a slow journey for the moment, but at least passengers will be traveling in style, with different color schemes to distinguish first and second class: green and gray for the former and plum and red for the latter.
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