May was the month of Cannes and cash... kiosks overflowing with calculations of the Mitterrand 1981-1995 “great works” tab and the monumental new millennium debts left as the legacy of these grand projects... and of course, oodles of gastronomie...
Monumental bills
Even the most successful of President Mitterrand’s Grands Travaux buildings are monstrous money-sucks, concludes L'Express. Crowd-drawing potential, architectural durability and appearance constitute the criteria for the magazine’s inventory. It logs the Grande Arche at La Défense, the Cité de la Musique and the National Library as failures. If the Opéra Bastille is a half-success, the Grand Louvre is considered an “undeniable” one, having accommodated 60 million people — the equivalent of the French population — since 1988. And yet, the “beautiful monster” will require 265 million francs’ worth of infrastructural repairs over the next 10 years. Mitterrand racked up a 30-billion-franc bill for the initial construction of all the Grands Travaux, but the cost for upkeep and renovations may be much more monumental.
Cashing in
Household consumption in France surged 2.3% for the first trimester of 2001, confirming a 4% increase previously registered during the last three months of 2000, Le Point reported in its May 16 issue. Is such a significant swell the normal by-product of a healthy economic climate? Or the timely sign of black-market cash liquidation just seven months before the official conversion to the euro? The magazine asserts that 5% of transactions in France normally occur en liquide. In an article titled “Argent Liquide, la Grande Lessive,” Le Point claims that cash transactions are skyrocketing in sectors such as tourism, real estate and luxury goods.
Bistro blues
The neighborhood bistro is being eaten alive, according to a recent GaultMillau magazine study. Traditional cuisine now represents only 10% of the 250 billion franc restauration market. Theme restaurants and chains are the fastest-growing sector in the industry, with gargantuan groups like Flo opening 20-25 new doors per year. Fast-food giants launch 2,500 new establishments per year. And while the 55,000 sandwicheries/viennoisieries seem de rigueur today, they numbered barely one hundred 20 years ago. Small-fry chefs fighting to stay in business now hunker more over their calculators than their stoves, laments the gourmet magazine.
It’s a hit...
Amélie Poulain and “Loft Story” — starlets at the center of much heated debate — have recently triggered a spate of record-breaking, says the weekly Marianne. Since the film opened, cinema websites like Allô-Ciné and Pariscope claim to have received three times as many hits from moviegoers seeking information about “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.” And the M6 television channel has toted up its best audience scores ever, on account of "Loft Story.” An estimated 50% of the French public tunes into the show.
In the stars
Formerly president Mitterrand’s astrologer, Elizabeth Teissier has earned a doctorate from the Sorbonne, which had banned astrological studies in 1666. After five minutes of debate, the jury unanimously approved Teissier's 900-page dissertation on astrological “science” in post-modern societies. The ex-Chanel model’s promotion to scholarly respectability has provoked an uproar. Four Nobel prize winners recently protested the decision to Education Minister Jack Lang, Le Nouvel Observateur indicated.
Frankly speaking
The profile and the perception of France’s rich and famous has changed, asserts Le Point in its May 18 issue. Whereas the rich once tried to downplay their image, the new workaholic wealthy look at money as much less taboo. However, only one French national is listed among the 20 wealthiest people in the world: Liliane Bettencourt, worth 106 billion francs, and she’s 16th on the list.
