Journal
The customs, the works, the films and the places that make European culture. By the Novars editors.
La bise: a user’s guide
Two, three, four? Right cheek or left? The most ordinary gesture in French life remains a small ordeal, for visitors and for the French themselves. Here is how never to...
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Reading a place setting without hesitation
Three forks, two knives, a spoon above the plate and a row of glasses: a formally laid table is intimidating, but it follows a wonderfully simple logic.
The French seating plan
The hosts in the middle, the guest of honour on their right, couples apart: behind what looks like a protocol puzzle lies, above all, the art of a successful evening.
The guest who is always invited back
The polite quarter of an hour, the right gift, the delicate matter of flowers and the note the next day: being a guest is an art, and hostesses compete for...
The lost art of the thank-you note
In the age of instant messaging, a few handwritten lines have become a small event. Why they matter so much, and how to write them without falling back on formulas.
Tu or vous: who suggests it, and when
It is one of the most baffling features of the French language. The default rule, who proposes the switch, and the circles that are exceptions: everything you need never to...
The hand kiss: history and rules of a rare gesture
We think of it as old-fashioned, yet it still fascinates. The lips never touch the hand, it is never done in the street, and it cannot be improvised: what you...