Brigitte Grésy, who is Inspectrice des affaires sociales, has written a book on everyday sexism. Because I don't want to get myself into trouble with feminists, let me say that I agree with her completely. However, had she presented her thesis as one would expect of a graduate of l'ENA, calmly and effectively, I would not have chosen it. In fact, it's a high-speed ramble round an important subject. A useful exercise will be to follow the extract without the text, noting the points made in order to create your own summary. Not easy with this lady 

I found this documentary on the police of Marseilles interesting, both in terms of content and language. The Marseilles accent, although thick, is fairly clear, perhaps because of the habit of sounding all the vowels. A nice voice over à l'americaine with plenty of interviews with old coppers.

I never miss programmes on 20th century French popular culture. We grew up with the popular performers of our own country - but here is a whole new social history of performers, whose names are sometimes familiar, often not. As our ear improves we can follow the songs. (And incidentally, what a pity French teachers insist on thrusting Brel and Barbara down our throats. They're wonderful, but they're hard. Little Sheila is much easier to follow when she sings Vous, les copains, je vous oublierai jamais...) So here are a few minutes of La folie des années 60. Incidentally the lady you see right at the beginning is Françoise Panafieu, a politician of the UMP. I'd vote for her...

This fascinates me. In France you pass the Bac (18 yo exam) and you have the right to choose your course and your University. French universities do not figure highly in the international tables of academic excellence. But there are Les grandes écoles - higher education colleges traditionally for the children of top bureaucrats, selective, and of an academic severity that is just mind-blowing. So, every year, thousands of French kids, having achieved a good pass in the Bac, choose to do two years of a Classe préparatoire, in the hope of passing the entrance exam to one of these institutions. And the 'Classe prépa' is a killer.  I avoid making value judgements on this site, but I admit that I find this paradox fascinating

The relationship between the policeman and the citizen is often uneasy. Here is le Commissaire Broussard who, in this edition of Empreintes was revealed as one of the most famous flics of the Paris PJ, but at the same time, a very nice guy. Not so easy to stay straight in such an environment. It's also fascinating linguistically with a voice that is clear but accented, and a lot of background noise. But as always, one wants so much to understand...

C'est à dire explored the phenomenon of polygamy in France. A rather incoherent interview, it must be said, which did not really get to grips with this very serious problem. All the better for us, sadly, because the fast delivery of the lady being interviewed, rather rambling, affords an excellent exercise.

Le Commissariat was the latest in a series of documentaries and tele-films, dealing - very honestly - with the enthusiastic part played by French bureacracy in aiding German objectives in France during the last war. It was Jacques Chirac who opened up the way for this, of course. It is a very straightforward piece, linguistically, with just a few problems here and there

On TF1 - by far the most popular TV channel in France - there is always a quiz, and this was Le Plus Grand Quiz de France. Such exercises in applied sadism are not peculiar to French society, but the French are an emotional people and the result is pretty spectacular. Here is an extract from towards the end of this two hour marathon.

I saw Dany Boon's sketch Tournez manège before I saw the real thing on TF1. All I can say is that the hapless Rodolphe is even funnier than Dany Boon. As for the rotund presenter, Sébastien Cauet - magnificent. And a nice listening exercise.

I quoted La folie des années 60 above, here's the 70s. I'm quoting the bit that dealt with the establishment of  France's most popular channel TF1. Originally the equivalent of the BBC, the first television channel was privatised in 1986 - under a socialist presidency ! 

I quote quite often from Déshabillons-les, the programme where psychologists and sociologists comment on the utterances of public figures, first because the presenter Helen Risser talks more words to the minute than anyone else on French television, but also because of the awful nonsense talked by these 'experts'. In this programme, the coy revelations of Carla Bruni are discussed by two quite sensible woman, but the clip is happily saved from good sense by a (male) sociologist who has discovered that modern politics are about form not substance.

Sometimes there are excellent programmes which are not easy to watch. Such was the docufiction on the case of Véronique Courjault, accused of triple infanticide. Her husband found the bodies in the family freezer, and the case hit the headlines. The programme featured interviews with the husband,  and a word for word re-enactment of the trial. So, a scrupulous examination of the 'denial of pregnancy' syndrome. All the same it left me feeling a little uneasy. Can one re-enact such human misery and confusion without voyeurism? Discuss ...

This clip is from Un dîner presque parfait, a programme where people get to be nasty about each other's cooking. It's the sort of programme that one can follow with pleasure - but my goodness, when you try to transcribe the detail, it is very difficult ! Obviously the culinary terms are not familiar. Mostly, however, it's the background music and noise on top of voices which are far from distinct. However, despite all the gaps, it's an exercise worth trying

Faites entre l'accusé is Christophe Hondelatte's excellent crime series, revisiting famous murder cases. A menacing atmosphere hangs over the programme, established by the introductory music. On the linguistic level, it's always a good listen, with Hondelatte's clear narration interspersed with the voices of witnesses and justice professonals in the case

France 3 did us proud with a documentary on the new Crazy Horse show. Some hilarious moments (and some pretty girls). What to say about the founder of the Crazy Horse who demonstrates how he measures the girls pelvises with the all the professional skill of a farmer specialising in prize dairy cows. And the anecdote of the great old comic Sim....

From time to time French Television does programmes on what we call risqué subjects,as was this on the sexual liberation France knew in 1969 - according to them. It was a bit nudge, nudge, wink, wink and the idea of a panel of three attractive young people and some well-worn celebrities did not entirely work. But it was interesting, and certainly on the linguistic level, made a good exercise

In the very welcome batch of clips I received after Christmas was this one, which comes, I am told from the start of a documentary on Georges Bernier, the 'Professeur Choron' of the great days of the satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo. In '81, the first socialist President, Mitterrand, came to power, and people stopped buying the magazine, which was a little reluctant to criticise the Left. This extract show the fun and games that occurred when people were invited to say what they thought of this event in front of militantly freethinking journalists who believed that their paper had become an institution and was beyond criticism.

When I saw that a kind and generous soul had sent me five minutes of the film Le petit Nicolas I was at once delighted, because nothing could be more typical of French society than the passion for the comic book character, and apprehensive, because children's voices are terribly difficult to follow. And so it proved...  However, it is still well worth adding to the site - and I would be delighted for you to fill in the holes and send me the corrected copy.

France 5 gave us a documentary following the lives of four French people who have moved to London to work. The programme was called Londresm sixième ville de France because there are 300 000 French working in London, enough to make a sizeable town. I was charmed by Antoine who arrived two years ago and has quickly acquired the trendy London English accent. But this flattering portrait of our capital is just as skewed as the other French view of impoverished children selling matches in the street.

I don't often catch Télématin, France 2's breakfast show, because I try not to watch TV during the day. However, as a source of fast, confused, idiomatic French you can't do better. The presenters valiantly try to read their carefully researched scripts while the linkman interrupts them with a ceaseless flow of idiocy. A very good listening exercise, though

France 5 offered us a documentary on Muslims on France - three parts, three and a half hours, a document of the most remarkable research, imagination and humour. How to select an extract of five minutes ? Here we are in the eighties, and the division between the 'French' and the second generation of immigrants, is starting to become apparent. And it makes an excellent listening exercise, for reasons which are evident

The differences between our judicial systems are always fascinating, and the French magistrat is a case in point. Here are a group of clever young people, largely ignorant of the realities of life, who train to contemplate the things that happen on the underbelly of our society, and judge the often unpleasant people who commit such acts. Here we see a student in role play, presiding a court. The voices of young people are always a challenge. Here the voice is clear, because she is largely reading from a learned script. Then at the end, after making a mistake, the voice clouds, and we have difficulty.

This is from a France 5 documentary on the diamond industry. I thought originally it was a candidate piece for the listentofrench.org site, because, watching it, it seemed easily comprehensible. But in fact it is difficult to pick up all the detail, and there are many holes in this transcription. But that is what makes it useful as an exercise. What is the verb he uses when joking about dropping the diamonds. Dégraisser ? The need to repeat and try to understand is what improves the ear

I'm posting this clip on 8 March, two days before the release in France of the film Rafle, the account of the terrible day in Paris, July 1942 where the Vichy government enthusiastically commenced a round-up of Jews by French police. They were bussed to the 'Winter Velodrome' now known as the Vel' d'hiv  - thousands of women and children, and left in the heat of summer without water or food, before being taken off to a - French - concentration camp, and finally to Auschwitz. Gad Elmaleh stars in this extraordinary film.