French with Nicole

  SNCF (French railway) has announced it will no longer sell water in plastic bottles on its services! The move should reduce the waste of about two million drinks. Recyclable cardboard for still water and aluminium for sparkling will replace the plastic packaging. The head of consumer travel operations at the SNCF, Alain Krakovitch, wrote on Twitter “Plastic is no longer fantastic,” France is gradually increasing restrictions on single-use plastic packaging to help reduce waste amid growing evidence about the impact of plastic on sea life in particular. Last Monday, the government announced the ban of the use of plastic packaging for the majority of fruits and vegetables as from January 2022. A ccording to the environment ministry, 37 percent of fruits and vegetables are sold with plastic packaging, and only the most fragile produce such as strawberries will be given an exemption from the ban until 2026. “We use an outrageous amount of single-use plastic in our daily lives,”...

  When I am in France, the number of English words used never cease to surprise me. Anglicisms, words borrowed from the English language, are current in many countries including France. In spite of the French Academy’s resistance, over 8% of French common words are Anglicisms. A few examples below highlight the extent to which Anglicisms are now part of every life in France. Media and Entertainment Talk-show, News, Prime-time, Scoop, Buzz, People, One-man-show, Interview, Best-of, Star, Standing ovation, Zapping/zapper, Story-board, Making-of, Thriller, Story-telling, Remake, Teaser,   Sitcom, Best-seller, Box-office, Hit Parade. Sport and leisure Match, Football, Jogging, Sponsor/sponsoring, Fan, Goal-average, Hooligan, DJ (disque-jokey), Strip-tease, Peep-show, Happy hour, Brunch, Tour-opérateur, Low-cost. Internet and digital Le Web, Laptop, Uploader (conjugable,) Screenshot, Zoom, Rebooter (un ordi, )Downloader (conjugable), Geek, Nerd, Poster, Post,   Plu...