Shows / So French!
So French!
The podcast from Paris about French current affairs, culture, and politics. A new episode every other Thursday afternoon. Your go-to place for all the news and analysis surrounding the 2027 French presidential election. Hosted by Sara Bertilsson and Stefan de Vries.
Episodes
- So French!
Paris Riots: Broken Windows, Looters and a Deaf Government
France is facing another explosive wave of protests. In this episode, Sarah and Stefan look at how teenage students, parents, teachers and the Yellow Vests…
- So French!
Valjean for President? Glucksmann, Mélenchon and Les Misérables
Raphaël Glucksmann isn’t even a Socialist Party member. Last Sunday, he won its primary anyway, with two-thirds of the vote, leaving the party’s own leader on…
- So French!
Bardella Under Fire, Macron’s Comeback Dream and Perfect Fries
France is simmering. In this episode, Sara and Stefan unpack the high-school protests spreading across the country: overcrowded classrooms, missing teachers…
- So French!
Presidential Politics, Radio Silence and Céline Dion Fever
What happens when two minutes of political commentary send France’s biggest radio station silent? Sara Bertilsson and Stefan de Vries unpack the mounting…
- So French!
Back to School, Back to Le Pen: Season 7 Kicks Off
France is back from summer break, and so is its most wide-open presidential race in decades. Political scientist Damien Lecomte joins Sara and Stefan to…
- So French!
France's Record-Breaking Heatwave and Climate Policy Failures
In this episode, Stefan and Sara discuss France's extreme heatwave, government responses to climate change, transparency issues in French politics, and…
- So French!
From Abuse to Arsène Lupin: France’s Dark Reality and Favourite Fantasy
This week on So French!, Sara Bertilsson and Stefan de Vries look at two sexual abuse scandals shaking France: the killing of 11-year-old Lyhanna and the…
- So French!
Cannes Fights Back Against France’s Right-wing Media Mogul
At the Cannes Film Festival, the biggest drama isn’t on screen. In this episode of So French, Sara Bertilsson and Stefan de Vries dive into the growing power…
- So French!
The Presidential Circus Begins… and a War on Chicken
S06E11: One year before France’s 2027 presidential election, the race is already crowded with old political heavyweights, ambitious newcomers and oversized…
- So French!
Macron at 10, Local Elections and Céline-Mania
Ten years after the launch of En Marche, we take stock of the Macron era. What has Emmanuel Macron’s promise of a political movement “neither left nor right”…
- So French!
Power Plays & Michelin Stars: France Between Politics and Pleasure
France heads to the polls and to the table in this new episode of So French. Stefan de Vries and Sara Bertilsson unpack the first round of the local elections…
- So French!
From Nuclear Bombs to Tourism Booms
A very French week of Power and Pleasure! France had quite a week. Macron deployed the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, reshaped…
- So French!
Trials, Files & Presidential Appetites
In Episode 7 of So French!, we return to the courtroom, where far-right leader Marine Le Pen is battling to preserve her political future. Prosecutors want her…
- So French!
Habemus Budget and the rise of (another) Sarkozy
France finally has a budget and, for now at least, a government to go with it. In this episode of So French, Sara Bertilsson and Stefan de Vries unpack how…
- So French!
Macron's Last Act and Bye Bye Bardot
A new year, familiar chaos! In the first So French! episode of 2026, Sara Bertilsson and Stefan de Vries look back at a turbulent 2025 in French politics and…
- So French!
The XMas Edition: Dry Champagne & a Vegetarian Wolf
Christmas in France means lights, long dinners… and traditionally, plenty of wine. But something is shifting. In this festive Christmas edition of So French!…
- So French!
France’s Promises, Ukraine’s Empty Hands
This week, So French goes deep into one urgent question: what is France really doing in the war in #Ukraine — and what does it mean for #Europe’s future? Two…
- So French!
Compromise? Sorry. We’re French.
In this episode, Stefan and Sara delve into the complexities of French politics, exploring the cultural psyche that influences political behaviour…
- So French!
France in Flux: Budgets, Bling, and the Bataclan Decade
Ten years ago today, So French! was born — just one week before the terror attacks that would forever change France. As we relaunch our podcast in a turbulent…
- So French!
The One Where They Reunite
🎉 We’re Back! So French Returns After 5 Years 🇫🇷 After a five-year hiatus, So French is back — and celebrating 10 years since our very first episode! In this…
So French!Paris, The City of Strikes
It's the seventh week of the National Strike. Will we see any major developments, or will the country stay chaotic over the next couple of days? What's at…
So French!How to survive the Strike of the Decade?
This week: Black Thursday is coming! On December 5, a national strike will paralyze the country. It could well last until the New Year. How to survive what…
So French!Why the French are terrible at languages (and what they can do about it)
Parlez-vous franglais? The French are not known for speaking English fluently. Or any other foreign language. Our guest, Giuseppe Fantigrossi of the start-up…
So French!New York City bans foie gras, the French are hooked on Halloween
Seine-Saint-Denis is France's poorest district. In 2024 it will be the main site of the Olympic Games. This week the government presented a plan to improve…
So French!Why headscarves to the French are like red rags to a bull
Once every while debate rages in France about Muslim veils. This week another high-point was reached: the topic was discussed in no less than 85 (!) TV…
So French!French Media go bananas about Chirac's death
Hosts Sara and Stefan are baffled by this week's media frenzy following former President Jacques Chirac's death. Why did French media go bananas with their…
So French!Back to School!
The schools have started again, the Rentrée is almost forgotten, yet the debate on how to reform the old fashioned and underperforming French education system…
So French!Threats and trees: Brazil gets personal with Macron
The crazy hot Europan Summer is over and that means we're back with So French! It is our fifth Season already. And we are recording in a brand new studio not…
So French!Bastille Day Edition - special Guest: Lindsey Tramuta
A special guest: Lindsey Tramuta, from Lost in Cheesland
So French!Baguette, bistro or bouquinistes?
Three French 'B’s' are competing for a spot on the World Cultural Heritage List. Will it be the baguette, the bistro or Paris’s bouquinistes that gets the…
So French!After the fire, a flaming debate ignited on the future of the Notre-Dame
President Emmanuel Macron gave his first press conference since his election almost two years ago. We were there and give you a summary. The Notre-Dame trauma…
So French!So Fake! Macron fell on own sword while fighting
This week: While trying to fight fake news, Emmanuel Macron fell on his own sword. Facebook and Twitter suspended a European election campaign made by the…
So French!Summer or winter time? Chocolatine or pain au chocolat?
This week we try to find an answer to essential life questions like should we keep Summer Time or Winter Time? And do we say 'pain au chocolat' or…
So French!Säcrebleu! Scandinavian Cooks beat French Chefs
This week we talk about the controversy regarding French police’s non-leathal flash-ball weapons, about food and about France's entry for this year's…
So French!S04E09 - The Grand National Debate: brilliant or blabla?
To satisfy the yellow vests, Emmanuel Macron launched his Grand National Debate. But will it be enough to calm down the profound anger in French society? In…
So French!S04E08 - Winter Writers: Agnès Poirier in Café de Flore
We are having a coffee with author Agnès Poirier in the fancy Café de Flore. She is a journalist and writer of “Left Bank”, a lively account of the…
So French!S04E07 - Yellow Vests, Red Anger
Yellow vest protests have disrupted more or less everything in France's everyday life. What happens now? Will the anger be back after Christmas? And in the…
So French!S04E05 - A Mysterious Birth Defect
The mystery of the babies born without arms. A new health scandal, and a possible cover-up by authorities? We’ll talk you through the story that’s grappling…
So French!S04E04 - Macron’s Reshuffle and Mélenchon's Kerfuffle
At least ten people said 'non' to Macron, but after two weeks of looking for candidates, the French President finally managed to reshuffle his government…
So French!S04E03 – Adieu Aznavour
This week two (former) interior ministers dominated the news. One of them resigning… twice! Triggering a new crisis in the already fragilized government The…
So French!S04E02 – Millionaires and Murderers in Monaco
While his former close aid Alexandre Benalla was being heard by the Senate, the French president came under fire (once again) for “his contempt towards the…
So French!S04E01 – Back To School
Your favourite podcast is back for a fourth season. We're back from the holidays and so is France. But getting up from the pool and back to school will come…
So French!E57 – Summer Special 3: Pamela Druckerman (NYT)
In our third and last Summer Special, we sit down with Pamela Druckerman. She is a Franco-American writer living in Paris and the author of the international…
So French!E56 – Summer Special 2: Sophie Pedder (The Economist)
For our Summer Series we sat down with Sophie Pedder, the Paris Bureau Chief of The Economist. Over the last couple of years, she interviewed Macron several…
So French!E55 – Summer Special 1: Stephen Clarke – Vive la French Revolution!
It's Quatorze Juillet, France's national holiday! Reason for us to take the metro to Saint-Dénis, where all former French kings were buried. We are visiting…
So French!E54 – Vatican Visit and Vegans Revolt
Emmanuel Macron went to the Vatican, while French butchers were under fire. They ask for police protection because they fear vegan attacks. French police…
So French!E53 – The Italian Job
France and Italy have traded insults, and that's not the first time this year. We’ll also talk about how Autolib, Paris’ famous car sharing programme, could…
So French!E52 – Start-up Nation: Fact or Virtual Reality?
This week everybody around the world was talking about Spiderman, the new hero who saved a kid in Paris. And how are things going with Macron’s dream of France…
So French!E51 – Wax Disaster
In our regular cheese update, we talk about the great French Camembert war! No cheesefire in sight, as purists defend a smelly national treasure. Our guest…
So French!E50 – A delicious wife and a resentful ex-President
This is our 50th Episode, and we thank you for listening to us. This week: * With strikes, bad approval ratings and a trolling former President all at once…
So French!E49 – Macron's March For Europe
Is Macron the European Messias, or is nobody ready to give in to his whims? At home, the French President was not really bothered by all the strikes and…
So French!E48 – Macron's Anger Management
Everybody seemed a bit angry at Macron this week: the railway workers, the Italians and some MP’s who risk losing their job due to new reforms. France is going…
So French!E47 – Fake Vintage Vats and an Infamous Inmate
This week, we let you know what ‘innovative’ striking is as the country’s public service workers are kicking off a long-lasting campaign to stop a…
So French!E46 – Power to the Women
We take a closer look at two of the biggest losers French politics – almost one year after the presidential election And is time finally up for one of France’s…
So French!E45 – I want to ride my bicycle!
Paris is suffocating again because of heavy air pollution, again. Yet it is pretty hard to change the mentality of the Parisians when it comes to mobility…
So French!Snow French!
It's snowing a lot in Paris, but we will take you to the sunny Island of Beauty, and that is Corisca, of course. Millennials, or the boring new generation. And…
So French!E43 – Wet Feet
The Jupitarian president once again using the Sun King’s to help conqueur the world. Prison guards are angry, the World's best ice cream is French and…
So French!E42 – Chinese, Cheese and Refugees
President Emmanuel Macron went on a trip to China, and brought a curious present for his host Xi Jiping. More on the ongoing #metoo discussion, but this week…
So French!Happy New Year!
The last episode of 2017 and the very first of the new year. We look back on last year and forward to 2018. We wish you all the best for 2018! S03E08 -…
So French!Homeless left out in the cold
Selling fighter jets, saving the Earth, delivering two eulogies, and being the king of Europe: Macron's agenda is fuller than a stuffed Christmas turkey this…