I wonder how Philippe Couillard, the relatively new prime minister of my adopted home province of Quebec, feels about gender roles. Let me elaborate. Mr Couillard, prior to taking up his post, promised that a maximum of 60% of his ministries would be run by men. After his Liberal Party of Quebec won a majority …
During a recent lunch with my colleagues from the university, the talk turned to food and restaurants in Nice. I could chip in, as I had been doing my homework. Since moving to Nice last fall I have sampled restaurants that were recommended through word-of-mouth, restaurants that I read about, and restaurants that simply looked …
Arnaud Montebourg, the minister in charge of all things corporate in France (officially, le ministère du redressement productif), seems much in favour of … all things French. Companies are encouraged to stay in France, to produce locally, to hire locally. Recently, Mr Montebourg questioned the transaction between the French Alstom, which invented the TGV decades …
In 1977 the United Nations decided to dedicate March 8 to women’s rights. Here in France, as in many other places, women’s rights still have some way to go. French women earn on average 25% less than men. Women are more likely to do part-time work: 82% of all part time work in France is …
Since I moved to France, I have heard much about la crise. Newspapers abound with articles and editorials on the topic, people mention it during lunch break and discuss its more or less nefarious impact on their lives. When I was in a store in October to set up my local cell phone, I chatted with the …
In 2013, I intervened in Montreal’s political process and submitted a petition to my neighbourhood council. The video below (in French) shows me explaining the petition to the mayor and his staff.
Much proverbial ink has been spent on Mr Hollande and the affaire. This weekend, Le Monde had a big debate in its culture pages on how much should be publicly known about the private lives of les politiciens. It made an argument that I have come across various times already, and that relied on the idea …
The market runs daily in Nice, at the Cours Saleya, a large square in the old town that is across the street from the sea. Pastel coloured houses encircle Cours Saleya, chairs and tables spill out from ground floors where cafés have settled in. The market sells much (and then some) of what I can …
It has been a month that I moved to Nice for my sabbatical leave. I had barely set foot on the tarmac at the airport that the honeymoon phase set in. How could it not? There is the obvious, especially for someone used to Montreal winters: balmy temperatures that keep thick coats stowed away, the …
In 2009, I wrote an article about Chrysler called “Tout un défi!” (i.e., “What a challenge!”) for La Presse, a Montreal daily newspaper. The article discusses the future of Chrysler, which was then in the midst of a massive reorganization.
I recently watched the documentary Blackfish. It tells the story of Tilikum, a star orca at Seaworld Orlando. Orcas, in spite of being called killer whales, are not known to have killed humans in the wild. Left to their own devices, orcas roam the oceans where they cover daily distances large enough to put the …
Earlier this year, I wrote about how locavores may end up encouraging local firms to persist in doing what they are not great at doing. Yet such persistence is not necessary. In today’s interconnected environment, local firms can focus on doing what they are good at and leave the rest for others. A local firm does …
A few weeks ago, a friend contacted me with a business conundrum. His company was looking for help with a web-related issue. A foreign firm had provided an original and cost-effective plan for solving the issue. Domestic companies too had submitted solutions which were less original and cost-effective than that of Foreign Firm. My friend …