Interview

Interview: French cheesemonger on what it takes to become the best in the world

Vincent Philippe describes the effort that it took him to achieve the title of World's Best Cheesemonger, some of his favourite cheeses and France's biggest strengths involving cheese

Interview: Cancer specialist Ines Vaz-Luis on changing attitudes in France

The director of the Cancer Survivorship program at Gustave Roussy hospital, talks about her pioneering post-treatment care for breast cancer patients, and changing nature of 'survivorship'

Living off-grid in France: A couple’s 40-year plus success story

How an interest in growing food organically evolved into a fully self-sufficient lifestyle

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I moved to France and became owner of a reclamation and salvage yard

When Nick Powell, 55, came to France at the tender age of 20, it was to help with a building project on a house close to Poitiers

PHOTOS: Renovations to our maison de maître have made us YouTube stars in France

Rebecca and Jack Jenkins fell in love with a dilapidated property in Charente, south western France, and fixing it up brought an added bonus

Comedian who found fame in France talks multicultural comedy

I still feel 80% British in France, says Paul Taylor

I fell in love with wild, beautiful Cévennes in south-central France

Award-winning US poet Zaro Weil on why this remote part of France is a major inspiration for her work

I had cataract surgery in France

After her vision deteriorated in one eye, Finistère resident Ann Edwards, 80, had to go into hospital for an cataract operation. Here, she talks about the procedure and post-op check-ups

Career change in France: From actress to estate agent

Jacqueline Reddin-Williams describes her journey to become a 'property matchmaker'

I have enjoyed every one of my five French chateaux renovations

Geoffrey Kenyon-May, 82, moved to France in 1975 and has since enjoyed a rollercoaster life renovating five chateaux and one watermill

Interview: Sailor Sam Goodchild prepares for Vendée Globe round-world solo race

It is like the Everest of offshore sailing says the Briton based in France

Interview: Guillaume Musso, the top-selling French author inspired by Agatha Christie

Bestselling author talks about genre-defying page turners and what makes his readers keep coming back for more

'French sheltered housing works for me and can be good option for foreign residents'

Briton David Barlow says a shared living complex in rural France offers him a village-like community, while enabling him to stay independent

UK Armed Forces secretary in France shocked at receiving British Honour

British Empire Medal, awarded for services to British veterans in France, comes as complete surprise for Lesley Blake

'How I moved from the US to France alone aged 70'

Janice Deerwester, 72, explains why she moved from France from Georgia in 2022 and how she is inspiring others through YouTube videos

Our interview with the creator of France's summer stargazing extravaganza

Popular scientist and environmental lobbyist Hubert Reeves was a key public face of ecology in France. We spoke exclusively to him on a wide range of subjects, from astrophysics to airports, in 2018

Our life aboard a barge near Bordeaux

Yann and Ombline Romanson transformed a 1930s péniche into a family home and thriving business on the Garonne river

UK ambassador to France: what travellers should know about border change

Dame Menna Rawlings discusses a pre-registration app, travel papers for Britons under-18s and passport gates - as well as the Olympics and updates on this special year in UK-France relations

France's Fête de la Rosière embraces modern values

This traditional festival now celebrates civic engagement, moving beyond its historical focus on virtue

Horseriding accident in Brittany left me with a broken neck

Alex Nicholls, 62, broke her neck in an equestrian accident and spent months immobilised from the waist up

Man who speaks 50 languages gives his tips on learning French

It should not be a difficult language to learn for English-speakers due to significant common ground, although a sympathetic ear may be necessary, says hyperpolyglot Alexander Argüelles

Why this little French fish has its own quality label

The famed Collioure anchovy is the only fish in France with a prestigious PGI label, but why it is such a gourmet favourite?

'Well paid, looked after' British jockey James Reveley on life in France

Mr Reveley tells The Connexion about how the sport differs in France and elsewhere, the tribulations of French paperwork... and if he would plump for horsemeat at the dinner table

The National's Bryce Dessner now calls France his home

The Connexion caught up with the US rock star ahead of his concert in Paris on June 5, discussing his life and experiences in France, and his career to date

How a Frenchman became a GI on Omaha beach in WW2

'All he could think about was getting safely to his mother, terrified that he might die so close to home'

French family battles Huntington's through sporting challenges

Calvados-based father, son and daughter go the extra mile to raise money to fight disease

Films dubbed into French: meet France’s Tom Hanks AND Tom Cruise

The doublage artist has had a long and successful career as the voice of two Hollywood icons

Gardener develops cacti suitable for the temperatures of… Normandy

A gardener in Normandy has started to sell cacti from the deserts of the United States, which he has adapted to grow in the cold clay soils of the region

House sharing in France can benefit retired people and the young

Intergenerational house sharing is growing in popularity in France as a solution to both housing problems and feelings of isolation

France first-hand: We fostered a 'blind dogs' puppy

Nicole Marty talks about a rewarding time for her and partner Gérard with a guide dog in-training

Chronic illnesses, language barriers and French health bureaucracy

Advice from a Canadian in France who suffers from chronic illness

Career change in France: from police officer to gardener

Amanda Freeman explains how she swapped law and order for a more creative vocation in the French countryside

‘Climate change should interest more people than it does’

France’s go-to expert on global warming and bestselling author, Jean-Marc Jancovici, talks to us about the future of our planet

Installing a natural pool at French home led to a new job

Alex Wells explains how building her own chlorine-free swimming pool led to a new role

British D-Day veteran Bill: I want to honour fallen comrades in France

The centenarian planned to return to Normandy this June - driven over by a London cab charity. He was just 20 at the time of the invasion and shared his memories of the day with Connexion during one of his interviews

‘I want to show wheelchair users they can travel the world’

Eléonore Vern tells us about her plans for a solo round-the-world trip in an all-terrain wheelchair and why she will avoid Paris

How an American carpenter helped repair Notre-Dame de Paris

Peter Henrikson had never been to France before he started work on the cathedral’s roof after it was destroyed by fire

Fixing France: ‘We must face colonial past and revive shared values’

French-Algerian author Nabila Ramdani tells us why ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ must apply to everyone if France is to repair

I moved to France and became an English translator by accident

A letter to a magazine editor in 1997 complaining about its poor translation led to a job offer to do better

Sam Goodchild: the British sailor preparing for his first Vendée Globe

‘The French love crazy sailing adventures, I feel at home here’

‘My videos help people find the best deals in French discount shops’

We spoke to the popular social media influencer who films herself hunting for bargains in Lidl, Aldi and Action

‘I set up an invisible disabilities media company after my diagnosis’

We speak to a journalist who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021 and is now giving a voice to people with less obvious disabilities

‘I hit rock bottom, learned to swim and then swam the Channel’

A childhood dream of swimming the English Channel got Stève Stievenart through divorce and depression

France’s ‘Iron man’: ‘I had this crazy dream of flying even higher’

He tells us how hard it is to fly and why he keeps inventing despite French bureaucracy and nosy neighbours

‘We travel slowly through France in our tiny horse-drawn caravan’

With just 7m² of living space pulled by a horse called Zorba, this Bordeaux couple enjoy being kings of their own clock

‘Rugby is the reason for my move to France’

International rugby referee shares his love of Gers and the difference between French and English rugby

Key points of President Macron’s TV interview last night

Subjects included the cost of living, migration, taxes and carbon neutrality as Mr Macron spoke following the visits of King Charles and Pope Francis to France

Interview with Ibrahim Maalouf: ‘I compose what comes from my heart’

The Lebanese-born French trumpeter tells us of his influences, collaborations and why he preaches the message of love

The Franco-Scottish teen on track to break mountain-climbing record

Alasdair McKenzie aims to become the youngest person ever to climb the 14 highest peaks in the world, and he is well on his way

‘Hand-delivering letters across France is slow and full of love’

The retiree dubbed The Humane Postman shares what delivering ‘important but not urgent’ messages has taught him about humanity

Fête Nationale: French aerobatics team delighting crowds for 70 years

We spoke to a Franco-British pilot in the elite Patrouille de France about how they train for the July 14 display

Meet British singer-songwriter Terry Scott Jr, based in Normandy

He got his big break in 1970 playing in front of 600,000 people at the Isle of Wight festival

The pioneering Brit who was French town’s first foreign councillor

Cycle campaigning and city pride were a springboard to role in local politics in Albi

Meet Nicolas Sarkozy’s former communications chief, Thierry Saussez

He discusses his brainchild Villes & Villages: où il fait bon vivre, and his business that aims to defeat French pessimism

‘I played bad classical music because the male composer was famous’

We speak to a French cellist about her lifelong quest to put a spotlight on forgotten female musicians

How to avoid the wait for a driving test in France

France first-hand: Learning to drive - we speak to Libby Abel, who moved to Brittany as a toddler, about her learning to drive experience

‘The first baby hedgehog we rescued was love-at-first-sight’

We speak to an expert about her hedgehog health centre and how to make your garden more hedgehog-friendly

Paris street cleaner is TikTok sensation with a serious message

We talk to the social media star about getting kicked out of the army, being homeless and his viral litter videos

Inside France’s ‘UFO Bureau’ - ‘we explain what people have seen’

We talk to the head of Geipan, a tiny wing of France’s answer to Nasa that inspired a Canal + TV show

French writer reveals secrets of translating a great novel

From toning down the swearing to swotting up on Google Street View, re-working a prize-winning book can be a long process

Franco-Australian former water ski star nominated for top magic prize

Zatanna tells of magical transition from sport to illusions and mentalism, and how her ‘very British’ show is shortlisted for ‘Oscars’ of the magic world

French abroad are valued as our local ambassadors, says senator

UK-based Olivier Cadic says France’s system for support of its citizens abroad is best in world. Brexit caused issues but UK attitudes are much better again, he adds

France’s 84-year-old globetrotting ‘Tintin’ shares his life lessons

We talk to a French adventurer about his amazing life on the road, the wisdom he picked up and how he thrived on a dollar a day

‘France-UK ‘détente’ only possible if Northern Ireland issue resolved’

Former UK ambassador to France says improving relationship at risk if government continues to support NI bill; warns of EU Entry-Exit System ‘chaos’ next year

‘Stupidity and provocation are trendier than well-articulated thought’

French physicist and philosopher Etienne Klein talks to us about his infamous ‘chorizo’ star tweet, post-truth and if technology is dangerous for democracy

‘We found balance between joy and frugality living off-grid in France’

A French couple have not had a water bill for 48 years but their mission has always been to save the planet rather than save money

‘We sailed to France on a barge and took our time house hunting’

Moving to France on their own boat took the pressure off finding a perfect home for this UK couple

From a rented caravan in UK to buying entire French hamlet for €26,000

The married couple are now restoring the historic buildings – including functioning cider press and communal bread oven – to create a gîte complex

‘I returned to UK from France, did not feel at home so came back’

A Connexion reader tells how she enjoyed her new life in Dorset but after time – especially following the Brexit vote – realised her heart was still in France

Odd guests and bad reviews - eight tips to running a B&B in France

We spoke to a Danish couple who moved to France for a quiet life but started a five-star ‘chambres d’hôtes’ instead

The Londoners who ‘fell into the trap’ of buying a big French property

Initially seduced by property prices in France, the couple have downsized three times

Finding Lucy with French paleontologist Yves Coppens

Forty-five years ago, a 3.2 million-year-old skeleton was found in southern Ethiopia that changed our understanding of human evolution forever. Paleontologist Yves Coppens was one of the team that found her. Here, he tells The Connexion about his career