Dahlia formed in 1999 in the province of Brittany in northwest France as a collaboration between guitarist Guillaume Fresneau and cellist Armel Talarmain. Since being joined by drummer Yves André Lefeuvre in 2002, the group’s output has revealed a strong rock-pop sensibility balanced by electronica. This song – taken from the band’s best-selling 2005 album Le Grand Jeu (The Great Play) – showcases Guillaume’s lyrical skills and gravelly yet clear voice.

Peaceful student demonstrations (regarding an unpopular piece of legislation) were marred by the intrusion of young “hooligans,” non-students who joined in and caused mayhem and violence. Now the student organizers were accepting the aid of another group who loves the streets of France, union members, and working together to keep the march safe.

Amadou and Mariam reference a number of West African musical instruments throughout, including the balan (balafon – a type of xylophone), the dunun (bass drum), the djembe (skin-covered drum), the tama (a “talking drum”), the n’goni (lute), and the kora (a 21-string harp-lute with a calabash as a resonator). In Mali, Sunday is the popular day for festive open air weddings.

Will french dentists soon be having their patients grow new teeth, instead of filling in the old ones? Well, maybe not soon, but one day, it’s likely to happen…

French scientists study Antarctic ice samples 740,000 years old and find clues that point to a relationship between greenhouse gases and global warming. It is feared that the record high carbon and methane levels of today will cause severe climatic change in coming years.

Montreal is famous for hockey, but who cares about hockey when you can have chocolat? Edith Gagnon, owner of La Maison Cakao, shows us the magic behind her charmant chocolates. You may want to have a stash of your own chocolate on hand as you watch this video, because the demonstrations are likely to work up quite an appetite for something cocoa-y.

Even the chinese agree with French astronaut Jean-François Clervoy: the great wall of china is NOT visible to the human eye from space, not even from a low orbit. Chinese astronaut Yan Liwei, who orbited the earth fourteen times in a Chinese spaceship, couldn’t see it either.

Hipsters all over the world are surely mourning the loss of their favorite instant-nostalgia art medium: the Polaroid. With the recent closing of the last two remaining Polaroid factories in the U.S., it looks like that familiar and much-loved “ch-click-whrrr” sound will soon become a thing of the past. Polaroid has plans to soon launch products suited to the digital era. But can anything ever compare to the one and only original? Only time will tell.

The magic of Nicolas Ghesquière? Innovating, without betraying the heritage of the venerable fashion house of Balenciaga. For 9 years, this self-taught designer has dared to reinterpret the most successful garments of the genius Cristobal Balenciaga.

Babylon Circus is a ska band from Lyon but in this song they touch upon ‘90s retro swing of the Squirrel Nut Zippers variety, evoking a mythical, bohemian underworld that’s lost in time. It’s a song about romantic regrets, missed cues and lost opportunities – “j’aurais bien voulu” could well be translated as “woulda shoulda coulda.”

French ambiance, old movies and nouvel art make Paris by night even more exciting. Astounding compositions, the boxing fight of the century, expositions in strange places are just some of the features that the French call l’art de vivre!

Amadou and Mariam share singing duties with co-producer Manu Chao on a song addressing themes of migration and dislocation, in particular as they relate to the struggle of Africans trying to find their way to Europe and make new homes there. Manu’s pan-regional production touches are particularly well-placed here. The chorus, untranslated in the captions, is sung in Bambara, one of the primary languages spoken in Mali.

Born and raised in the Pyrenees region of southern France, Cali was an aspiring rugby player before attending a U2 concert at the age of 17 convinced him to devote himself to music. After close to two decades of touring small clubs with a variety of bands, he finally hit in big in late 2003 with the release of his first solo album. Supported by a tireless touring schedule, L’amour parfait proved especially popular among disillusioned 30-somethings and eventually went on to sell over 400,000 albums. C’est quand le bonheur won the 2004 award for best song composition from SACEM (Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique).

Old, recycled, lumber is in high demand when it comes to building new chalets. Like cheese and fine wine, old wood has developed a character and sturdiness that can’t be duplicated artificially, plus the practice is environmentally sound. There’s nothing “low rent” about second-hand timber either, with prices at about double the new stuff.

Some school cafeterias are no longer serving chicken, explaining that children aren’t eating it when served due to fears of Avian Flu. Some parents are not pleased, saying that this is only serving to heighten unwarranted fears. Also not pleased are the chicken farmers, for obvious reasons.

The number of French students interested in Chinese language has soared in French high-schools in the last ten years, matching the growth of China as a world trade powerhouse. Like most westerners, these students find the move to an ideogramatic writing system quite the challenge.

Even in his craziest dreams, Jules Verne had not imagined a trip around the world in fifty days… Yet, Captain Peyron and his crew manage this accomplishment on a 125 feet catamaran, the Orange Deux. Follow their trip through storms and icebergs.

A Frenchman fell in love with Easter Island, and so do we. We follow him to his diving school, to his home, and appreciate his collection of shells, among them a new and rare species of shellfish that Michel Garcia discovered, and that carries its name, the garciai.

Beautiful snow Leopards and Madagascar tortoises! The European Breeding Program transfers rare species such as these to zoos, hoping to eventually release their offspring to the wild. A special “coordinator” is charged with the demanding, yet fascinating, job of overseeing the comfort, diet and care of these precious and endangered creatures.

Violence brought on by invading hooligans in previous weeks had put a damper on the turnout of ongoing student demonstrations in Paris and other cities. The students are protesting the loi Fillon, which they feel does not best represent the interests of students and their schools.