La Rentrée/ The End of Summer

After two months of “blog vacation”, I’m back to start telling you about the interesting things I see and do in France. I had such a wonderful time in Saint Jean de Luz that I had to share with you the beauty of that place.

Except for that trip, I remained in Paris for the entire month of August. At least half, and probably much more, of Paris went on vacation. In the outer arrondissements (I’m in the 16th), Paris was quiet. No tourists, most stores were closed, hardly any traffic. Sometimes I’d walk out of my apartment building and wonder if pandemic limitations had restarted. It was SO quiet and there were plenty of parking spaces on the street. During the rest of the year, a driver might sell their next of kin to have a parking space so close to home. Two out of three of my veggie markets were closed; the Boucherie was closed; both bakeries/Boulangeries were closed. The lovely restaurant #41 - closed. In fact, the only thing open on my block of Av. Mozart was the Fromagerie with a big sign that said “We are staying open all of August” and the wine store.

This week starts the fifth season in France: La Rentrée. I write about it every year. I don’t know of any other country that has something like this. It’s not just the beginning of school but, since most people go somewhere else in August, everyone is returning home and getting ready for the new year. People say “Bonne Rentrée” to each other. Stores have sales on office supplies, school needs, anything that might make the end of summer more palatable. It’s September. Today, the temperature is in the high 90s F/30/31oC. Summer weather Store windows have Fall clothing, cozy snuggle up on the couch and stay warm clothing.

The Local gives some definitions of La Rentrée:

“Schools restart 

La rentrée scolaire is when schools begin again for the new academic year. There is a tradition that this cannot happen until September, so this year schools go back on Monday, September 4th. 

A side-effect of la rentrée scolaire is the appearance in shops of huge collections of stationery as stressed-out parents head out to buy the dozens of items on the official lists that schools send out, all of which are deemed essential to educational life.

Return to work

Of course key workers continue to work throughout the summer but many offices close completely for some or all of August as it's not at all uncommon to receive out-of-office replies simply telling you that the person will be back in September and will deal with your query then.

Many smaller independent businesses including boulangeries, florists, pharmacies, clothes shops and bars also close for some or all of August as their staff and owners enjoy a break.

If you work in an office, the first few days after la rentrée is often a time for chatting to colleagues, hearing other people's holiday stories and generally easing yourself back into work gently so it's not too much of a shock to the system.

Return to parliament 

The French parliament takes a break over the summer and resumes sessions in September, while ministers too generally take a few weeks off. Traditionally the president goes to the presidential holiday home - a villa in Bregançon on the Riviera and enjoys a few weeks of sun, outdoor activities and rest.”

This year, the World Cup of Rugby is being held in France from September 8—October 28, 2023 . Americans always think that Futbol is the definition of sports in Europe. It turns out that Rugby is a huge deal. My first French teacher in my immersion classes many years ago was a die-hard rugby fan. The games in the Stade de France, Paris are all sold out. The opening ceremony will start at 8pm Friday at the Stade, outside Paris, then the first match (France v New Zealand) will kick off at 9.15pm. The Oscar-winner and celebrity French rugby fan, Jean Dujardin, will host the opening ceremony at Stade de France before kick-off of the opening match on September 8th. 

Again from The Local: “If you’re not lucky enough to be among the 80,000-plus crowd at Stade de France, the good news is that the whole shebang will be on TV. In France, the opening ceremony and the France v New Zealand match is on free-to-air channel TF1.

Through the tournament, every match in the tournament is available free to air on TF1, as well as France Televisions and M6.

Rights holder TF1 will show 20 matches, including all matches involving France, while France Télévisions has 10 matches and M6 will show 18 games.”

In the US, the games will be on Peacock or some form of NBCSports.

As for the weather, we will have summer weather for the next two weeks. Which makes me very happy.

A Bientôt,

Sara