Comments on: A French experience

By: Elisabeth Loesch

Elisabeth Loesch — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:40:02 +0000

I can-t wait to read your article. Keep up the good work. You are indeed a very versatile writer.

About the legendary thinness of French women… It might have been true in the thirties and post war years, but now, I-m not so sure. I know so many overweight ladies. If you love cassoulet and fois gras or the cuisine lyonnaise it-s hard to live up to your reputation.

By: mihnas

mihnas — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:38:55 +0000

Christine Ockrent, what a “Grande Dame” ..

and talking about the smoking french women, I’m french , women , and smoking ^^, I’m so cliché

but a german friend of mine told me once that french women are the only one who are elegant and sexy when smoking and that was one of the reasons she stopped, it didn’t look good on her ..

By: helena

helena — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:36:58 +0000

No worries Elisabeth, I agree I was lucky to have met her, I listened to the tape today while writing my article, she really was great. Her story about interviewing Saddam Hussein is fabulous. It will be in the magazine a week on Saturday and I’ll post a link to it.
ZE END!
Hx

By: Elisabeth Loesch

Elisabeth Loesch — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:32:36 +0000

Oh dear. Sorry Helena. My bad. It’s not an excuse but I wrote this in an intensely fumigated environment. Either that or I have the attention span of a gold fish. The truth is I grew up looking up to the likes of Christine Ockrent, Françoise Giroux, Simone Weil and Elisabeth Badinter. These extraordinary women changed the life of French women. You are very fortunate to have met one of them.

Ps. As off today, I will make sure to read your posts until ZE end.

Elisabeth

By: helena

helena — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:54:05 +0000

Hello Elisabeth
I think you missed the point here, my conclusion is that she is an incredible woman and that she DOES NOT smoke – which makes her even more amazing!
Hx

By: Texafornian

Texafornian — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:07:56 +0000

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why French women are thin, the smoking. Smoking is an appetite suppressant.

By: Elisabeth Loesch

Elisabeth Loesch — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:07:52 +0000

Christine Okrent is by all standards a woman of high intelligence, regarded in journalistic and political milieus as a very high achiever. Check her profile on wikipedia and you-ll understand what I mean. She has been named La reine Christine. As far as I know no one has ever mentioned her disturbing smoking habit. It is extremely clicheesque to reduce a person to what is in fact a very common addiction, certainly not exclusively French.
It s like the forest and the trees. It shows how you see the world. I like her version a lot more. I like her bravery and her honesty. And I don-t give a hoot whether she smokes or not. But of course, I m French…

By: sharyn g

sharyn g — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:11:42 +0000

Smoking is very hard on the skin and muscles in the face. It surprises me that French women who are soooo obsessive about looking young would indulge. Other than that it is a filthy, smelly habit. I have asthma and am allergic to smoke. Even that does not deter a smoker from lighting up a cigarette.