It may seem like the French belletrist is a dying breed, but the modern-day public intellectual has always been something of a myth

The singer Barbara is little known outside France. Yet her songs yield endless riches

In the first of an occasional series, we examine how and why hostility to Jews has re-emerged in France. The research for this article has been generously supported by the Hertog/Simon Fund for Policy Analysis

After four frustrating years, the French President is unpopular. But as his Socialist rival, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, falters, Sarkozy may yet hang on