Spoil the French and spare the Child
BACK in the 1950s, the bishop of Dijon burnt an effigy of Father Christmas in front of his church. He and other French bishops regarded le père Noël as “a clever invention to rob Christmas of its Christian character”. How right they were. These days the French are second to none in gastronomic celebration of the holiday. Baby Jesus, however, hardly makes an appearance.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Spoil the French and spare the Child”
From the December 20th 1997 edition
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Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
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Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare