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Atmosphere in a job place is a key factor for most French people. Ten years ago, a business event called I love my company was created. Its concept was based on the fact that despite you spend the most of your time in your work place you don’t necessary know your colleagues very well. Thus, the objectives of I love my company were to deliver a positive message about the work place, to encourage team working and the feeling of belonging to a family.

To celebrate this event, employees are asked to promote their company’s atmosphere by making photos or videos. From 2 to 17 October participants have a carte blanch to do whatever they want to show how great their workplace is. No doubt, some are already having a great time doing it as you can see in this video!

Heritage days are called “Les Journées du Patrimoine” in French. These are good occasions to visit beautiful places that usually have a restricted access to public. This year, for example, you can visit the North wing of the Palace of Versailles. Built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1685 and 1689, the North wing offers unprecedented visits of amazing spaces and collections , from the Morocco Court to the attic, from the 17th century to the Third French Republic.

This section tells you more about famous French artists: singers, actors, writers, poets or painters.

Do you know Philippe Katerine?

Philippe Katerine, known simply as “Katerine” in France, is a French singer-songwriter, artist and author, best known for his boundary pushing music.

With his offbeat lyrics and kitsch costumes that would put Austin Powers to shame, Katerine is gyrating proof that the French can do irony after all.

In his years in the music business he’s progressed from easy listening to electro pop.

The 44-year-old, who comes from the commune of Chantonnay in the Vendée department of Pays de la Loire in western France, has also directed and starred in films and written a book.

Why is he in the news?

His new song ‘Sexy Cool’ – released earlier this month – was this week declared France’s “summer dance anthem” by the French media.

The track, which features on the pop star’s forthcoming ninth album ‘Magnum’ to be released on October 14th, is an ironic summer music video in which Katerine sings about how “sexy” and “cool” he is.

Tell me more about him.

Unsurprisingly, Katerine is no stranger to strange headlines.

In April 2012, the artist experimented in a new form of artistic expressionism when he was invited by the upmarket Paris-based department store Galeries Lafayette to display his artwork in an exhibition entitled ‘Comme un ananas’ (‘Like a pineapple’).

In 2011, the artist also made a splash when he published the book ‘Doublez votre mémoire’(‘Double your memory’) under the alias Philippe Bouchard. Presented as a kind of artistic diary, the book is described by its editor as “a unique work, worthy of the best artist notebooks” consisting of “narcissistic inspirations and schoolboy outbursts”.

Since 2000, Katerine has also acted in many films and even directed two of his own.

So what’s so sexy and cool about ‘Sexy Cool’?

Well perhaps it’s the cheesy dance routine, the catchy lyrics as well the 70s costumes and mustache.

If you find yourself on a dance floor in a French disco this summer you will probably here these lyrics: “Je suis cool quand t’es cool/Je suis triste quand t’es triste/Je suis stress quand tu stresses/Je suis sexy quand tu es sexy”. In other words: “I’m cool when you’re cool/I’m sad when you’re sad/I’m stressed when your stressed/I’m sexy when you’re sexy” (in case you want to sing along).

What about the other tracks on the album?

Another cheesy delight is ‘Banane’ (below), featuring Katerine parading around on a beach holding a banana dressed in nothing but a white sheet as he sings: “No, leave me/To eat my banana naked on the beach”. In another scene hundreds of people dance along to the tune whilst waving a banana in the air.

Again it’s better to let you watch the video for yourselves.

What does he have to say for himself?

Why don’t we let this translation of a typically, shall we say unsophisticated, extract from another single on his upcoming album, ‘Efféminé’, speak for itself?

“With my big b***s/I go to the casino/With my big b***s/I buy myself a Kinder Bueno/With my big b***s/I call my beloved/She laughs/Because I’m effeminate.”

What do others say about him?

“Philippe Katerine has forced us to become accustomed to his style, by flouting all conventions, fluctuating between total nonsense and misunderstood genius,” wrote Le Figaro newspaper.

After all, says the paper, “who can boast of having dared as much as Katerine to push and play with the borders of pop which are all too often sterilized and formatted,” adding “You could dance all night [to his songs] if the lyrics weren’t so crude.”

This section tells you more about famous French artists: singers, actors, writers, poets or painters.

Do you know Coeur de Pirate ?

Béatrice Martin (born September 22, 1989), better known by her stage name Cœur de pirate (French: pirate heart) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. A francophone from Montreal, she sings mostly in French and has been credited with “bringing la chanson française to a whole new generation of Quebec youth”.

Born in the province of Quebec, Béatrice Martin started playing the piano when she was only three years old. She entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal at the age of nine and studied there for five years.

At the age of 15, she played as a keyboardist in the post-hardcore band December Strikes First which starred her best friend, Francis, who would later become the subject of the song “Francis” on her debut album.^{[citation needed]} Martin had a brief stint as keyboardist for Bonjour Brumaire from late 2007 to April 2008.

2007–2009: Debut album and first success

In a report broadcast on French television, Martin explained that she chose the name “Cœur de pirate” to appear not “as an isolated musician, but to get a band identity from the start.” She released her debut album Cœur de pirate on September 16, 2008 on Grosse Boîte. Described as “rather simple” musically, it mostly featured Martin’s voice and piano playing with some minor additional instrumentation.

In February 2009, Martin attracted wider media attention when a photographer from Quebec City, Francis Vachon, used the song “Ensemble” as the soundtrack to a viral video on YouTube entitled “Time lapse of a baby playing with his toys”, leading to coverage on Good Morning America, Perez Hilton‘s website, The Globe and Mail and elsewhere.^[

2009–2011: Side projects Pearls and Armistice

In March 2009, Martin released a song in English, “One for Me”, under the name Pearls on MySpace. In a later interview she described the project as a joke and said she did not plan to continue it, though she did not not rule out the possibility of releasing music in English at a later date.

In June 2009, she made a special appearance of CBC Radio‘s Q radio show with Jian Ghomeshi. She performed her single “Ensemble” and a new song, titled “Place de la république”.

Martin performed with Jay Malinowski of Bedouin Soundclash in May 2010 on Q, and talked about collaborating with him in the future. She was later featured in a Bedouin Soundclash song, “Brutal Hearts”, on the Light the Horizon. Martin, Malinowski, and several members of the American rock band The Bronx subsequently collaborated on a five-song EP under the band name Armistice, which was released on February 15, 2011.

2011 to present: Blonde and upcoming English project

On March 27, 2011, Martin revealed via her Facebook page that she was to return to the studio to commence work on her second album the following day. Her second album, Blonde, was released on November 7, 2011 in both digital and hard copy versions. “Adieu” and “Golden Baby” were released as singles from this LP.

After announcing her pregnancy in February 2012, Martin stopped touring during the second half of the year and gave birth to a daughter in September. In early 2013, Martin returned from her hiatus with a music video for “Place de la république”, the first for which she acted as director, and an international tour beginning in March. She also revealed that she was currently working on a “totally different” English-language project after being approached by a label and artistic director and had already recorded some demos.

Awards

Cœur de pirate received a 2009 CBC Radio 3 “Bucky” award determined by listener votes. Her song “Comme des enfants” received the 2009 “Bucky” award for “Best Reason to Learn French”.

This section tells you more about famous French artists: singers, actors, writers, poets or painters.

Do you like rock music ? Do you know Johnny Hallyday ?