Emily Wieder French/Francophone Studies Ph.D. student
Podcasts
France Culture, I have listened to interesting podcasts about Charles Baudelaire (there are tons of podcasts about him on France Culture), Louise Colet, and Victor Hugo. I also like the Compagnie des auteurs series.
RFI [Radio France Internationale]: news in French
Audio Cité: free audiobooks in French
Littérature Audio: more audiobooks in French
*** A word of caution: I have downloaded a book or two from each site and have not had any problems, but I still worry about adding malware to my computer when I save anything from the internet.
AUDIO
Musicians/Chanteurs(-eueses)
[and some songs you can find on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, etc.]
Coeur de Pirate: "T'es belle,” “Ava”
Indalia: “Dernière danse," "Comme un bateau"
Pomme: “Pauline”
Chloé Stafler: “Despacito”
Loïc Nottet: “Mr/Mme”
Stromae: “Papaouti,” "Cancer"
BB Brunes: “Dis-moi”
Barbara Pravi: “Voilà,” "Louis"
Edith Piaf: “La vie en rose,” “Je ne regrette rien”
Spotify
A playlist from the program with which I studied in Strasbourg
A 555-song playlist from Talk in French
Music videos/Clips officiels
Children’s songs [chansons pour enfants] for basic vocab
Etienne (Educorock) is a French teacher who turns grammar into song; see this one for an introduction.
The musicians [chanteurs/euses] listed above
News/actualités
Literature/littérature
Culture – Audio Books – LivresAudios
YouTubers and Performances/Spectacles
Damon and Jo: travelers and polyglots
Lindsay Williams: Lindsay does Languages
Sebastian Marx: an American comedian in France
Hugo Tout Seul: a comedian
Montreux Comedy (** may be vulgar **)
750g: a cooking channel
Parlez-vous FRENCH: pronunciation, grammar, idioms
AUDIO-
VISUAL
TED Talks
I don’t know if there’s a more effective way to search for French-language talks other than by location (Paris, Nantes, Marseille).
Here are a few to start, then the suggestions will lead to more:
Rien ne nous arrive par hasard
And a few others
Films
Streaming services, like Amazon and Netflix, have French-language films. You can search by country filmed or language of film.
Kanopy: documentaries and movies free with many library cards (municipal and university)
RFI web documentaries
List of TV sources
Fluent U suggested French films
Here are some films I have watched
For news about “le paysage audiovisuel,” check Media America (in French).
TEXTUAL
Not Poetry
French cultural reviews (some archived reviews at the bottom)
Youscribe: books translated into French and French-language books
On Kindle, look for Arvensa Editions and Folio, which tend to be reasonably priced.
Le Monde (center-left), l'Humanité (left lean), La Croix (Catholic lean), and additional newspapers provide contemporary vocab and keep you informed on matters that French people discuss.
Check out books I've read here.
Poetry
Poetica is good for searching poems by theme
Poésie is better for searching poems by author or nationality
Les Fleurs du Mal (Baudelaire) with several English translations for each poem
Five poems that a French person would know, according to France Culture
I recommend Apollinaire's "Les Fenêtres" and Joy Arjo's "Peut-être le monde commence ici" [I first heard this poem in French].
SOCIAL
News sources
@BBCWorld for international news
@FrancofilUK, Francofil: for scholars of French/Francophone studies
@HFranceWebsite, H-France: for historians with French/Francophone interests
@FrHistNw, French History Network: similar to H-France
@baudelaireproj, The Baudelaire Project: research on song versions of Baudelaire’s poems
@ONU_fr, the UN in French
@RFI, the French radio station
@GoogleFR, Google in French
Political parties and politicians
@gouvernementFR, French government
@Senat, Sénat
@AssembleeNat, Assemblée nationale
@Elysee, Élysée
@EmmanuelMacron, president of France
@Enmarchefr, En Marche: the party of the current president
@Anne_Hidalgo, mayor of Paris
@Amisdelaterre, Amis de la Terre FR : an environmental group
Causes/organizations related to your interests
@SOS_Racisme is a popular anti-racism organization
Even local accounts, if you're studying abroad, can help you find events and ways to connect with the community. When I studied in Strasbourg, I began to follow @BNUStrasbourg (the National and University Library of Strasbourg). Before [and after] going to France, I was following singers like Coeur de Pirate (@beatricepirate).
Learn French with Talk in French
Oui in France
The Petite Bijou
Lindsay does Languages
750g
Me: Wiederev3
** These suggestions are accounts that I follow. To maximize your French immersion, find accounts related to your interests and location.
For learning French
@lawlessfrench, Lawless French
@frenchwords, French Words
@talkinfrench, Talk in French
@myfrenchytips, Learn French Everyday!
@Super_france, Discover France: pictures of France
For updates on French life
@franceintheus, France Embassy [Facebook too]
@lemondefr, Le Monde
@artefr, ARTE: a Franco-German TV Station
People and places
@joycejonathan, singer
@chloestafler, singer
@beatricepirate, Cœur de Pirate: singer
@azzed, French blogger
@humans_ofparis, Humans of Paris [Facebook]
@humansofstrasbourg1, Humans of Strasbourg [Facebook]
@BNUStrasbourg [Facebook]
Updates on French/European life
Le HuffPost: some sensational, some informative headlines
European Parliament
Causes and organizations
Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
Mouvement Ni Putes Ni Soumises
Collective Contre L’Islamophobie en France
Local groups (mostly Strasbourg)
Bibliothèque nationale et universitiare – BNU [I also follow the municipal library of Aix-en-Provence because I interned there: Bibliothèque Méjanes]
Art Puissance Art
Musiques Éclatées
L’Industrie Magnifique
Strasbourg Culture
Strasbourg.eu
Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg
Strasbourg en Alsace