Living in France, le blog

After years of forced subjugation to the soccer-mad European sports world, I thought the arrival of ESPN America was my ticket out. Sure, the hours were going to be a little tricky, but certainly it would be worth it to trade in whiny, injury-faking prima-donnas and their stupid haircuts for the hardcore football I grew up with?

Two years later, I'm not so sure...

Against all odds—or at least against the logic of cronyism that usually prevails in such cases—Jacques Chirac was convicted in French criminal court last week on charges related to criminal activity perpetrated by the political machine he built and ran as mayor of Paris. Never mind that he wasn't personally in court, or that he won't spend a minute in jail...

A Nord-Pas-de-Calais family is finding out the hard way that French laws governing what does and does not constitute an acceptable baby name are both unclear and far-reaching. In a couple of weeks, they will find out if their devilish choice will make the grade or if there will be yet another Pierre or Jean-François brought into the La République.

On a dewey Sunday morning I watched the Olympique Lyonnais U19 squad defeat Nice 3-0 on a practice field at OL's training facility near Stade Gerland here in Lyon. Who cares, right? Admittedly, not a whole lot of people...but for someone who follows European soccer, watching the kids explains a lot about the present and future of the game.

The European debt crisis, personified by (but by no means limited to) the very real possibility of a collapse of modern Greece as we know it, has taken a subtle but game-changing turn.

And I mean right now: as we speak, the far-right National Front candidate for the French presidency is trying to schmooze with American big-wigs from across the political spectrum, all in an effort to bolster her international credibility.

French socialists, prepared to do whatever it takes to reclaim the presidency from Nicolas Sarkozy, have taken the brazen step of...holding a primary. Say it ain't so, François!

The official press conference won't take place until tomorrow, but word on the street is that the deal is done: the Spurs point guard is going to spend his lockout vacation right here in Lyon.

When is the last time you heard the word "jailbreak" outside the context of hacking an iPhone, anyway?