From France's new law on cold calls and attempts to regulate tech companies, via a firefighters strike and - of course - the eclipse, Inside France is our weekly look at the news and talking points from France.
A new law came in this week (no, of course politicians aren't working, it's August. It was passed last year and just came into effect this week) - banning telemarketing and cold calls.
That might sound like a small thing, but I was regularly getting 10 calls a week from these marketing companies, and I know plenty of people who were getting more than that.
One Local reader told us: "My husband always rushes to get the phone, his walking isn't so good so I worry about him falling."
It's a small but significant irritation in daily life, and since August 11th companies have been strictly limited in how and when they can contact people, even if it's a company you already have an account with.
This is never going to change the world or tackle the big questions of our time, but it's going to make a lot of people's lives just a tiny bit easier.
This week the UK's new prime minister announced plans to make it easier to cancel subscriptions - something that France has had in place since 2023 with its "3-click cancellation" law - and he put it like this: "They might not be the issues that keep you up at night. But they’re often the reason you go to bed ticked off. [Governments] have got used to telling people that these everyday hassles are just part of life. The response has too often been a shrug of the shoulders or just calling it bad luck. I don’t think that’s right."
France has also proved itself willing to try and regulate tech companies, something which many governments around the world seem to regard as some kind of natural phenomena that is annoying but ultimately we just have to put up with - like mosquitoes.
From the 'GAFA tax' of 2019, which required tech companies to pay tax in the countries they operate in, to newer rules on AI, France has proved that actually, you can regulate tech companies and force them to pay tax and - whatever they may threaten - they continue to do business here.
This week, a group of French newspapers have launched a legal challenge with the competition regulator against Google's use of their work to create its new AI summaries - the newspapers can do this because of an agreement they reached, after some difficulty, with Google in 2022. The challenge may fail, of course, but it shows that there are ways and means to regulate tech and try to ensure that it works for everyone.
As for the mosquitoes, we may just have to put up with them - although I was interested to read this article, in which scientists say that there is actually no real reason (no disruption of the food chain or serious effects on pollination) why we can't just kill all the mosquitoes . . . In the meantime, I'm putting my faith in my 'mosquito fighter' plant.
Photo: The Local
If there has been a defining image of the summer of 2026 in France, it has been sheets of flame tearing across arid landscapes, and if there have been national heroes it has been the men and women of the pompiers, who put their lives on the line to battle the blazes.
A firefighter takes a break while fighting a wildfire near Lanton, southwestern France, on July 29, 2026. Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP
You would be forgiven for assuming that these are all full time professionals - but 80 percent of France's firefighters are part-time. They are people who work another job and leave to fight fires when they get a call-out. They're highly trained and professional, but they are people who voluntarily juggle the incredibly serious business of fighting fires with their day job, all for a hourly call-out rate that isn't much higher than minimum wage (albeit tax free).
These are clearly incredible, selfless human beings, but there is a growing sense that this system is simply not sustainable when it comes to battling the kind of enormous wildfires that are becoming more common as summers get hotter and drier.
This week, firefighters called a one-day strike having reached an impasse in their discussions with the government on increasing professionalism, as well as increasing resources.
Firefighter strikes are largely symbolic, more akin to 'work to rule' than actually downing tools and refusing to fight fires - which is fortunate because the terrible summer of fires continue with another major blaze in south-west France forcing hundreds to evacuate.
But the action is due to continue with a 'day of protest' on September 29th.
One advantage of the part-time firefighters is that they are well integrated into the communities they serve, I've lost count of the number of people watching news coverage of the wildfires and saying 'I'm going to give the pompiers a bit extra when they come round with their calendars this year'.
READ ALSO: Donations and volunteering: How can you help during wildfire season in France?
With the wildfires, drought and repeated heatwaves, nature has been giving us a brutal reminder of its power this summer.
So it was nice to experience a natural event in a more celebratory atmosphere - Wednesday's eclipse.
Here in France it was not a total eclipse - we had 92 percent coverage in Paris and 99 percent down in the Basque Country - but it was still a major event which, it turned out, the whole country wanted to get excited about.
Wednesday afternoon saw long queues at opticians and pharmacies as people scrambled to find protective glasses and all over the country people went to parks, beaches and viewing spots to watch the sun disappear. I was at Les Invalides with around 1,000 other people and the atmosphere was very festival-like as people crowded together to watch (plus drink wine and eat picnics).
READ ALSO: IN PICTURES: Thousands turn out in France to watch eclipse
A more recent summer tradition in France is photos of Emmanuel Macron jetskiing while at the presidential holiday home on the French Riviera (and people furiously castigate him for the modern equivalent of fiddling while Rome burns) - and these arrived this week courtesy of Paris Match.
Des nouvelles de Louis XVI…
— Guillaume Meurice (@guillaumemeurice.bsky.social) 14 August 2026 at 09:23
This will be the last summer of this particular tradition - we don't know who will be president by next summer, but we do know that it won't be Macron. Will his successor be quite so keen to flout his/her biceps while showing off their sporting prowess?
Inside France is editor Emma Pearson's weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip in France that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
