France
Grape Vs. Weed
Why Baudelaire preferred the healing effects of wine to the despondency of hashish
Naughty But Nice
Doctors throughout history have recommended wine for good health
Is France As Doomed As Houellebecq Thinks?
‘Submission’ is a deeply unpleasant, dystopian novel, but something does ring true in this unlikely tale of an Islamist takeover in Paris
Locke Wears Another Hat
The taciturn John Locke’s unexpected love of Château Haut-Brion
What Would Escoffier Say?
French cuisine is in the soup. What is to be done?
Shock and Awe in Shanghai
‘After the elections in France and Greece the idea of Ed Miliband as prime minister is moving from late-night fear to probability’
European Profligacy
‘The problem is not austerity versus growth. The problem is that our social model — whether in France or Greece or elsewhere in Europe — no longer works’
Jihad Central
As Robert S. Leiken argues in his brilliant new book, Britain’s lost confidence in nationhood has made it the centre of European jihadism
The End of Europe’s Fantasy is Now in Sight
The EU has lost all legitimacy and its former supporters are deserting in droves. But blind to reality, its apparatchiks cling on
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal