- published: 24 Apr 2016
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La France au Travail (France at Work) was a pro-German French newspaper which appeared from 30 June 1940 onwards funded by the German embassy in France. It was started as a propaganda initiative in the aftermath of the German occupation to influence left-leaning segments of French public opinion. The Director, Jean Drault, was a French anti-Semite while its editor, Georges Oltramare, was a pro-Nazi Swiss journalist who broadcast on French radio. The extent of German control is evident in that editorial meetings were held directly in the German embassy on the rue de Lille. In style and content, the newspaper mirrored the Communist newspaper L'Humanité except for virulent anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic positions. The newspaper was fairly successful with sales of 92,000 in the first weeks rising to 180,000 by August 1940. Exposure by the clandestine Communist press as well as mainstream French newspapers, however, ensured a steady, and then permanent, decline.
France (English i/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
I sit and watch while shades are falling
and sadness creeps into my song
That's when I remember all the good times that we had
They make me feel so sad,
those precious moments
The days in France we spent together
Paris la nuit, toujours l'amour
O I still remember how it took me by surprise
the lovelight in your eyes
We both were singin'
La France, la vie en rose, une vie d'amour et
d'elegance
Comme une chanson, je me rappelle pour toujours
le souvenir d'une ambiance
La France, la vie en rose, une vie d'amour et
d'elegance
Comme une chanson, je me rappelle pour toujours
le souvenir d'une ambiance
You asked me how to say 'je t'aime'
You smiled when I said 'yes, I do'
O I still remember how it took me by surprise
the lovelight in your eyes
We both were singin'
La France, la vie en rose, une vie d'amour et
d'elegance
Comme une chanson, je me rappelle pour toujours
le souvenir d'une ambiance
La France, la vie en rose, une vie d'amour et
d'elegance
Comme une chanson, je me rappelle pour toujours
le souvenir d'une ambiance
La France, la la la la la la la la la la la la
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la la la la la la la la
La France, la la la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la la la