French culture

Heady scents fill the air as skilled pickers in India pluck white jasmine before the still fresh buds are rushed for processing into a valuable ingredient for global perfumes.

Jasmine only issues its powerful scent when it blooms at night, and pickers must select only the ones yet to open.

The world's first lipstick. The first modern perfume. A pivoting toothbrush. The original Nivea cream and serum. Not to mention the intimate secrets of Queen Elizabeth II. These are some of the treasures held in Guerlain's first archive, which brings stories from the iconic French cosmetic company's sensational past to life.

With Asian visitors still largely absent, major Paris museums struggled to regain pre-pandemic numbers in 2022, despite a huge recovery from the previous year, official figures showed on Jan. 5.

The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, welcomed 7.8 million people last year, a 170-percent increase on 2021, but still down 19 percent on 2019.

The holiday was marked with precautionary measures due to the coronavirus.
About 5.000 members of all branches of the army took part in the parade as part of the Republic Day, and the parade was followed by the President of the state Emmanuel Macron, the state leadership of France and about 25.000 citizens.

Greeks will soon not have to send an SMS to a state-operated line in order to leave their homes Alternate Interior Minister Stelios Petsas announced today, even as he expressed confidence that the gradual opening of all economic and social activities will proceed smoothly.

Greeks will soon not have to send an SMS to a state-operated line in order to leave their homes Alternate Interior Minister Stelios Petsas announced today, even as he expressed confidence that the gradual opening of all economic and social activities will proceed smoothly.

The government plan to pull Greece out of the lockdown is being formulated with awareness that the gradual lifting of the measures will be much more difficult than their horizontal imposition in March.

From the day after tomorrow, the restrictions that applied to everyone will be maintained only for some.

The Hellenic Police is this week expected to intensify inspections aimed at enforcing a government ban on the operation of certain business as part of a broader effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Louvre in Paris, the world's most visited museum, reopened on Jan. 18 after being shut down by workers striking over government plans to overhaul France's pension system.

On Jan. 17, hundreds of disappointed visitors had massed outside the Louvre, some hurling insults at strikers who had blocked the entrance.

The Arc de Triomphe is the most popular landmark in France, topping the list of most visited sites in 2019, the website of Radio Europe 1 reported.

This is the ranking of the French Center for National Monuments.