JOIE DE VIVRE
THE MONTH FRANCE 24
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France 24 is a publicly funded news network based in Paris, but aimed at overseas markets, so its content is broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish. Initially launched in December 2006, the former TV channel now exists as a website and app. You can choose to read in French or in English, and in the top banner on the home page, you can select if you want to read the headlines from France, Africa, Middle East, Americas, Europe or Asia-Pacifi c. As well as off ering the latest news about France, it provides international news coverage from a French perspective, which can make for an interesting comparison.
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RENÉ LAËNNEC: INVENTOR OF THE STETHOSCOPE The stethoscope is such a humble yet vital instrument of medicine that you have probably never wondered when it fi rst came into use. It was invented by Breton René Laënnec (1781- 1826), whose mother died from tuberculosis when he was just fi ve. Aged 12, during the Revolution, Laënnec was sent to live with his uncle who was dean of medicine at the University of Nantes, which led to the boy’s future career. A giſt ed doctor, Laënnec had won two major prizes in medicine by the age of 21, and in 1816 was appointed to the Necker Hospital in Paris. In those days, if doctors needed to hear a
heartbeat or detect irregularities in breathing, they pressed an ear against the patient’s naked body, an intrusive but necessary process. It is said that when examining a patient with a heart condition in 1816, Laënnec noticed children playing in the rubble outside; one was scratching the end of a long beam
and the other child at the opposite end had to guess the number of scratches. Remembering these childhood games and
how the sounds were amplifi ed, Laënnec rolled up some sheets of paper and placed the tube on the patient’s chest. He noticed that the breathing and heartbeat sounds were clearer and louder, leading to his fi rst designs for a simple stethoscope, consisting of wooden cylinders. In the 1850s, a design was invented using
both ears, leading to the standard instrument we know and use today. Aged 45, Laënnec died from tuberculosis,
a disease he diagnosed and monitored himself using his own invention. Laënnec had a brilliant career despite its brevity, publishing key medical works on pneumonia, pleurisy, emphysema and cirrhosis. His amplifying stethoscope has become a daily tool for doctors worldwide.
What to drink…
Each month, we take a look at a diff erent French drink. This issue, we look at the hot drink ‘chicorée’...
IDIOM “Rendre l’âme”
1. To give up the ghost 2. To limp or hobble 3. To repay someone
answers p101
Have you ever tried the hot drink chicorée? Forget the stereotype of Parisians sipping espresso: chicory – an alternative to coff ee – is more popular in France than you might expect. You might already have seen it if you grew up in the UK, in the form of Camp Coff ee, a syrup that combines coff ee and chicory. Chicorée is a great alternative to coff ee and has a much milder fl avour,
manufactured by roasting the roots of the blue-fl owering chicory plant, part of the dandelion family. French supermarkets off er a wide range of blends that include
around 20% coff ee, and some brands also off er a 100% chicory option that has no caff eine at all. Most chicory products are instant and come in a powder form: simply
add two or three teaspoons to a mug, add hot water then milk and sugar to taste. Caff eine-free and gluten free, chicory is well worth trying when you fancy a change from tea or coff ee.
FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2025 99 4
©SABELSKAYA – ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
©CHICORÉE LE ROUX
©WELLCOME COLLECTION
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