À DÉTESTER: Foul weather

A waterlogged flower box in Montmartre.

Paris's summer weather is not nearly as bad as San Francisco's, but it ain't parfait.  Today is a great example: 64 degrees and raining.  Hailing, actually.  

The funny thing is, if you say the words "summertime" and "France" to most people around the globe, they picture fields of lavender baking under the sun, bronzed jet-setters in expensive bathing suits lounging aboard pristine yachts — in short, they picture June in Provence or on the Côte d'Azur.  

Yet most of France's visitors come to Paris, where they are more likely to experience a summer scene like this one: 

Ah, les pauvres (the poor things)!  Quand il fait moche (when it's nasty out), nobody is happy — which explains, I think, the Parisian mood in general.  In the city, il fait beau (the opposite of moche) only occasionally. Which is why, when the weather is clement, the streets and cafés are packed with locals sitting, sipping and soaking up the sunshine.

Comments

[Delana]

I would take our weather in Provence any day. I've only been to Paris once when it was actually sunny! However, we've had weird weather as well. 7 days of straight rain last week turned everyone topsy turvy. I've never heard people here say "let's go to the beach Saturday...if the weather is nice". It used to be that good weather was a given!

[Bridget]

I just had to comment on "Il fait moche" because I've never heard the expression before! I was always taught (and teach) "il fait mauvais."

[Julie, your FP Correspondent]

I'm fairly certain that "il fait moche" is slang -- google it, and you'll see what I mean!

J.A., your Foreign Parts correspondent

[Cassandra]

"il fait moche" is used to discuss weather and I personally love 'moche' and its versatility: "c'est moche" for it's ugly or it's unfortunate. So c'est moche qu'il fasse moche à Paris... and pretty much in all the other cities I visited this past month in France.