Salut!

Bravo Jonny Wilkinson. Bravo Toulon

There you see the French president Francois Hollande having a quiet word in a noisy Stade de France with Jonny Wilkinson, who ended a fabulous career as un rugbyman d'exception with a man-of-the-match display as Toulon beat Castres 18-10 to become champions of France. Just as he had helped them to the championship of Europe in Cardiff last weekend.

Allez Jonny and Toulon but who should we support in the round ball World Cup?

In a few hours we shall know whether Jonny Wilkinson, my fellow resident of the Var, has ended his wonderful rugby career on the high of a second cup final win in a week.

Stop Press: For Allez, read Bravo. Jonny scored all but three of Toulon's points as they beat Castres 18-10

Thomas Piketty: gimme some of that rock and roll economics

My latest Newsmaker profile for The National, Abu Dhabi* focuses on Thomas Piketty, a French economist - rock-star economist accordng to the press - of whom I was until a couple of weeks ago only vaguely aware. He first came loudly to my attention when I read in a certain British newspaper that he had once been arrested for allegedly beating his then partner, the current French culture minister Aurélie Filippetti. There were no charges and the claims were denied.

Why was anyone bothered about this little domestic dispute from across the Channel? Because Piketty's book on inequalities of income had become a bestseller - and also because bleating about the less well-off is a practice that newspaper could never endorse ...

Photos du weekend: Saint-Tropez before and after the monsters return

Many visitors to Saint-Tropez wonder how the harbour front might look if only the monstrous ocean-going bling could be removed.

Here, from the last Sunday of May, is a rare impression:

The trouble with Ischia

It would be the height of ignorance to dismiss the Italian island of Ischia on the basis of a single day spent there. But what a drab, dreary day it was.

There will be others who swear by its charms and claim them to be many. The tourism industry, we are told at Wikipedia, is centred on “thermal spas that cater mostly to European (especially German) and Asian tourists eager to enjoy the fruits of the island's natural volcanic activity, its hot springs and its volcanic mud”.

Sarkozy breaks political silence as spectre of far right looms over Europe

People keep telling me the rise of far right parties of Europe is not just a grim sign of the lure of odious racism but an understandable response to legitimate concerns. Never mind the company they keep, we're assured, they really have a point.

Marine Le Pen, we're told, heartily admires Putin, the man Prince Charles has likened to Hitler. Let's not be too mischievous but could this prompt intriguing discussion in assorted Le Pen households?

Not long after I had written about the EU elections for The National. Abu Dhabi*, I noticed that Nicolas Sarkozy had broken what amounted to two years of political silence to talk up Europe in the face of the extremists' assault on it, but also to demand sweeping changes to address the issue of mass immigration. He called in an article for French and German news magazines for a restoration of strong Franco-German leadership of the EU but more specifically for a “Schengen 2”, that is to say a new pact on free movement across borders restricted to countries enforcing a robust common immigration policy.

Anything Sarko says is tainted by the various legal difficulties he faces. But he clearly believes he remains essential to the survival of the centre-right in France, and perhaps Europe too. This, my report for today's edition of The National, seeks to present the importance of these elections even while acknowledging that they will be largely ignored by the electorate...

Forgetting Capri but in love with Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi and Positano

Remember the back streets of Naples. We did see children begging, not in the rags of Peter Sarstedt's song, but accompanied by adult women (mothers maybe but not for sure) in seriously smelly clothes, in a cafe near those back streets.

Camille Lepage RIP: a brave young photographer

Journalism is often a friendless pursuit. When done badly, it hurts and offends and very occasionally damages. When done well, it enhances life and democracy. As with most human endeavour, it draws much more attention when done badly; often enough when done well, it has to be done in situations of great danger.

Take your pick: Nicole Kidman as Princess Grace, Depardieu as DSK

Two French films are about to explode on to the screen, dealing with real, mega-famous people and likely to cause controversy and mayhem in their wake.

Taubira and La Marseillaise: the racism of selective indignation, or mere stupidity?

Q: When is it not all right to fail to sing along with La Marseillaise

A: When you're undeniably black or an Arab