Trying to get anything done in France in August can be frustrating as the country shifts into holiday modes and shops and offices close up - but Emma Pearson argues that this tradition reveals important values and should be defended - even against France's own politicians.

Trying to get anything done in France in August can be frustrating as the country shifts into holiday modes and shops and offices close up - but Emma Pearson argues that this…

From school uniform experiments to a cigarette tax, via the French politicians who are ruining August by insisting on talking about politics, our weekly newsletter looks at the…