From the NYT:  Two and a half years after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, life here can still be a struggle.

“I couldn’t even get my mom a decent Mother’s Day gift,” Soraya said, pouting. “Finally, I used my measly allowance and bought her a ticket to Paris. It’s nothing special, but I figure it’s the thought that counts.”

Soraya isn’t a real Haitian, at least not exactly. She’s a character played by a 26-year-old actress named Belinda Paul in a sketch-comedy television show called “Regards Croisés.” 

Soraya is a caricature of a certain kind of privileged, bubbleheaded daughter of the Haitian elite — a Zuzu. Zuzu girls are conspicuous in places like Miami and Paris, but they are hard to see in the hills of Port-au-Prince, where they shop, go to the gym and party behind high walls topped with bougainvillea and concertina wire. Zuzu-speak, an affected whine of Creole, French and “omigod” English, is deliciously recognizable to the less fortunate masses, and every Saturday night Haitian viewers roar, clap and rock with laughter at Soraya’s airs.  Continuez.

From the NYT: The Minitel, the once-revolutionary online service that prefigured the Internet in the early 1980s, allowed the French to search a national phone registry, buy clothing and train tickets, make restaurant reservations, read newspapers or exchange electronic messages more than a decade before similar services existed almost anywhere else in the world. The network is now largely relegated to the realm of nostalgia, though, with its dial-up connection, black-and-white screen and text that scrolls out one pixelated character at a time.

Conceived in France, by the French, for the French — efforts to export the technology met with little success — the Minitel was long ago overtaken by the borderless, freewheeling Internet. It has remained in service, though, and it still has its devotees, including about 2,500 dairy farmers in Brittany who rely on it to call for the inseminator when a cow is in heat or to request that the authorities come to haul away animal carcasses.

That will soon have to change. The Minitel network is to be permanently shut down on Saturday — maintenance costs are too high, profits too low — after three decades of service that have left deep marks on business and culture in France.  Complete story.

Sometime after the entree had been served at the opening-night dinner on Wednesday at the 56th Cannes Film Festival, after Harvey Weinstein had pumped half the hands in the room, and Wes Anderson, Bill Murray and Bruce Willis had entered to applause following the premiere of their film, “Moonrise Kingdom,” the pink lights were dimmed, and the waiters began weaving among the tables, carrying large, heavy blocks of illuminated ice. With their tiny interior lights glowing and embedded plastic cups holding haute cuisine soft-serve, it looked as if a fleet of toy U.F.O.’s were landing — or a deconstructed igloo. At Cannes, even dessert is a show.  More from the NYT.

From France Today: Inspired by the stunning stained-glass windows of its famed 13th-century cathedral, every night from April through mid-September the city of Chartres illuminates over a score of its principal buildings, squares, bridges and streets in a blazing swirl of brilliant colors orchestrated by lighting expert and scenographer Xavier de Richemont.

Some of the light-show projections are still, some in motion, many are accompanied by music and other sound effects, and most are astonishing. Among the must-see sights in their luminous glory are the cathedral, the Beaux-Arts museum, Saint Pierre and Saint André churches, the 19th-century theater, the Place des Halles and the 20th-century Médiathèque.

The 29 sites are scattered throughout the town’s historic downtown, and the free event starts at nightfall and goes until 1 am. Walking tour maps showing the suggested route are available at the tourist office; you can also visit the sites on Le Petit Train de Chartres for a fee.

Chartres en Lumières Every night from April 21 to September 15. www.chartresenlumieres.com