Awesome French

When you want to read another language, you usually have to learn that language. But RobWords shows us a three simple tricks that English speakers can use to comprehend written words in French without having to understand the vocabulary. We wonder if other Romance languages have similar hacks.

Take a virtual trip to Paris, France with this transportive cover version of the cheeky love song Assedic by Les Escrocs, performed flawlessly by Pomplamoose. Singer Nataly Dawn spent her childhood in France and Belgium, so she seems right at home with this one. You have to read the translated lyrics on YouTube.

Maille offers foodies a taste of something fantastic with their black truffle and Chablis mustard. This intensely earthy condiment combines Dijon mustard seeds, Provence truffles and wine. The elegant stoneware jar is filled by hand and arrives in a gift box.

Dam’nco owe more than a small debt of gratitude to Daft Punk (and the entire disco era) for plowing the fields for this kind of music, but that doesn’t make their funk-jazz track with a heaping help of analog synth and talkbox vocals any less awesome.

The latest feature film from director Michel Gondry, Mood Indigo is a whimsical love story based on the 1947 novel L’Écume des Jours by French writer Boris Vian. Turn on captions for English subtitles.

Its name might not roll off the tongue, but we’ll forgive any car that can crank out 1000hp, and looks as sick as this ride from automaker Genty. Only 15 will be made, and no, you can’t afford one.

Enjoy a baguette and a glass of Merlot as you enjoy Animator Cédric Villain’s humorous take on the wide array of French stereotypes in the short film Cliché ! French-speakers, watch it here.

This tiny French roadster harkens back to 1960s Porsche style. The Cévennes Black Ultimate convertible is all about cruising with its 140hp engine, but at 2160 lbs., it should still be speedy.

Vodka maker Smirnoff is rolling out this limited-edition triple-distilled batch, packaged in an vibrant bottle in collaboration with French electro-DJ Vitalic. As long as it gives us a good buzz, we’re good.

The glulam lattice structure of France’s Centre Pompidou-Metz twists to touch the floor at 6 points in a vortex of wood and metal. At night the building revels in the glow of its beautiful hexagonal design.

Inanis Aedes, or House of Emptiness, is a very zen 2 minute full CG video about a quiet place in which Movement has many faces, created by French students Meradi Omar and Roussel Beranger.

The limited edition 576 France marks the first time that New Balance dedicated a shoe to a country. It’s available exclusively at the New Balance pop-up store at L’Imprimerie in Paris.

This animated film by Bricenco and Alapont may be in French, but you don’t need to understand a word to drink in the story – in which the true colors of a black-and-white world are revealed.

Micmacs, the newest film from imaginative French director Jean Pierre Jeunet opens in the US in May. In it, the (odd) protagonist attempts to defeat the bad guys, with a little help from his (odd) friends.