A Week Without Plastic – Bilingual Story

Author: Suzanne

Practice our French with this French English bilingual story about “a week without plastic”.

Today,  French immersion teacher Suzanne is going to tell us about an interesting ecological challenge: a week without plastic.

You may also be interested in the French ecology vocabulary.

1 – Ecology French/English Bilingual Story

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Les gens qui me connaissent savent que j’adore Ă©couter la radio. J’écoutais la radio pendant que je faisais la vaisselle hier midi. C’était une Ă©mission sur la station France Inter, une station de radio nationale. L’émission s’appelle ‘CO2 mon amour’. C’est une Ă©mission au sujet de l’environnement oĂč on discute des solutions Ă©cologiques aux problĂšmes tels que la pollution, le rĂ©chauffement de la planĂšte, etc.

People who know me know I love listening to the radio. I was listening to the radio while I was doing the dishes yesterday at noon. It was a broadcast on France Inter, a national radio station. The programme is called ‘CO2 mon amour’. It’s a programme about the environment where they discuss ecological solutions to problems such as pollution, global warming, etc.

J’ai entendu un article trĂšs intĂ©ressant sur l’obsolescence programmĂ©e. DĂ©jĂ , je pensais ‘j’aimerais rĂ©Ă©couter cela sur le site internet de France Inter quand j’aurai le temps.’* Mais aprĂšs ça, vers la fin de l’émission, il y a eu quelque chose qui m’a fait encore plus rĂ©flĂ©chir. Une semaine sans plastique.

I heard a very interesting article about planned obsolescence. Already, I was thinking ‘I’d like to listen to this again on France Inter’s website when I have time.’ * But after that, towards the end of the programme, there was something that gave me even more food for thought. A week without plastic.

A la fin de l’émission le prĂ©sentateur passe quelques messages qu’il a reçus sur le rĂ©pondeur de France Inter. Et voilĂ , quelqu’un y avait laissĂ© un message trĂšs intĂ©ressant. C’est un monsieur de l’association ‘Tous dans l’mĂȘme bateau’ basĂ©e aux Sables d’Olonne dans le dĂ©partement de la VendĂ©e dans l’ouest de la France.

At the end of the programme the presenter plays messages that he has received on the France Inter answer machine. And someone had left a very interesting message. It was a man from the organization ‘Tous dans l’mĂȘme bateau’ (‘All in the same boat’) based in Les Sables d’Olonne in the department of VendĂ©e, western France.

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3 – Du 27 Mars Au 2 Avril 2017 – La Semaine Sans Plastique

Son association lance un dĂ©fi au public. Je cite :  Â« Quel est le principe ? C’est trĂšs simple et compliquĂ© Ă  la fois ! Pendant une semaine, le volontaire s’engage Ă  ne pas utiliser ou acheter des produits emballĂ©s (plastique, cellophane
), Ă  ne pas accepter des sacs plastiques Ă  usage unique. En s’inscrivant, le volontaire accepte de relever le dĂ©fi. Il n’y a rien Ă  gagner, rien Ă  perdre. La semaine peut ĂȘtre une rĂ©ussite ou un Ă©chec.

His group is challenging the public. I quote: “What is the idea? It’s very simple and complicated at the same time! For one week, the volunteer agrees not to use or buy packaged products (plastic, cellophane 
), not to accept single use plastic bags. By registering, the volunteer agrees to take up the challenge. There is nothing to gain, nothing to lose. The week might be a success or a failure.

La vocation du dĂ©fi « une semaine sans plastique Â» est d’amener le volontaire Ă  s’interroger sur sa consommation quotidienne, sur les substituts qui existent, Ă  faire sa part en vue de rĂ©duire son empreinte plastique (et donc carbone). Â»

The goal of the “one week without plastic” challenge is to get the volunteer to ask himself about his daily consumption, the substitutes that exist, to do his part in order to reduce his plastic (and therefore carbon) footprint. “

french vocabulary ecology
I have it up to here with plastic! This is a pun to say you have enough, can’t stand plastic any longer.

Allez regarder le site de l’association vous-mĂȘmes ! Vous pouvez le trouver sur http://www.tousdanslememebateau.fr/index.php/les-actions/semaine-sans-plastique

Go look at the website of the organization yourself! You can find it on the address above.

L’idĂ©e me tente. AprĂšs avoir fini la vaisselle, je me suis assise devant mon ordinateur et j’ai commencĂ© Ă  surfer sur Google pour trouver plus d’informations. J’ai trouvĂ© un reportage de tĂ©lĂ©vision d’un peu moins de deux minutes qui n’est pas trĂšs difficile Ă  comprendre. Allez le regarder vous-mĂȘmes sur http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/environnement/vendee-une-semaine-sans-plastique-c-est-fantastique_1357927.html

The idea tempts me. After finishing the dishes, I sat in front of my computer and started surfing on Google to find more information. I found a television report of just under two minutes which is not very difficult to understand. Go check it out yourself at the address above.

Et si le sujet vous intĂ©resse autant que moi, vous pouvez continuer vos recherches en lisant un article court sur la page d’un grand journal rĂ©gional, Ouest France (en fait, le plus grand journal rĂ©gional français). Trouvez-le sur http://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/les-sables-dolonne-85100/les-sables-d-olonne-une-semaine-sans-plastique-du-27-mars-au-2-avril-4858498

And if the topic interests you as much as me, you can continue your research by reading a short article on the page of a major regional newspaper, Ouest France (in fact, the biggest French regional newspaper). Find it by using the link above.

Alors, le dĂ©fi est lĂ . Est-ce que je m’inscris ? Ce n’est pas obligatoire, on peut faire l’expĂ©rience sans s’inscrire
 mais ce serait intĂ©ressant de participer. Est-ce que ça va intĂ©resser mon mari Peter ? AprĂšs tout, c’est lui qui fait la cuisine chez nous, et il est moins Ă©colo que moi. Entretemps, avant de dĂ©cider, avant de nous lancer
 j’ai Ă©crit cet article
 Affaire Ă  suivre !

So the challenge is there. Shall I sign up? It’s not compulsory, you can do the experiment without registering 
 but it would be interesting to participate. Is it going to interest my husband Peter? After all, he’s the one who does the cooking in our house, and he’s less eco-friendly than me. Meanwhile, before deciding, before we get going 
 I have written this article 
 Watch this space!

* Listen to the radio programme here: https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/co2-mon-amour/co2-mon-amour-18-mars-2017

If you liked this article, why not consider a stay at Susan’s home in Brittany to better your French? Here is more info about the French Immersion Residential courses recommended by French Today.

Author: Suzanne

Suzanne

Bonjour ! My name is Suzanne. I am British born, and have dual British and French nationality. I have been teaching French for the past 40 years, internationally. My husband Peter & I moved to Jugon-Les-Lacs, a charming village of Northern Brittany over 20 years ago where I now offer French immersion stays at the teacher's home. I hope you will come visit me one day!

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