30 Common French Expressions Used in Newspapers

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Reading French newspapers or planning to do so? Check out this article and learn some useful French “newspapers” expressions.

If, for whatever reason, you happen to read French newspapers, you may sometimes come across words or expressions that might sound weird to you.

The vocabulary below will help you to better understand French articles.

Note: qqn = quelqu’un / qqch = quelque chose

Sth = something / sb (sby) = somebody

• the international communityla communauté internationale
• the political spectrum/the political chessboardl’échiquier politique
• the political stagela scène politique
• his fine wordsses beaux discours
• it is probably just pie in the skyce ne sont sans doute que des paroles en l’air
• to go hand in hand withaller de pair avec
• a (mighty) step forwardun (grand) pas en avant
• there is still a long way to goil y a encore beaucoup de chemin à parcourir
• to have peaks and troughsavoir des hauts et des bas
• (sth that) comes as a (heavy/severe/shattering) blow to (…)(qqch qui) porte un coup sévère à
• economic recovery has been sluggish so farla reprise économique a été timide jusqu’à maintenant
• sth is lagging behind (…)qqch est à la traîne par rapport à
• stocks could take a tumbleles actions pourraient dégringoler
• the economy is beginning to pick up againl’économie commence à repartir
• the economy is back on its feet againl’économie s’est rétablie, s’est remise sur pied
• the economy is running out of steaml’économie s’essouffle
• two billion extra mouths to feed2 milliards de bouches supplémentaires à nourrir
• wreaks havoc on the populationcause des ravages au sein de la population
• to meddle in sths’immiscer dans qqch
• to span (thirty years)couvrir une période de (trente ans)
• to wink / give a winkfaire un clin d’œil
• checks and balancesl’équilibre des pouvoirs
• unrestdes troubles sociaux, une agitation sociale
• bribe(s) (bribing)pot(s)-de-vin
• to buy off sby / to buy sby offacheter qqn
• to hit back at (…)riposter / répondre aux critiques / se venger de qqn
• political turmoilles bouleversements politiques, l’agitation, l’effervescence, la tourmente
• to face down sth/sbytenir tête à qqch, à qqn
• thresholdle seuil, la limite
• the ruling partyle parti au pouvoir

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See also: 6 Excellent French Newspapers for All Levels