The Monocle Minute

The people of France are – and this is said with considerable pre-existing affection reinforced by a hugely enjoyable Olympic fortnight in their beautiful capital – a famously rancorous bunch. It was, therefore, striking that among the French journalists, analysts, athletes, artists, designers and business folk who joined Monocle Radio at our pop-up studio in Maison Allianz on the Right Bank of the Seine, that there was such a solid consensus about the 2024 Games. It was, basically, this: nobody had wanted Paris to even bid as a host, everybody was aghast when Paris won it and had spent years miserably convinced that the event would be a disaster – but in fact the Olympics were going brilliantly and everyone was having a wonderful time.

There is a broader lesson here – and if the chronically discontented French can learn it, so can anybody. Among the many blessings endowed by life in a wealthy, secure and orderly nation is the luxury of complaint. While there is nothing wrong with the occasional moan, one does not have to look far – in France, or pretty much anywhere in the developed world – to observe the corrosive effects of complaint becoming, for many, something between a hobby and a philosophy.

In the weeks before the Games, French voters considered – then narrowly thought better of – delivering their parliament to National Rally, one of many European populist parties whose gloomy platform is laced with vengeance. In the UK last week, idiot mobs who have internalised similar morbid nihilism, encouraged by local equivalents to National Rally, have decided that their self-pity justifies riot. The once proverbially optimistic US might yet re-elect a man whose entire schtick is bleating at his fellow citizens about how dreadful their country is.

Just as hosting an Olympic Games is a commendable act of optimism and confidence, the Games themselves are – or should be – an inspiring demonstration of what application and determination can accomplish. Nobody who stood on a podium this past fortnight got there by whingeing.

Andrew Mueller is a contributing editor at Monocle and presenter of ‘The Foreign Desk’ on Monocle Radio. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, arrived in China today for a 10-day state visit. Rabuka will meet Chinese premier Li Qiang and other officials during the trip, which is his first since assuming office in 2022. Since 1975, when Fiji became the first Pacific island nation to establish relations with China, the region has seen contentious tussling between Beijing and Taiwan over diplomatic recognition.

In a statement ahead of Rabuka’s arrival, the Chinese foreign ministry said that his visit “speaks to the close relations between China and the South Pacific region”. Currently, three Pacific island nations recognise Taiwan, while the majority maintain relations with China. Many Beijing-aligned countries, including Fiji, host Taiwanese trade missions. But the ratcheting up of China-Taiwan tensions has threatened even these unofficial outposts as China seeks to grow its regional influence through both economic assistance and political pressure.

The world-renowned makers of Oregon-based stop-motion animation studio Laika have flown hundreds of their film assets to London for BFI Southbank’s Frame X Frame exhibition, which opens today. The exhibition offers a behind-the-scenes look at the studio’s blend of technological innovation and artistic tradition. Puppets, props and armature rigs from all five of Laika’s Oscar-nominated features, which include Coraline and Missing Link, are on display.

“The team is a crazy crew of crazy geniuses,” Dan Pascal, Laika’s production manager tells The Monocle Minute. That collective is now gearing up for the forthcoming release, Wildwood. “It’s epic, tender and scary, and it’s a love letter to Portland, where Laika is based.” Frame X Frame is free to attend and accompanies a stop-motion season at the BFI (British Film Institute), which runs until October. The programme includes screenings and Q&As with the likes of animator Suzie Templeton and director Guillermo del Toro. “We want to elevate stop-motion in people’s minds,” says Justin Johnson, the BFI’s lead programmer. “It’s an underrepresented medium full of auteur filmmakers that deserve celebrating.”

For our seasonal newspaper, Monocle Mediterraneo, we follow Spain’s Catalan coast to L’Oliveta to meet the founders of plant-based beauty brand Rowse. Surrounded by olive groves, sunny skies and fresh ingredients, Monocle explores how the languid lifestyle that unfolds here every summer has become the pitch-perfect embodiment of the brand’s ethos.

To read the article and more sunny finds, pick up a copy of‘Monocle Mediterraneo’, which is available now.

In Monocle’s latest publication, France: The Monocle Handbook, you’ll discover our most cherished Gallic spots. We tour the country, from Marseille to Montpellier, Biarritz to Brittany, stopping by the best bistros, elegant ateliers and storied hotels to find out what makes this refined nation the world’s most visited. Plus, if you’re looking to stay a little longer, this handbook also highlights the perfect neighbourhood for your new home, and introduces you to the plucky entrepreneurs who have already made the move.