I internauternas land

Fransmännen har inte riktigt accepterat att Internet slog ut deras älskade Minitel. Dateline Seoul kåserar om Frankrikes splittrade förhållande till nätet

Sometimes it gets more than absurd. This summer I was biking in the Southwest of France. We eventually ended up in Cap Ferret, a posh beach community south of Bordeaux, where the real estate is as expensive as in Paris. We went looking for an internet café.

Now, Cap Ferret isn’t the biggest town in France, far from it. But it is one of the major tourist destinations in the summer, and in season it has a lot of visitors. There was ONE (1) internet café in Cap Ferret. When we finally found it, my friend went in to check his e-mail.

He came out looking slightly unfocused, and told me what happened:
– They have ONE computer inside, he said. There is a waiting list. The nice lady said I could have it for half an hour, tomorrow at noon.