French term
United Kingdom
MA with Distinction in Translation
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English
Seine-et-Marne, le vrai grand pari
For a university assignment I am translating a news article that mentions examples of a number of advertising slogans from various towns and regions in France, see below:
« Alès, la capitale qui ne manque pas d’air », « Sologne, de l’air », « Seine-et-Marne, le vrai grand pari »…
The article is discussing a trend during the lockdown in France where many people began to move out of their apartments in Paris or similar cities to a second home or new property in a smaller city or a more rural area of France. The above advertising slogans that it references are from posters on the Paris Métro that have been commissioned by the local governments or tourist boards of these towns or regions, presumably in an effort to increase tourism or encourage Parisians to move to these areas because they have more space and greenery there etc.
I had a look into the slogans and I think I understand the wordplay with "allez" and "Alès". However, I am not so sure I fully understand the "vrai grand pari" slogan. I understand that it could be a reference to "Grand Paris", the Greater Paris region or the initiative started by Sarkozy perhaps, but I'm not sure I fully understand the connection this has with the term "pari" which means a "bet" or "wager" if I'm not mistaken.
If any native French speakers could share their understanding of the slogan then I would be hugely grateful for the insight.
I also understand that the Sologne-Berry advertising campaign is aiming to highlight the fresh air and green space the region has in an effort to boost tourism, but I wanted to check if I have missed any wordplay or a reference to something particular.
So again, if any native French speakers would be able to share their understanding of that slogan as well, I would be super grateful if you have the time!
Thanks in advance if anyone has some time to take a look, it would be a huge help!
I have included links for context to each slogan below:
Alès:
https://www.ales.fr/actualites/ales-la-capitale-qui-ne-manqu...
Sologne:
https://www.berrysolognetourisme.com/2020/06/10/destination-...
Seine-et-Marne:
https://twitter.com/77_vivreengrand/status/12814848145631068...
https://www.facebook.com/254958284547502/posts/3318112868232...
PRO (2): philgoddard, John ANTHONY
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Proposed translations
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Don't translate these
http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2020/12/BREVILLE/62546
The wordplay doesn't translate. It's the opening paragraph, which must grab the reader's attention, and trying to render the slogans in English will make it unreadable.
I'd rewrite it, and say something like:
"They're everywhere you look on the Paris metro: advertising posters for towns and regions outside the city -- Alès, Sologne, Seine-et-Marne -- offering fresh air and a more relaxed lifestyle."
Since this is a university assignment, you'll get brownie points for stepping back from the source text and being creative.
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Note added at 8 hrs (2021-01-07 17:56:39 GMT)
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You could possibly even omit the placenames, as they won't mean much to English speakers
| agree |
Michele Fauble
1 hr
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| agree |
Sophie Cherel
: this is good advice, and I like the suggested alternative
16 hrs
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| agree |
ormiston
: Along the lines of 'getting away from it all' very appropriate nowadays!
20 hrs
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Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Seine-et-Marne, your best bet for a greater Paris!
France
Excellence, Expertise & Experience
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, British, Wales / Welsh, UK, Scottish)
Works in: French to English, English
Seine-et-Marne, Greater than Paris, take the leap! / Le 77, Greater than Paris, take the leap!
Try to keep the slogan as short and snappy as possible.
I would use wordplay rather than pun -- puns have a bad press.
The S in Alès is pronounced https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDF9XpODlEI, so there's no wordplay with "allez" there.
Same goes for Sologne -- straightforward.
Hope you get a good grade...
Now, if they really wanted to get tons of free publicity, my inner Michael O'Leary says they should use something involving S&M (Seine & Marne)!
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Note added at 11 hrs (2021-01-07 20:34:04 GMT)
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(77 is the department no. for Seine-et-Marne, and most French people will know most of the main ones. 77 is famous for the Disney park.)
Personally I think that the towns and certainly the different lifestyles and commutes they offer teleworkers is important.
Companies expect teleworkers to go into their offices maybe once a week, twice a week, once every two weeks, etc.
Alès is over 500 km from Paris, so you don't want to be doing that round-trip twice a week! Sologne is a shorter commute, and in 77 you're almost in the Paris suburbs (in the "grande couronne", the outer ring around Paris). So if you don't get this across, there's a loss of meaning.
Now, if you assume you're translating for a similar audience to Le Monde Diplo (VERY high-brow), you can leave the first two slogans alone, your audience will at least gather something about capital and air (or gloss something brief about fresh air), then get creative on the last one, which is do-able. You will score points for creativity (your gloss) and for bravery taking on a very nasty jeu de mots.
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Note added at 11 hrs (2021-01-07 20:44:16 GMT)
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oops - are important
Ultimately, I would dispute whether the Alès and Sologne ads are ads encouraging people to relocate. You get a few very high-earning Parisians in on holidays, and you've hit the jackpot. The Alès one, especially, is a really bad fit.
Discussion
Maybe the journalist is better at reading subtext than I am, but that's not the way you get across a message, in my opinion.
Of course I'm not denying the underlying trend.
This is of no real relevance to the question, but still.
Time required for a round-trip to Paris for a weekly meeting with colleagues for a teleworker? A very long day!
2) The graphic and text for Alès: https://www.ales.fr/actualites/ales-la-capitale-qui-ne-manqu...
These clearly fit with the thrust of the article, only problem being that Alès is at the opposite end of France, and that the ad says nothing about going to live in Alès. There is no message apart from "Alès is nice".
"Un appel d’air [another dodgy pun, draft/the call of fresh air]
L’idée est de capter l’intérêt des Franciliens qui désirent quitter la région parisienne suite au confinement : 42 % d’entre eux ont en effet déclaré vouloir vivre dans un endroit plus vert, plus calme, moins pollué ! Avec le slogan volontairement taquin “Alès, la capitale qui ne manque pas d’air”, la municipalité alésienne veut créer un appel d’air en direction de ces actifs, dont certains pourraient venir télé-travailler au pied des Cévennes"
But the Sologne graphics and text ("de l'air") clearly justify, in part, what I was saying in my answer. There is a logo for Berry Sologne tourism and some of the text reads:
"La Communauté de communes et l’Office Berry Sologne ***tourisme*** lancent à l’approche de la période estivale, une grande campagne de communication touristique à destination des parisiens et plus largement des franciliens."
Il s’agit de capter des ***touristes*** potentiellement en recherche d’une destination nature inédite proche de Paris, accessible à toutes les bourses et éloignée du tourisme de masse."
If you look at the two posters about Sologne including the one we have in the question, at:
https://www.cc-vierzon.fr/la-destination-berry-sologne-saffi...
I think we have a play on words with "air" and "aire de stationnement".
It seems a long shot but if you check out the reference above, you'll see why I think this.
A vrai dire, je ne pense pas qu'on ait voulu faire de l'humour...
Jeu de mots entre Paris et pari ( défi)