When a colleague asked me recently to translate the French word rentrée, I struggled. It basically means “back-to-school”, but it’s much wider than that. In a country where three-week summer vacations are the norm, the beginning of September is about more than just school. Paris empties out in August, with many restaurants closing for a month or more. Doctors disappear. Politicians leave their posts. In September, it’s all over. This year’s rentrée was even more abrupt than usual....
