Misplaced Pages

Culture of France: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 14:29, 13 June 2014 view sourceClueBot NG (talk | contribs)Bots, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers6,439,100 editsm Reverting possible vandalism by 173.225.57.203 to version by Bgwhite. False positive? Report it. Thanks, ClueBot NG. (1874167) (Bot)← Previous edit Revision as of 14:30, 13 June 2014 view source 173.225.57.203 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
n , ], ], [[Mar
{{POV|talk=Multiculturalist Bias|date=February 2014}}] painting by ] called ''']''' portrays the ] using the stylistic views of ]. Since Liberty is part of the motto «]», as the French put it, this painting has became the primary symbol of the ].]]
According to ] figures, household and family composition in ] continues to evolve. Most significantly,
{{Culture of France}}
The '''culture of ]''' and of the ] has been shaped by ], by profound ], and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular ], has played an important role as a center of ] since the 17th century, first in Europe, and from the 19th century on, world wide. From the late 19th century, France has also played an important role in ], ] and ]. The importance of French culture has waxed and waned over the centuries, depending on its economic, political and military importance. French culture today is marked both by great regional and socioeconomic differences and by strong unifying tendencies.

==Problems in defining "French" culture==
Wherever one comes from, "culture" consists of beliefs and values learned through the socialization process as well as material artifacts.<ref>Jary, D. and J. Jary. 1991. ''The HarperCollins Dictionary of Sociology'', page 101.</ref><ref>Hoult, T. F, ed. 1969. ''Dictionary of Modern Sociology,'' p. 93.</ref> "Culture is the learned set of beliefs, values, norms and material goods shared by group members. Culture consists of everything we learn in groups during the life course-from infancy to old age."<ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = |author2=Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = ''Society in Focus' | publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | isbn = 0-205-41365-X}}</ref>

The conception of "French" culture however poses certain difficulties and presupposes a series of assumptions about what precisely the expression "French" means. Whereas ] posits the notion of the "]" and ], the expression "French culture" tends to refer implicitly to a specific geographical entity (as, say, "]", generally excluding its ]) or to a specific historico-sociological group defined by ethnicity, language, religion and geography. The realities of "Frenchness" however, are extremely complicated. Even before the late 18th-19th century, "metropolitan France" was largely a patchwork of local customs and regional differences that the unifying aims of the ] and the ] had only begun to work against, and today's France remains a nation of numerous indigenous and foreign languages, of multiple ethnicities and religions, and of regional diversity that includes French citizens in ], ], ] and elsewhere around the globe.

The creation of some sort of typical or shared French culture or "]", despite this vast heterogeneity, is the result of powerful internal forces &mdash; such as the French educational system, mandatory military service, state linguistic and cultural policies &mdash; and by profound historic events &mdash; such as the ] and the two ] &mdash; which have forged a sense of national identity over the last 200 years. However, despite these unifying forces, France today still remains marked by social class and by important regional differences in culture (cuisine, dialect/accent, local traditions) that many fear will be unable to withstand contemporary social forces (depopulation of the countryside, immigration, centralization, market forces and the world economy).

In recent years, to fight the loss of regional diversity, many in France have promoted forms of ] and encouraged cultural enclaves (''communautarisme''), including reforms on the preservation of regional languages and the decentralization of certain government functions, but French multiculturalism has had a harder time of accepting, or of integrating into the collective identity, the large non-Christian and immigrant communities and groups that have come to France since the 1960s.

The last 70 years has also seen French cultural identity "threatened" by global market forces and by American "]". Since its dealings with the 1943 ] ] negotiations, France has fought for what it calls the '']'', meaning the right to subsidize or treat favorably domestic cultural production and to limit or control foreign cultural products (as seen in public funding for ] or the lower ] accorded to books). The notion of an explicit ''exception française'' however has angered many of France's critics.<ref>see, for example, Jonathan Fenby: ''On the Brink; the Trouble with France'' Warner Books London, 1943</ref>

The French are often perceived as taking a great pride in national identity and the positive achievements of France (the expression "]" is of French origin) and cultural issues are more integrated in the body of the politics than elsewhere (see "The Role of the State", below). The ] claimed ] for the democratic principles of the Republic. ] actively promoted a notion of French "grandeur" ("greatness"). Perceived declines in cultural status are a matter of national concern and have generated national debates, both from the left (as seen in the anti-globalism of ]) and from the right and far right (as in the discourses of the ]).

According to ], the culture of France is moderately individualistic and high Power Distance Index.

Now, the ] blending of some native French and newcomers stands as a vibrant and boasted feature of French culture, from popular music to movies and literature. Therefore, alongside mixing of populations, exists also a cultural blending (''le métissage culturel'') that is present in France. It may be compared to the traditional US conception of the ]. The French culture might have been already blended in from other races and ethnicities, in cases of some biographical research on the possibility of ] ancestry on a small number of famous French citizens. Author ] possessed one-fifth black Haitian descent, and ] ] who was born and raised in the ] from a plantation estate family.
We can mention as well, the most famous French-Canadian singer ] whose grandmother was a North African from ].<ref>Aïcha Saïd Ben Mohamed (1876 - 1930) was born in ], ''Généalogie Magazine, N° 233, p. 30/36''</ref>

For a long time, the only objection to such outcomes predictably came from the far-left schools of thought. In the past few years, other unexpected voices are however beginning to question what they interpret, as the ] ] coined the term, as an "Ideology of ]" (''une idéologie du métissage'') that may come from what one other philosopher, ], defined as the "Sob of the White man" (''le sanglot de l'homme blanc''). These critics have been dismissed by the mainstream and their propagators have been labelled as new ] (''les nouveaux réactionnaires''),<ref>Le Point, February 8, 2007</ref> even if ] and ] sentiment has recently been documented to be increasing in France at least according to one poll.<ref>{{Cite news | title=One in three French 'are racist' | date=2006-03-22 | accessdate=2006-05-03|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4832238.stm}}</ref>

==Language==
{{Main|French language|Languages of France|Language policy in France}}

The ] sets an official standard of ]; however, this standard, which is not mandatory, is even occasionally ignored by the government itself: for instance, the left-wing government of ] pushed for the feminization of the names of some functions (''madame la ministre'') while the ''Académie'' pushed for some more traditional ''madame le ministre''.

Some action has been taken by the government in order to promote French culture and the ]. For instance, there exists a system of subsidies and preferential loans for supporting ]. The ], from the name of the conservative culture minister who promoted it, makes it mandatory to use French in advertisements directed to the general public. Note that contrary to some misconception sometimes found in the Anglophone media, the French government neither regulates the language used by private parties in non-commercial settings, nor makes it compulsory that France-based ] sites should be in French.

France counts many regional languages, some of them being very different from standard French such as ] and ]. Some regional languages are ], like French, such as ]. The ] is completely unrelated to French and, indeed, to any other language in the world; its area straddles the border between the south west of France and the north of ]. Many of those languages have enthusiastic advocates; however, the real importance of local languages remains subject to debate. In April 2001, the Minister of Education, ], admitted formally that for more than two centuries, the political powers of the French government had repressed regional languages, and announced that ] would, for the first time, be recognized, and bilingual teachers recruited in French public schools. ] is taught in schools as a second language.

A revision of the ] creating official recognition of ] was implemented by the Parliament in Congress at Versailles in July 2008.<ref>Article 75-1: (a new article): "Les langues régionales appartiennent au patrimoine de la France" ("Regional languages belong to the patrimony of France"). See ].</ref>

==Religion==
{{Main|Religion in France}}
] is the Roman Catholic cathedral where the ] until 1805.]]

France is a ] country where freedom of thought and of ] is preserved, by virtue of the 1789 ]. The ] is based on the principle of '']'', that is of freedom of religion (including of ] and ]) enforced by the ] and the ], enacted at the beginning of the ] (1871–1940). A January 2007 poll found that 61% of the French population describe themselves as ], 21% as ], 4% as ], 3% as ], 1% as ], and 1% as ]. France guarantees freedom of religion as a constitutional right and the government generally respects this right in practice. A long history of violent conflict between groups led the state to break its ties to the Catholic Church early in the last century and adopt a strong commitment to maintaining a totally secular public sector.<ref>{{Ro icon}} (''France is no longer a Catholic country''), '']'', 2007-01-11; ], 10 January 2007]</ref>

===Catholicism===
{{Main|Roman Catholicism in France}}
The ] has always played a significant role in French culture and in French life. Most French people are Roman Catholic Christians, however many of them are secular but still place high value on ].

The ] faith is no longer considered the ], as it was before the ] and throughout the various, non-republican regimes of the 19th century (the ], the ] and the ]). The Official split of Catholic Church and State ("Séparation de l'Eglise et de l'Etat") took place in 1905, and this major reform emphazises the Laicist and anti-clericalist mood of French Radical Republicans in this period.

At the beginning of the 20th century, France was a largely rural country with conservative Catholic mores, but in the hundred years since then, the countryside has become depopulated, and the population has largely become more secular. A December 2006 poll by Harris Interactive, published in '']'', found that 32% of the French population described themselves as ], a further 32% as ] and only 27% believed in any type of God or supreme being.<ref>, Angus Reid Global Monitor, December 16, 2008</ref>

===Islam===
{{Main|Islam in France}}
]'' in Paris.]]

After Catholicism, ] is the second largest faith in France today, and the country has the largest Muslim population (in percentage) of any Western European country. This is a result of immigration and permanent family settlement in France, from the 1960s on, of groups from, principally, North Africa (], ], ], ]) and, to a lesser extent, other areas such as ] and ].<ref>Kidd and Reynolds, 104-5.</ref> While it is prohibited in France for the government census to collect data on religious beliefs, estimates and polls place the percentage of Muslims at between 4% and 7%.<ref>Kidd and Reynolds, for example, give a figure of 4 million Muslims, or 6.9%, based on sources dated 1993, 1994, 1999. (102). See ] for more on recent estimates.</ref>

===Judaism===
{{Main|History of the Jews in France}}
The current ] numbers around 600,000, according to the ] and 500,000 according to the Appel Unifié Juif de France, and is found mainly in the metropolitan areas of ], ] and ].

The ] of the ] in France dates back over 2,000 years. In the early ], France was a center of Jewish learning, but persecution increased as the Middle Ages wore on. France was the first country in Europe to emancipate its Jewish population during the ], but despite legal equality anti-Semitism remained an issue, as illustrated in the ] of the late 19th century. However, through the 1870 '']'', France secured full ] for the Jews in then French-ruled ]. Despite the death of a quarter of all French Jews during the ], France currently has the largest ] in ].

French Jews are mostly ] and span a range of religious affiliations, from the ultra-Orthodox ] communities to the large segment of Jews who are entirely secular.

===Buddhism===
{{Main|Buddhism in France}}
] is widely reported to be the fourth largest religion in France, after ], ], and ]. France has over two hundred Buddhist meditation centers, including about twenty sizable retreat centers in rural areas. The Buddhist population mainly consists of ] and ] immigrants, with a substantial minority of native French converts and "sympathizers". The rising popularity of Buddhism in France has been the subject of considerable discussion in the French media and academy in recent years.

===Cults and new religious movements===
France created in 2006 the first ] which led to a report registering a number of ]s considered as dangerous. Supporters of such movements have criticized the report on the grounds of ]. Proponents of the measure contend that only dangerous cults have been listed as such, and state secularism ensures religious freedom in France.

==Regional customs and traditions==
Modern France is the result of centuries of nation building and the acquisition and incorporation of a number of ] and ] into its geographical and political structure. These regions all evolved with their own specific cultural and linguistic traditions in ], ], ] and ], family structure, ], leisure activities, ], and including the simple way to pour wine, etc.

The evolution of the French state and culture, from the ] to today, has however promoted a ] of ], ] and cultural production in and around ] (and, to a lesser extent, around the other major urban centers), and the industrialization of the country in the 20th century has led to a massive move of ] from the countryside to urban areas. At the end of the 19th century, around 50% of the French depended on the land for a living; today French farmers only make up 6-7%, while 73% live in cities.<ref>Kidd and Reynolds, 30-31.</ref> ] abounds in scenes of provincial youth "coming up" to Paris to "make it" in the cultural, political or social scene of the capital (this scheme is frequent in the novels of ]). Policies enacted by the ] also encouraged this displacement through mandatory military service, a centralized national educational system, and suppression of regional languages. While government policy and public debate in France in recent years has returned to a valorization of regional differences and a call for decentralization of certain aspects of the public sphere (sometimes with ethnic, racial or reactionary overtones), the history of regional displacement and the nature of the modern urban environment and of mass media and culture have made the preservation of a regional "sense of place or culture" in today's France extremely difficult.

The names of the historical French provinces &mdash; such as ] (''Bretagne''), ], ], ] (''Normandie''), ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] (''Gascogne''), ] (''Bourgogne''), ] (''Picardie''), ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] (''Corse''), ] (''Savoie'')... (please see individual articles for specifics about each regional culture) &mdash; are still used to designate natural, historical and cultural regions, and many of them appear in modern région or département names. These names are also used by the French in their self-identification of family origin.

Regional identification is most pronounced today in cultures linked to regional languages and non-French-speaking traditions - ] itself being only a dialect of ], the mother language of many of the languages to-be-mentioned, which became a national ], like (in alphabetical order): ], ], ], Brezhoneg (]), ], Corsu (]), Català (]), ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ],etc., and some of these regions have promoted movements calling for some degree of regional autonomy, and, occasionally, national independence (see, for example, ], ] and ]).

There are huge differences in life style, socioeconomic status and world view between Paris and the provinces. The French often use the expression "la ]" ("Deep France", similar to "]") to designate the profoundly "French" aspects of provincial towns, village life and rural agricultural culture, which escape the hegemony of Paris. The expression can however have a pejorative meaning, similar to the expression "le désert français" ("the French desert") used to describe a lack of acculturation of the provinces. Another expression, "]" is a French term originally used for wine and coffee to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon these products. It can be very loosely translated as "a sense of place" which is embodied in certain qualities, and the sum of the effects that the local environment (especially the "soil") has had on the growth of the product. The use of the term has since been generalized to talk about many cultural products.

In addition to its metropolitan territory, France also consists of ] made up of its former ] of ], ] and ] in the ], and ] and ] in the ]. (There also exist a number of "]" and "]". For a full discussion, see ]. Since 1982, following the ]’s policy of ], overseas departments have elected regional councils with powers similar to those of the ] of metropolitan France. As a result of a constitutional revision which occurred in 2003, these regions are now to be called ].) These overseas departments have the same political status as metropolitan departments and are integral parts of France, (similar to the way in which ] is a state and an integral part of the ]), yet they also have specific cultural and linguistic traditions which set them apart. Certain elements of overseas culture have also been introduced to metropolitan culture (as, for example, the musical form the ]).

Industrialization, immigration and urbanization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have also created new socioeconomic regional communities in France, both urban (like ], ], ], ], ], etc.) and the suburban and working class hinterlands (like ]) of urban agglomerations (called variously '']s'' ("]s", sometimes qualified as "chic" or "pauvres") or ''les cités'' ("]s") which have developed their own "sense of place" and local culture (much like the various ] of ] or suburbs of ]), as well as cultural identity.

==Other specific communities==
] has traditionally been associated with alternative, artistic or intellectual subcultures, many of which involved foreigners. Such subcultures include the "]" of the mid-nineteenth century, the ], artistic circles of the ] (around such artists as ] and ]), the ]ists, ], the "]" (], ]) and the post-war "intellectuals" associated with ] (], ]).

France has an estimated 280,000-340,000 ], generally known as ''Gitans'', ''Tsiganes'', ''Romanichels'' (slightly pejorative), ''Bohémiens'', or ''Gens du voyage'' ("travellers").

There are gay and lesbian communities in the cities, particularly in the ] metropolitan area (such as in ] district of the capital). Although homosexuality is perhaps not as well tolerated in France as in ], ], and the ] nations, surveys of the French public reveal a considerable shift in attitudes comparable to other Western European nations. As of 2001, 55% of the French consider homosexuality "an acceptable lifestyle."<ref></ref> The past mayor of Paris, ], is gay.
In 2006, an Ipsos survey shows that 62% support same-sex marriage, while 37% were opposed. 55% believed gay and lesbian couples should not have parenting rights, while 44% believe same-sex couples should be able to adopt.<ref></ref>
See also ].

==Social class==
{{Main|Social class in France}}
Despite the egalitarian aspects of French society, French culture remains marked by social-economic class and by many class distinctions{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}.

==Families and romantic relationships==

===Household structure===
Growing out of the values of the Catholic Church and rural communities, the basic unit of French society was traditionally held to be the family.<ref>Kelley, "Family", 100.</ref> Over the twentieth century, the "traditional" family structure in France has evolved from ] to, after World War II, ]. Since the 1960s, marriages have decreased and divorces have increased in France, and divorce law and legal family status have evolved to reflect these social changes.<ref>''Ibid.''</ref>

According to ] figures, household and family composition in ] continues to evolve. Most significantly, from 1982 to 1999, ] have increased from 3.6% to 7.4%; there have also been increases in the number of ]s, childless couples, and single men (from 8.5% to 12.5) and women (from 16.0% to 18.5%). Their analysis indicates that "one in three dwellings are occupied by a person living alone; one in four dwellings are occupied by a childless couple.." <ref>http://www.insee.fr/en/ffc/chifcle_fiche.asp?ref_id=NATTEF02313&tab_id=31</ref>

Voted by the ] in November 1999 following some controversy, the '']'' ("civil pact of solidarity") commonly known as a ''PACS'', is a form of ] between two adults (same-sex or opposite-sex) for organizing their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than ]. From a legal standpoint, a PACS is a "contract" drawn up between the two individuals, which is stamped and registered by the clerk of the court. Individuals who have registered a PACS are still considered "single" with regard to family status for some purposes, while they are increasingly considered in the same way as married couples are for other purposes. While it was pushed by the government of Prime Minister ] in 1998, it was also opposed, mostly by people on the ] who support traditionalist ] and who argued that PACS and the recognition of homosexual unions would be disastrous for French society.

Currently, ] is legally recognized in France. However, same sex marriage was a large contributing factor in the presidential election of 2012 between ] and ]. Sarkozy, who represents the right-wing ] party opposed gay marriage, while François Hollande, of the left wing ] supported it. Hollande was elected in May 2012 and the French legislative branch is currently in the process of writing and enacting a law for same-sex marriage.

==Role of the State==
The French state has traditionally played an important role in promoting and supporting culture through the educational, linguistic, cultural and economic policies of the government and through its promotion of national identity. Because of the closeness of this relationship, cultural changes in France are often linked to, or produce, political crisis.<ref>Kelley, 246-7.</ref>

The relationship between the French state and culture is an old one. Under ]'s minister ], the independent ] came under state supervision and became an official organ of control over the French language and seventeenth-century literature. During ]'s reign, his minister ] brought French luxury industries, like textile and porcelain, under royal control and the architecture, furniture, fashion and etiquette of the royal court (particularly at the ]) became the preeminent model of noble culture in France (and, to a great degree, throughout Europe) during the latter half of the seventeenth century.

At times, French state policies have sought to unify the country around certain cultural norms, while at other times they have promoted regional differences within a heterogeneous French identity. The unifying effect was particularly true of the "radical period"" of the ] which fought regionalisms (including regional languages), supported anti-clericalism and a strict separation of church from state (including education) and actively promoted national identity, thus converting (as the historian ] has put it) a "country of peasants into a nation of Frenchmen". The ], on the other hand, promoted regional "folk" traditions.

The cultural policies of the (current) ] have been varied, but a consensus seems to exist around the need for preservation of French regionalisms (such as food and language) as long as these don't undermine national identity. Meanwhile, the French state remains ambivalent over the integration into "French" culture of cultural traditions from recent immigrant groups and from foreign cultures, particularly American culture (movies, music, fashion, fast food, language, etc.). There also exists a certain fear over the perceived loss of French identity and culture in the European system and under American "cultural hegemony".

===Education===
{{Main|Education in France}}

The French educational system is highly centralised. It is divided into three different stages: primary education, or ''enseignement primaire, ''corresponding to grade school in the United States; secondary education, or '']'' and ''], ''corresponding to middle and high school in the United States; and higher education (]<nowiki/> or ''les ] ]'').

Primary and secondary education is predominantly public (private schools also exist, in particular a strong nationwide network of primary and secondary ]), while higher education has both public and private elements. At the end of secondary education, students take the ] exam, which allows them to pursue higher education. The baccalauréat pass rate in 2012 was 84.5%.

In 1999–2000, educational spending amounted to 7% of the French GDP and 37% of the national budget.

France's performance in math and science at the middle school level was ranked 23 in the 1995 ].<ref>TIMSS 1995 Highlights of Results for the Middle School Years . France has not participated in later TIMSS studies. </ref>

Since the ] of 1881-2, named after the then Minister of Public Instruction, all state-funded schools, including universities, are independent from the (Roman Catholic) Church. Education in these institutions is free. Non-secular institutions are allowed to organize education as well. The French educational system differs strongly from Northern-European and American systems in that it stresses the importance of partaking in a society as opposed to being responsibly independent.

Secular educational policy has become critical in recent issues of French multiculturalism, as in the "]".

===Minister of Culture===
{{Main|Minister of Culture (France)}}
The Minister of Culture is in the ], the ] in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts (visual, plastic, theatrical, musical, dance, architectural, literary, televisual and cinematographic) in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture" (culture centres). The Ministry of Culture is located on the ] in ].

The modern post of Minister of Culture was created by ] in 1959 and the first Minister was the writer ]. Malraux was responsible for realizing the goals of the "droit à la culture" ("the right to culture") -- an idea which had been incorporated in the ] and the ] (1948) -- by democratizing access to culture, while also achieving the ] aim of elevating the "grandeur" ("greatness") of post-war France. To this end, he created numerous regional cultural centres throughout France and actively sponsored the arts. Malraux's artistic tastes included the modern arts and the avant-garde, but on the whole he remained conservative.

The Ministry of ] was notable for a number of laws (the "]s") enacted for the preservation of the ], both in advertisements (all ads must include a French translation of foreign words) and on the radio (40% of songs on French radio stations must be in French), ostensibly in reaction to the presence of English.

===Académie française===
{{Main|Académie française}}
The ''Académie française'', or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the ]. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by ], the chief minister to ]. Suppressed in 1793 during the ], it was restored in 1803 by ] (the Académie considers itself having been suspended, not suppressed, during the revolution). It is the oldest of the five ''académies'' of the ].

The Académie consists of forty members, known as ''immortels'' (immortals). New members are elected by the members of the Académie itself. Académicians hold office for life, but they may be removed for misconduct. The body has the task of acting as an official authority on the language; it is charged with publishing an official dictionary of the language. Its rulings, however, are only advisory; not binding on either the public or the government.

===Military service===
Until 1996, France had compulsory ] of young men. This has been credited by historians for further promoting a unified national identity and by breaking down regional isolationism.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

===Labor and employment policy===
In France, the first labour laws were ]'s laws passed in 1884. Between 1936 and 1938 the ] enacted a law mandating 12 days (2 weeks) each year of paid ] for workers, and a ] limiting the work week to 40 hours, excluding overtime. The ] negotiated on May 25 and 26th in the middle of the May 1968 crisis, reduced the working week to 44 hours and created trade union sections in each enterprise.<ref>]'' December 27, 1968 law</ref> The minimum wage was also increased by 25%.<ref>]</ref> In 2000 ]'s government then enacted the ], down from 39 hours. Five years later, conservative prime minister ] enacted the ] (CNE). Addressing the demands of employers asking for more flexibility in French labour laws, the CNE sparked criticism from trade unions and opponents claiming it was lending favour to ]. In 2006 he then attempted to pass the ] (CPE) through a vote by emergency procedure, but that it was met by ]. President ] finally had no choice but to repeal it.

===Healthcare and social welfare===
The French are profoundly committed to the public healthcare system (called "sécurité sociale") and to their "pay-as-you-go" social welfare system.

In 1998, 75% of health payments in France were paid through the public healthcare system. Since 27 July 1999, France has a universal medical coverage for permanent residents in France (stable residence for more than three months). Using five performance indicators to measure health systems in 191 member states, it finds that France provides the best overall health care followed among major countries by Italy, Spain, Oman, Austria and Japan (The World Health Report).

==Lifestyle==

===Food and alcohol===
{{Main|French cuisine}}
Traditional French culture places a high priority on the enjoyment of food. French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by ] to become the modern version of '']''. Escoffier's major work, however, left out much of the regional character to be found in the provinces of France. Gastro-tourism and the '']'' helped to bring people to the countryside during the 20th century and beyond, to sample this rich '']'' and ] cuisine of France. ] has also been a great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France.

Ingredients and dishes vary by region (see: ]). There are many significant regional dishes that have become both national and regional. Many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. ] (see: ]) and ] (see: ]) are also a major part of the cuisine, playing different roles both regionally and nationally with their many variations and '']'' (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws, (] from ] also have an AOC status). Another French product of special note is the ].

]. Crêpes are originally from ].]]
The French typically eat only a simple breakfast ("petit déjeuner") which consists of ] or ], served traditionally in a large handleless "bol" (bowl) and ] or breakfast pastries (]). Lunch ("déjeuner") and dinner ("dîner") are the main meals of the day. Formal four course meals consist of a starter course ("entrée"), a ], a main course ("plat principal"), and finally a cheese or dessert course. While French cuisine is often associated with rich desserts, in most homes dessert consists of only ] or ].

Food shopping in France was formerly done almost daily in small local shops and markets, but the arrival of the ] and the even larger ''"hypermarchés"'' (large-surface distributors) in France have disrupted this tradition. With depopulation of the countryside, many towns have been forced to close shops and markets.

Rates of ] and ] in France have traditionally been lower than in other north-western European countries. This is sometimes called the ] (see, for example, ]'s 2006 book ''French Women Don't Get Fat''). French cuisine and eating habits have however come under great pressure in recent years from modern ], American products and the new global agricultural industry. While French youth culture has gravitated toward fast food and American eating habits (with an attendant rise in obesity), the French in general have remained committed to preserving certain elements of their food culture through such activities as including programs of taste acquisition in their public schools, by the use of the ] laws, and by state and European subsides to the French agricultural industry. Emblematic of these tensions is the work of ], who founded in 1987, the ''Confédération Paysanne'', an agricultural union that places its highest political values on humans and the environment, promotes ] and opposes genetically modified organisms; Bové's most famous protest was the dismantling of a ] franchise in ] (]), in 1999.

In France, ] is used in the continental manner (with the fork in the left hand, prongs facing down and the knife in the right hand). French etiquette prohibits the placing of hands below the table and the placing of elbows on it.


Rates of ] and ] in France have traditionally been lower than in other north-western European countries. This is sometimes called the ] (see, for example, ]'s 2006 book ''French Women
The legal drinking age is officially 18 (see: ]). The legal drinking age is officially 18 (see: ]).


Revision as of 14:30, 13 June 2014

n , Villeurbanne, Lille, [[Mar According to INSEE figures, household and family composition in metropolitan France continues to evolve. Most significantly,

Rates of obesity and heart disease in France have traditionally been lower than in other north-western European countries. This is sometimes called the French paradox (see, for example, Mireille Guiliano's 2006 book French Women The legal drinking age is officially 18 (see: Legal drinking age).

France is one of the oldest wine producing regions of Europe. France now produces the most wine by value in the world (although Italy rivals it by volume and Spain has more land under cultivation for wine grapes). Bordeaux wine, Bourgogne wine and Champagne are important agricultural products.

Tobacco and drugs

The cigarette smoking age is 18 years. According to a widespread cliché, smoking has been part of French culture — actually figures indicate that in terms of consumption per capita, France is only the 60th country out of 121.

France, from 1 February 2007, tightened the existing ban on smoking in public places found in the 1991 Évin law: Law n°91-32 of 10 January, 1991, containing a variety of measures against alcoholism and tobacco consumption.

Smoking is now banned in all public places (stations, museums, etc.); an exception exists for special smoking rooms fulfilling drastic conditions, see below. A special exemption was made for cafés and restaurants, clubs, casinos, bars, etc. which ended, 1 January 2008. Opinion polls suggest 70% of people support the ban. Previously, under the former implementation rules of the 1991 Évin law, restaurants, cafés etc. just had to provide smoking and non-smoking sections, which in practice were often not well separated.

Under the new regulations, smoking rooms are allowed, but are subjected to very strict conditions: they may occupy at most 20% of the total floor space of the establishment and their size may not be more than 35 m²; they need to be equipped with separate ventilation which replaces the full volume of air ten times per hour; the air pressure of the smoking room must constantly be lower than the pressure in the contiguous rooms; they have doors that close automatically; no service can be provided in the smoking rooms; cleaning and maintenance personnel may enter the room only one hour after it was last used for smoking.

Popular French cigarette brands include Gauloises and Marlboro.

The possession, sale and use of cannabis (predominantly Moroccan hashish) is illegal in France. Since 1 March 1994, the penalties for cannabis use are from two months to a year and/or a fine, while possession, cultivation or trafficking of the drug can be punished much more severely, up to ten years. According to a 1992 survey by SOFRES, 4.7 million French people ages 12–44 have smoked cannabis at least once in their lives.

Sports and hobbies

Main article: Sport in France

Football (French: Le Foot) is the most popular sport in France. Other popular sports played in France are rugby union, cycling, tennis, handball, basketball and sailing. France is notable for holding and winning the FIFA World Cup in 1998, and holding the annual cycling race Tour de France, and the tennis Grand Slam tournament the French Open. Sport is encouraged in school, and local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments. While football is definitely the most popular, rugby union and rugby league takes dominance in the southwest, especially around the city of Toulouse (see: Rugby union in France and Rugby league in France).

The modern Olympics was invented in France, in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin.

Professional sailing in France is centred on singlehanded and shorthanded ocean racing with the pinnacle of this branch of the sport being the Vendee Globe singlehanded around the world race which starts every 4 years from the French Atlantic coast. Other significant events include the Solitaire du Figaro, Mini Transat 6.50, Tour de France a Voile and Route du Rhum transatlantic race. France has been a regular competitor in the America's Cup since the 1970s.

Other important sports include:

Like other cultural areas in France, sport is overseen by a government ministry, the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (France) which is in charge of national and public sport associations, youth affairs, public sports centers and national stadia (like the Stade de France).

Fashion

Main article: French fashion

Along with Milan, London and New York, Paris is center of an important number of fashion shows. Some of the world's biggest fashion houses (ex: Chanel) have their headquarters in France.

The association of France with fashion ( Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) dates largely to the reign of Louis XIV when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe.

France renewed its dominance of the high fashion ( Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) industry in the years 1860–1960 through the establishing of the great couturier houses, the fashion press (Vogue was founded in 1892; Elle was founded in 1945) and fashion shows. The first modern Parisian couturier house is generally considered the work of the Englishman Charles Frederick Worth who dominated the industry from 1858 to 1895. In the early twentieth century, the industry expanded through such Parisian fashion houses as the house of Chanel (which first came to prominence in 1925) and Balenciaga (founded by a Spaniard in 1937). In the post war year, fashion returned to prominence through Christian Dior's famous "new look" in 1947, and through the houses of Pierre Balmain and Hubert de Givenchy (opened in 1952). In the 1960s, "high fashion" came under criticism from France's youth culture while designers like Yves Saint Laurent broke with established high fashion norms by launching prêt-à-porter ("ready to wear") lines and expanding French fashion into mass manufacturing and marketing. Further innovations were carried out by Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin. With a greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established in the 70s and 80s by Sonia Rykiel, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix. The 1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants and multinationals such as LVMH.

Since the 1960s, France's fashion industry has come under increasing competition from London, New York, Milan and Tokyo, and the French have increasingly adopted foreign (particularly American) fashions (such as jeans, tennis shoes). Nevertheless, many foreign designers still seek to make their careers in France.

Pets

This section needs expansion. You can help by making an edit requestadding to it . (February 2012)

In 2006, 52% of French households had at least one pet: In total, 9.7 million cats, 8.8 million dogs, 2.3 million rodents, 8 million birds, and 28 million fish were kept as pets in France during this year.

Media and art

Art and museums

Main article: French art

The first paintings of France are those that are from prehistoric times, painted in the caves of Lascaux well over 10,000 years ago. The arts were already flourishing 1,200 years ago, at the time of Charlemagne, as can be seen in many hand made and hand illustrated books of that time.

Gothic art and architecture originated in France in the 12th century around Paris and then spread to all of Europe. In the 13th century, French craftsmen developed the stained glass painting technique and sophisticated illuminated manuscripts for private devotion in the new gothic style. The final phase of gothic architecture, known as Flamboyant, also began in France in the 15th century before spreading to the rest of Europe.

The 17th century was one of intense artistic achievements : French painting emerged with a distinct identity, moving from Baroque to Classicism. Famous classic painters of the 17th century in France are Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain. French architecture also proved influential with the Palace of Versailles, built for the powerful king Louis XIV, becoming the model of many European royal palaces. During the 18th century the Rococo style emerged as a frivolous continuation of the Baroque style. The most famous painters of the era were Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. At the end of the century, Jacques-Louis David and Dominique Ingres were the most influential painters of the Neoclassicism.

Géricault and Delacroix were the most important painters of the Romanticism. Afterwards, the painters were more realistic, describing nature (Barbizon school). The realistic movement was led by Courbet and Honoré Daumier. Impressionism was developed in France by artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro. At the turn of the century, France had become more than ever the center of innovative art. The Spaniard Pablo Picasso came to France, like many other foreign artists, to deploy his talents there for decades to come. Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin and Cézanne were painting then. Cubism is an avant-garde movement born in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Louvre in Paris is one of the most famous and the largest art museums in the world, created by the new revolutionary regime in 1793 in the former royal palace. It holds a vast amount of art of French and other artists, e.g. the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, and classical Greek Venus de Milo and ancient works of culture and art from Egypt and the Middle East.

Music

Main article: Music of France

France boasts a wide variety of indigenous folk music, as well as styles played by immigrants from Africa, Latin America and Asia. In the field of classical music, France has produced a number of notable composers such as Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy, and Hector Berlioz while modern pop music has seen the rise of popular French hip hop, French rock, techno/funk, and turntablists/djs.

The Fête de la Musique was created in France (first held in 1982), a music festival, which has since become worldwide . It takes place every June 21, on the first day of summer.

Theater

Main article: Theater of France

Cinema

Main article: Cinema of France

France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions: Antoine Lumière realized, on 28 December 1895, the first projection, with the Cinematograph, in Paris. Philippe Binant realized, on 2 February 2000, the first digital cinema projection in Europe, with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments, in Paris. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle Vague, began in the country.

Additionally, France is an important Francophone film production country. A certain amount of the movies created share international distribution in the western hemisphere thanks to Unifrance. Although French cinema industry is rather small in terms of budget and revenues, it enjoys qualitative screenplay, cast and story telling. French Cinema is often portrayed as more liberal in terms of subjects (Sex, Society, Politics, Historical). Within the domestic market, French movies are ranked through n° of entries. Movies are premiered on Wednesdays.

"Going to the movies" is a popular activity within metropolitan areas. Many cinema operators offer a "flat-rate pass" for approx. €20 per month. Prices per movie range between €5.50 and €10.

French major cinema operators are UGC and Pathé, mainly located in city suburbs due to the number of screens and seating capacity.

Within France many "small" cinemas are located in the downtown parts of a city, resisting the big cinema operators nationwide. Paris has the highest density of cinemas (movie theaters) in the world: biggest number of movie theaters per inhabitants, and that in most "downtown Paris" movie theaters, foreign movies which would be secluded to "art houses" cinemas in other places, are shown alongside "mainstream" works as Parisians are avid movie-goers. Proximity of restaurants, accessibility, ambiance and the showing of alternative foreign movies is often cited as being the advantage of these small theaters.

The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of films, movie documents and film-related objects in the world. Located in Paris, the Cinémathèque holds daily screenings of films unrestricted by country of origin.

Television

Main article: Television in France

Books, newspapers and magazines

Main articles: French media and French literature

France has the reputation of being a "literary culture", and this image is reinforced by such things as the importance of French literature in the French educational system, the attention paid by the French media to French book fairs and book prizes (like the Prix Goncourt, Prix Renaudot or Prix Femina) and by the popular success of the (former) literary television show "Apostrophes" (hosted by Bernard Pivot).

Although the official literacy rate of France is 99%, some estimates have placed functional illiteracy at between 10% and 20% of the adult population (and higher in the prison population).

While reading remains a favorite pastime of French youth today, surveys show that it has decreased in importance compared to music, television, sports and other activities. The crisis of academic publishing has also hit France (see, for example, the financial difficulties of the Presses universitaires de France (PUF), France's premier academic publishing house, in the 1990s).

Literary taste in France remains centered on the novel (26.4% of book sales in 1997), although the French read more non-fiction essays and books on current affairs than the British or Americans. Contemporary novels, including French translations of foreign novels, lead the list (13% of total books sold), followed by sentimental novels (4.1%), detective and spy fiction (3.7%), "classic" literature (3.5%), science fiction and horror (1.3%) and erotic fiction (0.2%). About 30% of all fiction sold in France today is translated from English (authors such as William Boyd, John le Carré, Ian McEwan, Paul Auster and Douglas Kennedy are well received).

An important subset of book sales is comic books (typically Franco-Belgian comics like The Adventures of Tintin and Astérix) which are published in a large hardback format; comic books represented 4% of total book sales in 1997. French artists have made the country a leader in the graphic novel genre and France hosts the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Europe's preeminent comics festival.

Like other areas of French culture, book culture is influenced, in part, by the state, in particular by the "Direction du livre et de la lecture" of the Ministry of Culture, which oversees the "Centre national du livre" (National Book Center). The French Ministry of Industry also plays a role in price control. Finally, the VAT for books and other cultural products in France is at the reduced rate of 5.5%, which is also that of food and other necessities (see here).

In terms of journalism in France, the regional press (see list of newspapers in France) has become more important than national dailies (such as Le Monde and Le Figaro) over the past century: in 1939, national dailies were 2/3 of the dailies market, while today they are less than 1/4. The magazine market is currently dominated by TV listings magazines followed by news magazines such as Le Nouvel Observateur, L'Express and Le Point.

Architecture and housing

Main article: French architecture

Transportation

Main article: Transport in France

There are significant differences in lifestyles with respect to transportation between very urbanized regions such as Paris, and smaller towns and rural areas. In Paris, and to a lesser extent in other major cities, many households do not own an automobile and simply use efficient public transport. The cliché about the Parisien is rush hour in the Métro subway. However, outside of such areas, ownership of one or more cars is standard, especially for households with children.

The TGV high-speed rail network, train à grande vitesse is a fast rail transport which serves several areas of the country and is self-financing. There are plans to reach most parts of France and many other destinations in Europe in coming years. Rail services to major destinations are punctual and frequent.

Holidays

Main article: Public holidays in France

Despite the principles of laïcité and the separation of church from state, public and school holidays in France generally follow the Roman Catholic religious calendar (including Easter, Christmas, Ascension Day, Pentecost, Assumption of Mary, All Saints Day, etc.). Labor Day and the National Holiday are the only business holidays determined by government statute; the other holidays are granted by convention collective (agreement between employers' and employees' unions) or by agreement of the employer.

The five holiday periods of the public school year are:

  • the vacances de la Toussaint (All Saints Day) - one and a half weeks starting near the end of October.
  • the vacances de Noël (Christmas) - two weeks, ending after New Years.
  • the vacances d'hiver (winter) - two weeks in February and March.
  • the vacances de printemps (spring), formerly vacances de Pâques (Easter) - two weeks in April and May.
  • the vacances d'été (summer), or grandes vacances (literally: big holidays) - two months in July and August.

On May 1, Labour Day (La Fête du Travail) the French give flowers of Lily of the Valley (Le Muguet) to one another.

The National holiday (called Bastille Day in English) is on the 14 of July. Military parades, called Défilés du 14 juillet, are held, the largest on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.

On November 2, All Souls Day (La Fête des morts), the French traditionally bring chrysanthemums to the tombs of departed family members.

On November 11, Remembrance Day (Le Jour de la Commémoration or L' Armistice) is an official holiday.

Christmas is generally celebrated in France on Christmas Eve by a traditional meal (typical dishes include oysters, boudin blanc and the bûche de Noël), by opening presents and by attending the midnight mass (even among Catholics who do not attend church at other times of the year).

Candlemas (La Chandeleur) is celebrated with crêpes. The popular saying is that if the cook can flip a crêpe singlehandedly with a coin in the other hand, the family is assured of prosperity throughout the coming year.

The Anglo-Saxon and American holiday Halloween has grown in popularity following its introduction in the mid-1990s by the trade associations. The growth seems to have stalled during the following decade.

Conventions

  • France is the home of the International System of Units (the metric system). Some pre-metric units are still used, essentially the livre (a unit of weight equal to half a kilogram) and the quintal (a unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms).
  • In mathematics, France uses the infix notation like most countries. For large numbers the long scale is used. Thus, the French use the word billion for the number 1,000,000,000,000, which in countries using short scale is called a trillion. However, there exists a French word, milliard, for the number 1,000,000,000, which in countries using the short scale is called a billion. Thus, despite the use of the long scale, one billion is called un milliard ("one milliard") in French, and not mille millions ("one thousand million"). It should also be noted that names of numbers above the milliard are rarely used. Thus, one trillion will most often be called mille milliards (“one thousand milliard”) in French, and rarely un billion.
  • In the French numeral notation, the comma (,) is the decimal separator, whereas a space is used between each group of three digits (fifteen million five hundred thousand and thirty-two should be written as 15 500 032). In finance, the currency symbol is used as a decimal separator or put after the number. For example, €25,048.05 is written either 25 048€05 or 25 048,05 € (always with an extra space between the figure and the currency symbol).
  • In computing, a bit is called a bit yet a byte is called an octet (from the Latin root octo, meaning "8"). SI prefixes are used.
  • 24-hour clock time is used, with h being the separator between hours and minutes (for example 2:30 pm is 14h30).
  • The all-numeric form for dates is in the order day-month-year, using a slash as the separator (example: 31/12/1992 or 31/12/92).

See also

References

  • Bernstein, Richard. Fragile Glory: A Portrait of France and the French. Plume, 1991.
  • Carroll, Raymonde. Carol Volk, translator. Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience. University of Chicago Press, 1990.
  • Darnton, Robert. The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History. Vintage, 1984. ISBN 0-394-72927-7
  • Dauncey, Hugh, ed. French Popular Culture: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press (Arnold Publishers), 2003.
  • DeJean, Joan. The Essence of Style: How The French INvented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafés, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour. New York: Free Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-7432-6413-6
  • Forbes, Jill and Michael Kelly, eds. French Cultural Studies: An Introduction. Clarendon Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-871501-3
  • Girod, André. " French-American class: It's a long way to France" Redleadbooks <www.usa-decouverte.com>
  • Gopnik, Adam. Paris to the Moon. Random House, 2001.
  • Hall, Edward Twitchell and Mildred Reed Hall. Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French and Americans. Intercultural Press, 1990.
  • Howarth, David and Georgios Varouzakis. Contemporary France: An Introduction to French Politics and Society. New York: Oxford University Press (Arnold Publishers), 2003. ISBN 0-340-74187-2
  • Kelly, Michael. French Culture and Society: The Essentials. New York: Oxford University Press (Arnold Publishers), 2001. (A Reference Guide)
  • Kidd, William and Siân Reynolds, eds. Contemporary French Cultural Studies. Arnold Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-340-74050-7
  • Marmer, Nancy, "Out of Paris: Decentralizing French Art," Art in America, September 1986, pp. 124–137, 155-157.
  • Nadeau, Jean-Benoît and Julie Barlow. Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong: Why We Love France But Not The French. Sourcebooks Trade, 2003. ISBN 1-4022-0045-5
  • Robb, Graham. The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, from the Revolution to the First World War. New York: Norton, 2007. ISBN 978-0-393-05973-1
  • Template:Fr icon Wylie, Laurence and Jean-François Brière. Les Français. 3rd edition. Prentice Hall, 2001.
  • Zedlin, Theodore and Philippe Turner, eds. The French. Kodansha International, 1996.

Notes

  1. Decree n°2006-1386 over 15th November, 2006 taken as application of article L3511-7 of the Public Health Code, banning smoking in public places.
  2. "France to ban smoking in public". BBC News. 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
  3. http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/boekhout.france.html
  4. Kelly, 101. DeJean, chapters 2-4.
  5. Kelly, 101.
  6. Dauncey, 195.
  7. Le marché des aliments pour chiens et chats en Belgique. Mission Economique de Bruxelles, 2006. Read this document (in French) PDF
  8. Alan Riding (February 28, 1995). "The Birthplace Celebrates Film's Big 1-0-0". The New York Times.
  9. December 28, 1895.
  10. Cahiers du cinéma, n°hors-série, Paris, April 2000, p. 32 (cf. also Histoire des communications, 2011, p. 10.).
  11. 20 questions about studying in France |url=http://old.campusfrance.org/en/a-etudier/faq.htm
  12. Theodore Zedlin, quoted in Kidd and Reynolds, 266
  13. ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 261.
  14. Kidd and Reynolds, 266.
  15. Kidd and Reynolds, 258 and 264.
  16. Kidd and Reynolds, 265.
  17. ^ Donald Morrison, "The Death of French Culture", Time, Wednesday Nov. 21, 2007. {http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1686532,00.html}
  18. Kidd and Reynolds, 264.
  19. Kidd and Reynolds, 232.
  20. Kidd and Reynolds, 236
  21. French schoolyear calendar {fr}
  22. International System of Units (SI) - Physics Laboratory
  23. English translation of "Octet" on Reverso

-

External links

France topics
History
Overviews
Regions
Ancient
Middle Ages
Early Modern
Revolution
Late Modern
Contemporary
Geography
Politics
Economy
Society
Culture
Culture of Europe
Sovereign states
States with limited
recognition
Dependencies and
other entities
Other entities
Category: