A R T I C L E
What is it about France?
The world has an enduring love affair with France. We can’t resist the charm of its relaxed cafe culture and chic lifestyle, not to mention its fashion and food. Why is that? Francophiles are everywhere as we can see in the success of this magazine.
Everyone dreams of a French holiday. We have all relished the television, films and travelling books about France. We usually think of Paris as the city of romance and the French language as the language of Love. There are also the wonders of French food and haute couture. France is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, alluring over 77 million tourists every year from every corner of the globe.
A lot has been said about France throughout the centuries. The French seem almost like the “Chosen Ones” in the world, and to them God himself must be also French! French people are quite different to the rest of the Mediterraneans. The Italians are a happy lot and the Spaniards, and to an extent the Portuguese, are more on the serious side. The French always have had through their rich history that pizzazz called ‘Joie de Vivre’.
The French are very proud not only of themselves but also of their culture and country and rightly so after all! The French aren’t exactly noted for their humility, often being described as conceited and arrogant, and wouldn’t you be if you were French? France has given the world a lot – architecture; furniture; ballet; pasteurization; Camembert, Roquefort and Brie cheeses; wine; champagne; perfumes; the GST; the Coco Channel suit; Coq au vin; croissants; radioactivity and the guillotine. The Napoleonic Republican reforms are still in use in many western countries’ constitutions.
In the past, France influenced the entire Western world, particularly in the areas of art and literature. French literary and artistic contributions during the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment deeply influenced the path of Western cultural development. It was during the Middle Ages that France attained cultural prominence in Europe. The 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries saw many of Europe's most talented artists and artisans being attracted to Paris. France (la Grande Nation) was known as the most cultured of countries and Europe’s “Hub” of culture. The 20th century, considered to be the 'cinema era,’ saw French cinema as a leader in the cinematographic world, particularly in the 1960s and even today. French cinema is still producing wonderful films today.
France’s History is like a rich tapestry full of richness and colour. The thing I love about French people is that they are daring and not afraid of creating new styles. For over three hundred years, France influenced the world with their Styles from the time of Louis XIV to the 1930’s such as the Baroque, the Rococo, Neoclassicism, Empire Styles as well as Art Nouveau to Art Deco. Impressionism and Cubism flourished in France first and then in the rest of the world.
The French are never afraid of the new and the modern. La Tour Eiffel was originally planned to be built in Barcelona, but the Spaniards thought it was too strange and too modern and refused it, to Spain’s loss and France’s gain. Today La Tour Eiffel is the most popular icon of Paris known around the world. Another daring plan was the creation of the industrial glass and steel Glass Pyramid by American Chinese architect Ieoh Ming Pei, built in the middle of the Louvre courtyard contrasting with the baroque palace. In Australia we would have a major public outcry if this was to be built in such surroundings but alas not in France.
The French language has divine status in France they have a great pride on their language. The French language has the reputation of being the most romantic language of the world. During the 18th century, French became literally the “lingua franca” or the international language of Western Europe and even in the America’s. French was the only language spoken by most royal courts. Even Queen Victoria and the Czar of Russia spoke French at home. Today over 200 million people in more than 50 countries around the world speak French. It is still the official language of the United Nations.
France has given the world some of the most wonderful literature writers such as Molière, Jean Racine, Voltaire, Beaumarchais, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Théophile Gautier only to name a few.
Another national pride is food and wine. The French have always taken the subject of food very seriously and eating is the national pastime. Louis XIV codified the form of the dinner royal as a form of hospitality in the seventeenth-century, making dinner a French specialty. Even the modern restaurant has its origins in eighteenth-century France.
French cuisine has evolved extensively over the centuries. Starting in the Middle Ages, a form of unique and creative national cuisine was formed. One of the most remarkable French Chefs was the grand master Auguste Escoffier who was to become the central figure in the modernization and the simplification the haute cuisine, literally "high cuisine". In 1903, Escoffier published his first major book, Le Guide Culinaire containing 5,000 recipes. This book of French cooking has almost become the Bible of food preparation for Chefs around the world even today.
The French are notorious for being voracious carnivores and eat anything that walks, runs, crawls, swims or flies. Most people would be rather squeamish with some of their dishes but these are usually prepared in the most magnificent and tastiest way. Many foods in the western world has had its birth in the kitchens of France, from Mayonaisse, Soufflés, baguettes, pâtés and terrines and many more scrumptious preparations.
As well as food, the French also know a thing or two about wine drinking and they are among the world’s most prolific consumers of alcohol.
When not eating, the French are allegedly making love. They are obsessed with sex and have a long tradition of being the world greatest lovers. French men have the fame of being God’s gift to women. French women enjoy being objects of desire and most care little for women’s liberation.
The French use sex to sell everything from cars to mineral water. Moreover, flirting still is an art form and a past time in France
Despite the egalitarian aspects of French society, French culture remains marked by social-economic class and by many class distinctions.
France began a long time ago with the brutal tribe called the Gauls.The Gauls were eventually subdued by the Christians and the Romans, and a nation was born. For most of its history France was an absolute monarchy, with the king at the pinnacle of the class structure.
The French States-General, or États-Généraux was established in 1302 during the Reign of Philip III, to provide a type of legislative assembly with its members, ranking accordingly to hereditary class. This ranking of social class was split into three categories. The First Estate consisted of the highborn sons of great families. The Second Estate consisted of all other members of the nobility, who constituted only two percent of the total population. The Third Estate consisted, technically, of everyone else, but was represented only by the richest members of the bourgeoisie, the term, bourgeoisie, is widely used in many non-English speaking countries as an approximate equivalent of upper class.
The French word bourgeois evolved from the Old French word “burgeis”, meaning "an inhabitant of a town"
The peasant class had no voice at all in the system. The rigidity of the French laws of hereditary system was a major cause of the French Revolution.
Modern France today has with over 60 million inhabitants and still there huge differences in life style and socio-economic status even between Parisians and the rural habitants.
France went though a decline in births after the Second World War, prompting the French government to and receive large numbers emigrants from former French colonies, until about the 1980s, when immigration was cut. At the turn of the millennium, population growth in France was the fastest of Europe.
So when in France, do as the French do and you will probably have very enjoyable experience. Enjoying a long lunch and having your coffee at a leisurely pace in a cafe instead of rushing is très Francais. Once there one can embrace the French system and culture. Like we call Australia “the lucky country” the French should really called themselves definitely “The chosen ones”!
Mario Dominguez-Gorga
French Provincial... the Australian source for lovers of France
