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Through the years, France's stamp on western civilization has left an indelible mark in many domains and French savoir-faire remains a reference in the arts, politics, gastronomy, fashion and science. Since World War II, French society has undergone great transformations. Whereas one person in 3 used to work in farming, today this ratio stands at 1 in 16. Concurently, religious practice (mostly Catholic) declined almost at the same rate. This new age ushered in such
changes in social habits as the wider acceptance of the practice of
unmarried couples living together and the legalization of abortion.
After the students took to the streets in infamous May 1968, conditions
for women have tremendously improved and many social structures became
less constructing for everyone. French society likes formality in many aspects of everyday life as obligatory handshaking or cheek kissing ;-) , the use of the vous (rather then the familiar tu) and of titles when refering to a superior or a stranger and the concern about always dressing well. Sex lives in France can be qualified as very liberal
by American standards. Everyday relations between the sexes are very
flirtatious and not at all confrontational, neither in public nor in the
professional life. The "use" of a lover is rather frequent both for men
and women.
Nudity is not seen as a sin and women generally go topless on the beaches of the Riviera. Many French TV shows do not hesitate to include partially or totally undressed men or women even during prime time. As a result of Napoleon's Civil Code, most of everyday life's transactions follow written texts or laws. French people, however, take great pleasure and pride in finding new clever ways to bypass these restrictions or instructions. Modern French politics remain characterized by a Left/Right division of the country even though the border between the two has been recently blurred. In the current Fifth Republic, begun by Charles de Gaulle, enormous executive power is given to the President, who is elected for seven years. His government is composed of a Council of Ministers, led by a Prime Minister. The legislative power, known as the Parliament consists of the National Assembly (491members known as Deputés) and the Sénat (317 members known as Sénateurs).
Most of the political and business power is held by the upper bourgeoisie. Those in poltical positions appoint many of their own members to key positions in powerful government-owned companies. Fourteen years of recent rule by socialist president Francois Mitterrand did not seem to have changed this proctice very much.France faces today a serious economic slow-down characterized by a high unemployment rate, mainly fueled by extremely generous and expensive social benefits. Mitterrand's successor, Jacques Chirac (from the RPR party), elected in May 1995, has had the unpleasant task of attemting to reduce some of these craddle-to-grave benefits which threaten to rapidly ruin the country. One of his attempts lead to a serious general strike which paralysed Paris for nearly three weeks!The Communist party, once a relatively powerful organization, almost disapeared concurently with the fall of the cold war. Simultenaously, the far Right National Front's popularity has been fueled by high unemployment and rising nationalism, mostly against "les arabes", North Africans mainly from Algeria.Most of these political and economic problems are not obvious to tourists. Paris looks more beautiful than ever, the food is always superb and the French are getting more and more welcoming! Since the 1950's, French people have enjoyed the benefits of mass culture and consumerism. As the fourth economic power, France's standard of living and level of comsumption are very similar to those in the USA. Urban life in a city such as Paris has become almost the same as in any other megapolis in the world. Regional and rural life, on the other hand, has
remained very unique and varies tremendously from one region to
another. The refreshing change, together with 5 weeks of annual paid
vacations, has led many citadins to maintain a place in the country,
preferably close to their family roots, to go on vacation or to
retire.
Thanks to government sponsored programs, France has managed to remain one of the most high-tech countries in the world. Technological breakthroughs such as the Concorde, the TGV, the Minitel or the Chunnel, have linked the country between regions and with its neighbors.Culture and the arts are very important in everyday life in France. The worldwide appeal of the US model and the related Americanization is well present in France. However, in order to protect France's cultural identity, the government recently stepped in and enacted some laws aiming at restricting the broadcast of english speaking movies or songs and the use of English vocabulary in general.
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Not
large by North American standards (about the size of the state of
Texas), France is
nonetheless
President
Jacques
Chirac
pupils 