Fodor's Exploring France

Book by Fodors

France Is ...The Republic
Unruly and rebellious, the French nature is such that their revolutions and uprisings once came and went as often as their governments.  After two centuries of changing constitutions, France's political stability is only a recent phenomenon, introduced by de Gaulle with the Fifth Republic, relayed by the sphinx-like Mitterrand, and now steered by the more impulsive Chirac.

Monarchs, republics, and empires have all had their turn over the last 150 years, interrupted by the traumatic four-year German occupation during World War II.  Yet today, France is regarded as one of the most powerful Western democracies, and a pivotal force within the European Union.
France Is ...Multicultural

The tapestry of France's population, which has always included regional identities (Bretons, Corsicans, Alsatians) is becoming increasingly rich.  Xenophobia and racism have come to the fore, as the immigration issue is tossed to and fro by political parties, each trying to win maximum electoral support.  The 1990 census recorded a foreign population of 3.58 million (out of a total of 56.6 million), which does not include 1.8 million with French nationality and countless illegal immigrants.  Well over 10 percent of the French population is of foreign origin -- a proportion that demands attention.

As elsewhere in Europe, immigrants were brought in after World War II to cope with unwanted low-paying jobs.  Portugese, Italians, and Spaniards were joined by people from the former colonies, particularly the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.  Lesser numbers arrived from central and western Africa,
while French citizens from the DOM-TOM (overseas départments in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific) also left their shores looking for work.  The 1960s suburban bidonvilles of cheap prefabs were soon replaced by badly planned high-rises, which in their turn became immigrant ghettos.
France Is ...Cuisine

French cuisine epitomizes the complexities of the national character.  Science, sensuality, and creativity combine to produce, at its best, food fit for the gods.  Every region of France has its specialties, proudly refined from generation to generation, and in the 1990s these are being enthusiastically revived by chefs weary of nouvelle cuisine.  Hearty, so-called "peasant" dishes are now widely available.

Twenty years of invasion by a lighter, fresher diet has left its mark: the nouvelle cuisine school has been assimilated into a new approach to cooking that puts as much emphasis on nutrition as on inventive flavors and presentation.

Quick Cuisine

Don't believe that every French family sits down to a gastronomic orgy every evening.  The advance of the 20th century has brought with it a rushed lifestyle, and the French have adopted convenience foods like every other Western nation.  Food is no longer the priority it once was.  Over the last decade fast-food joints have invaded every town center, and the young, ever attracted to the American way of life, find these budget victuals the ultimate in trendiness.  Old habits of lengthy, elaborate preparation do survive, above all in rural working-class homes, whereas the more monied urban strata, if not dining in a restaurant, are more likely to knock together some pasta and a salad than indulge in preparing a blanquette de veau.
France Is ...Work and Play

Although their priorities apparently lie firmly in the camp of pleasure and leisure, the French are actually a hardworking nation.  Since the working week is officially 39 hours long, and there are five weeks' vacation a year (the longest in Europe), as well as 11 days of public holidays, this can be hard to believe.  Yet executives often start work at 8AM and finish 12 hours later.  Weekends have thus become sacrosanct, and are often spent at a weekend home, and vacations are calculated to the minute.  "Work hard, play hard" seems to be the maxim.

It was not until the 1936 Front Populaire government that social reforms were made, stipulating two weeks' annual paid vacation, a 40-hour week, and compulsory collective bargaining.  The new paid vacations changed the face of the nation and, when extended after the war, led to that familiar sight of entire cities closed down for August, with main roads taken by storm on the 1st and 31st.  Changes in school vacations and state encouragement have now spread vacations over July and August, and the traditional month duration is often reduced to allow for an increasing number of shorter breaks such as skiing vacations in February and/or a break over the Christmas period.

Further short vacations are astutely concocted by bridging a public holiday with a nearby weekend (le pont).  This means that May, which carries three separate holidays, becomes a complete wipeout in terms of economic productivity.