The culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by its geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( France is a country in Western Europe bordering the Atlantic Ocean ( Bay of Biscay) and English Channel between Belgium and Spain, The History of France has been divided into a series of separate historical articles navigable through the list to the right France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture and of decorative arts since the seventeenth century, first in Europe, and from the nineteenth century on, world wide. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city High culture is a term now used in a number of different ways in Academic discourse whose most common meaning is the set of cultural products mainly in the The decorative arts are traditionally defined as ornamental and functional works in Ceramic, Wood, Glass, Metal, or Textile. From the late nineteenth century, France has also played an important role in modern art, cinema, fashion and cuisine. History of Modern art Roots in the 19th century Although modern Sculpture and Architecture are reckoned to have emerged at the end of the nineteenth Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine literature art architecture and general comportment that are popular in a culture at any given time Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking culinary art kitchen" ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook" is a specific set The importance of French culture has waned and waxed 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.
What is "French" culture?
Culture, whether in France, Europe or in general, consists of beliefs and values learned through the socialization process as well as material artifacts. [1][2] Culture guides the social interactions between members of society and influences the personal beliefs and values that shape a person's perception of their environment: "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. "[3]
The conception of "French" culture however poses certain difficulties and presupposes a series of assumptions about what precisely the expression "French" means. Whereas American culture posits the notion of the "melting-pot" and cultural diversity, the expression "French culture" tends to refer implicitly to a specific geographical entity (as, say, "metropolitan France", generally excluding its overseas departments) or to a specific historico-sociological group defined by ethnicity, language, religion and geography. The development of the culture of the United States of America — music, cinema, dance, architecture, literature, poetry The melting pot is an analogy for the way in which homogeneous societies develop in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures races and religions are Cultural diversity encompasses the cultural differences that exist between people such as language dress and traditions and the way societies organize themselves their conception of Metropolitan France (France métropolitaine or la Métropole, or colloquially l'Hexagone) is the part of France located in Europe, including Overseas department (départements d’outre-mer or DOM) is a designation under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic that was given to the The realities of "Frenchness" however, are extremely complicated. Even before the late nineteenth century, "metropolitan France" was largely a patchwork of local customs and regional differences that the unifying aims of the Ancien Régime and the French Revolution 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 Corsica, Guadeloupe, Martinique and elsewhere around the globe. The Ancien Régime, a French term rendered in English as “Old Rule” “Old Kingdom” or simply “Old Regime” refers primarily to the aristocratic The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily Guadeloupe is an island group or Archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at, with a land area of 1628 square kilometres (629 sq Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km²
The creation of some sort of typical or shared French culture or "cultural identity", despite this vast heterogeneity, is the result of powerful internal forces — such as the French educational system, mandatory military service, state linguistic and cultural policies — and by profound historic events — such as the Franco-Prussian war and the two World Wars — which have forged a sense of national identity over the last 200 years. Cultural identity is the (feeling of identity of a group or Culture, or of an Individual as far as he or she is influenced by her belonging to a group The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 A world war is a War affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations 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 multiculturalism 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 term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified
The last fifty years has also seen French cultural identity "threatened" by global market forces and by American "cultural hegemony". Cultural hegemony is a Concept coined by Marxist Philosopher Antonio Gramsci. Since its dealings with the 1993 GATT free trade negotiations, France has fought for what it calls the exception culturelle, 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 French cinema or the lower VAT accorded to books). The 'General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade' (typically abbreviated 'GATT' was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization (ITO Free trade is a system in which the trade of goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions Cultural exception is a concept introduced by France in General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT negotiations in 1993. The cinema of France comprises the art of Film making within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad Value added tax ( VAT) or goods and services tax ( GST) is a consumption Tax levied on value added. The notion of an explicit exception française however has angered many of France's critics[4].
The French are often perceived as taking a great pride in national identity and the positive achievements of France (the expression "chauvinism" 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). Chauvinism (ˈʃoʊvɨnɪzəm is extreme and unreasoning Partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred The French Revolution claimed universalism for the democratic principles of the Republic. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Universalism can be classified as a Religion, Theology and Philosophy that generally holds all persons and creatures are related to God or the Divine and Charles de Gaulle actively promoted a notion of French "grandeur" ("greatness"). Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French 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 José Bové) and from the right and far right (as in the discourses of the National Front). Joseph (José Bové (born June 11, 1953) is a French farmer and syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman The National Front ( FN, Front national is a French Far right, Nationalist Political party, founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie
According to Hofstede's Framework for Assessing Culture, the culture of France is moderately individualistic and has a relatively high Power Distance Index. Gerard Hendrik Hofstede (born 2 October 1928, Haarlem) is an influential Dutch writer on the interactions between National Cultures
Ethnicity and nationality
Since the beginning of the Third Republic (1871-1940), the state has not categorized people according to their alleged ethnic origins. Legal residents and citizens To be French according to the first article of the Constitution is to be a citizen of France regardless of one's origin race or religion ( As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe Hence, in contrast to the US census, French people are not asked to define their ethnic appartenance, whichever it may be. The United States Census is a decennial Census mandated by the United States Constitution. The usage of ethnic and racial categorization is avoided to prevent any case of discrimination; the same regulations apply to religious membership data which cannot be compiled under the French Census. This classic French republican non-essentialist conception of nationality is officialized by the French Constitution, according to whom "French" is a nationality, and not a specific ethnicity. In Philosophy, essentialism is the view that for any specific kind of Entity, there is a set of Characteristics or Properties all of which The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. French nationality law is historically based on the principle of Jus soli, according to Ernest Renan 's definition opposed to the German This ideal not withstanding, the history textbooks (used both in France and its colonies) of the Third Republic are famous for their opening lines: "Our ancestors the Gauls. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western . . ".
In past years, the debate on social discrimination has been more and more important, sometimes mixing itself with ethnic issues — as by the Front National 's nationalist discourse of La France aux Français ("France to the French") or Les Français d'abord ("French first"); their claims of an "ethnic French" group (Français de souche, which literally translated as "French with roots") have been adamantly refused by many other groups, which widely considered this party as racist[1] — in particular concerning the so-called "second-generation immigrants", who are French citizens born in France to immigrant parents (whom themselves may either be foreigner or French)[5] France has exhibited a high rate of immigration from Europe, Africa and Asia throughout the 20th century, explaining that a large minority of the French population has various ethnic ascendancies. Unlike most discrimination policies discrimination between, which is the discernment of qualities and recognition of the differences focused here discrimination against is The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Discourse (L discursus, "running to and from" means either "written or spoken communication or debate" or "a formal discussion List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology According to Michèle Tribalat, researcher at INED, it is very difficult to estimate the number of French immigrants or those born to immigrants, because of the absence of official statistics. Only three attempts have been made: in 1927, 1942 and 1986. According to this 2004 study, among about 14 million people of foreign ascendancy (immigrants or with at least one parent or grandparent who is an immigrant), 5. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term 2 million are from South-European ascendancy (Italy, Spain, Portugal), and 3 million come from the Maghreb. The term Southern Europe can have four definitions geographical political climatic phytogeographic The Maghreb (المغرب العربي al-Maġrib al-ʿArabī) also rendered Maghrib (or rarely Moghreb) meaning "place of Sunset [6] Henceforth, 23 % of French citizens have at least one immigrant parent or grandparent. No recognized studies have been done covering wider timescales since mass immigration started in the 20th century. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term
Now, the interracial 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 melting-pot. The melting pot is an analogy for the way in which homogeneous societies develop in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures races and religions are The French culture might have been already blended in from other races and ethnicities, in cases of some biographical research on the possibility of African ancestry on a small number of famous French citizens. Author Alexandre Dumas, père possessed one-fourth black Haitian descent,[7] and Empress Josephine Napoleon who was born and raised in the French West Indies from a plantation estate family. Joséphine de Beauharnais (born Marie Josèphe Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie June 23 1763 &ndash May 29 1814) was the first Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. The term French West Indies ( Antilles françaises) refers to the four territories presently under French sovereignty in the Caribbean: the two overseas We can mention as well, the most famous French singer Edith Piaf whose grandmother was a North African from Kabylie[8]. Édith Piaf (December 19 1915&mdashOctober 10 1963 was a French singer and cultural icon who "is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer The Kabyles ( Iqvaylyen or Iqbayliyen in Kabyle, iqβajlijən are a Berber people whose traditional Homeland is highlands of
For a long time, the only objection to such outcomes predictably came from the far-right schools of thought. In the past few years, other unexpected voices are however beginning to question what they interpret, as the new philosopher Alain Finkielkraut coined the term, as an "ideology of miscegenation" (une idéologie du métissage) that may come from what one other philosopher, Pascal Bruckner, defined as the "sob of the White man" (le sanglot de l'homme blanc). The New Philosophers (French nouveaux philosophes) is a term referring to French philosophers who broke with Marxism and the Left in general Alain Finkielkraut (born in Paris on June 30 1949) is a French essayist and son of a Jewish Polish artisan manufacturing fine leather goods Pascal Bruckner (born December 15, 1948 in Paris) is a French Writer. These critics have been dismissed by the mainstream and their propagators have been labelled as new reactionaries (les nouveaux réactionnaires)[9], even if racist and anti-immigration sentiment has recently been documented to be increasing in France at least according to one poll[10]. Such critics, including Nicolas Sarkozy, the current President of France, take example on the United States' conception of multiculturalism to claim that France has consistently denied the existence of ethnic groups within their borders and has refused to grant them specific rights. Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified
Language
French culture is profoundly allied with the French language. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people There are a number of languages of France. The French language is by far the most widely spoken and the only Official language of France, but several France has one Official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The artful use of the mother tongue, and its defense against perceived decline or corruption by foreign terms, is a major preoccupation for some people and entities.
The Académie française sets an official standard of language purity; however, this standard, which is not mandatory, is even occasionally ignored by the government itself: for instance, the left-wing government of Lionel Jospin pushed for the feminization of the names of some functions (madame la ministre) while the Académie pushed for some more traditional madame le ministre. L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. Lionel Jospin (born 12 July 1937 is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France, during the third " cohabitation "
Some action has been taken by the government in order to promote French culture and the French language. For instance, there exists a system of subsidies and preferential loans for supporting French cinema. The cinema of France comprises the art of Film making within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad The Toubon law, from the name of the conservative culture minister who promoted it, makes it mandatory to use French in advertisements directed to the general public. The Toubon Law (full name law 94-665 of 4 August 1994 relating to usage of the French language) is a law of the French government mandating 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 WWW sites should be in French. The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked Hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.
France counts many regional languages, some of them being very different from standard French such as Breton and Alsatian. The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany Alsatian ( Elsässerditsch; Alsacien Elsässisch or Elsässerdeutsch) is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region Some regional languages are Romance, like French, such as Provençal. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all Provençal ( Provençau) is one of several dialects of Occitan spoken by a minority of people mostly in Provence (in southern France The Basque language 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 Spain. Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain 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, Jack Lang, admitted formally that for more than two centuries, the political powers of the French government had repressed regional languages, and announced that bilingual education would, for the first time, be recognized, and bilingual teachers recruited in French public schools. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (born 2 September 1939 is a French Politician and a member of the French Socialist Party.
Religion
France is a secular country where freedom of thought and of religion is preserved, by virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. France is a secular country where Freedom of thought and of religion are preserved in virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from Religion or religious beliefs Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience and freedom of ideas) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact viewpoint Freedom of religion is the freedom of an individual or community in public or private to manifest religion or belief in teaching practice worship and observance The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining The Republic is based on the principle of laïcité, that is of freedom of religion (including of agnosticism and atheism) enforced by the Jules Ferry laws and the 1905 law on the separation of the State and the Church, enacted at the beginning of the Third Republic (1871-1940). See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on Laïcité (laisiˈte is the French concept of a Secular society, connoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the Atheism The Jules Ferry laws are a set of French laws which established first Free education ( 1881) then mandatory and laic education ( 1882 The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State ( French: Loi du 9 décembre 1905 concernant la séparation des Églises et de l'État) was passed by The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe A January 2007 poll found that 51% of the French population describe themselves as Catholics -- and only half of those said they believed in God--, 31% as atheists, 4% as Muslims, 3% as Protestants and 1% as Jews. [11]
Catholicism
Roman Catholicism is no longer considered the state religion, as it was before the 1789 Revolution and throughout the various, non-republican regimes of the 19th century (the Restauration, the July Monarchy and the Second Empire). The Church of France, sometimes called the "eldest daughter of the Church" owing to its early communion (second century with the bishop of Rome is part of the worldwide A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or Creed officially The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The July Monarchy (1830-1848 was a period of liberal monarchy rule of France under Louis-Philippe The Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870 between the Second 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 The Financial Times, found that 32% of the French population described themselves as agnostic, a further 32% as atheist and only 27% believed in any type of God or supreme being. The Financial Times ( FT) is a British international business Newspaper. Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the Atheism [12]
Islam
After Catholicism, Islam is the second largest faith in France today, and the country has the largest Muslim population (in percentage) of any Western European country. Statistics Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. This is a result of immigration and permanent family settlement in France, from the 1960s on, of groups from, principally, North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and, to a lesser extent, other areas such as Turkey and West Africa. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. [13] 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% [14]. The Muslim population in France has had to deal with many difficulties in terms of social and cultural integration into mainstream French society, stemming both from socioeconomic issues (unskilled jobs, low incomes, poor neighborhoods, etc. ) and ethnic and religious issues (prejudice, concerns over "radical Islam", problems of integration into a secular country, etc. ) that have been exemplified in recent years through civil unrest in working-class and immigrant suburbs (see, for example, 2005 civil unrest in France) and legal/political issues (such as the "affair of the Islamic headscarf")
Judaism
The current Jewish community in France numbers around 600,000, according to the World Jewish Congress and 500,000 according to the Appel Unifié Juif de France, and is found mainly in the metropolitan areas of Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg. The 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of Riots and violent clashes involving mainly the burning The The Jewish community in France presently numbers around 600000 according to the World Jewish Congress and 500000 according to the Appel Unifié Juif de France and is France is a secular country where Freedom of thought and of religion are preserved in virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the The World Jewish Congress ( WJC) is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Strasbourg (Strasbourg stʁazbuʁ Alsatian: Strossburi,; Straßburg) is the capital and principal City of the Alsace région
The history of the Jews of France dates back over 2,000 years. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. In the early Middle Ages, 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 French Revolution, but, despite legal equality anti-Semitism remained an issue, as illustrated in the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The Dreyfus Affair a Political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s Despite the death of a quarter of all French Jews during the Holocaust, France currently has the largest Jewish population in Europe. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a
French Jews are mostly Sephardic and span a range of religious affiliations, from the ultra-Orthodox Haredi communities to the large segment of Jews who are entirely secular. Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Haredi or Chareidi Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism.
Buddhism
Buddhism is widely reported to be the fourth largest religion in France, after Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Buddhism is widely reported to be the fourth largest religion in France, after Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. France has over two hundred Buddhist meditation centers, including about twenty sizable retreat centers in rural areas. The Buddhist population mainly consists of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants, with a substantial minority of native French converts and “sympathizers. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially ” 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 French parliamentary commission on cult activities which led to a report registering a number of cults considered as dangerous. The French National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of France, set up a Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France ( Commission parlementaire sur This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice Supporters of such movements have criticized the report on the grounds of the respect of religious freedom. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in France by the constitutional rights set forth in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Proponents of the measure contend that only dangerous cults have been listed as such, and state secularism insures 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 historical provinces and overseas colonies into its geographical and political structure. The Kingdom of France was organised into Provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département Overseas department (départements d’outre-mer or DOM) is a designation under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic that was given to the These regions all evolved with their own specific cultural and linguistic traditions in fashion, religious observance, regional language and accent, family structure, cuisine, leisure activities, industry, etc.
The evolution of the French state and culture, from the Renaissance to today, has however promoted a centralization of politics, media, and cultural production in and around Paris (and, to a lesser extent, around the other major urban centers), and the industrialization of the country in the twentieth century has led to a massive move of French people from the countryside to urban areas. Centralization (or centralisation) is the process by which the activities of an organization particularly those regarding decision-making become concentrated within Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city At the end of the nineteenth 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. [15] Nineteenth century French literature 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 Balzac). French literature of the nineteenth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1799 to 1900 Policies enacted by the French Third Republic also encouraged this displacement through mandatory military service, a centralized national educational system, and suppression of regional languages. The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe 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 — such as Brittany,Berry, Orléanais, Normandy, Languedoc, Lyonnais, Dauphiné, Champagne, Poitou, Guyenne and Gascony, Burgundy, Picardy, Provence,Berry, Touraine, Limousin, Auvergne, Béarn, Alsace, Flanders, Lorraine, Corsica, Savoy. Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into Berry is a region located in the center of France It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements ' on March 4, Orléanais is a former Province of France, around the cities of Orléans, Chartres, and Blois. Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. Languedoc ( in French Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former Province of France, now continued in the modern-day ''régions'' of Languedoc-Roussillon After the division of the Carolingian Empire, the region was part of the Kingdom of Burgundy. The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, roughly corresponding to the present departments ' of the Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France Burgundy (Bourgogne Burgund is a region historically situated in modern-day France and Switzerland, inhabited in turn by Celts ( Gauls) Picardy (Picardie is an historical Province of France, in the north of France. Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France Berry is a region located in the center of France It was a province of France until the provinces were replaced by départements ' on March 4, Touraine may also refer to Alain Touraine, French sociologist Limousin ( Occitan: Lemosin) is a former Province of France around the city of Limoges in central France. Auvergne ( Occitan: Auvèrnhe/Auvèrnha) was the name of an historically independent county in the center of France, as well as later a Province of This article is about the former French province for the warship see French aircraft carrier Béarn Béarn ( Gascon: Bearn Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern The County of Flanders was a historical region in the Low Countries. Lorraine (Lorraine Lothringen is a historical area in present-day northeast France. Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily For the two French départements of the region of Savoy see Savoie and Haute-Savoie Savoy ( French . . (please see individual articles for specifics about each regional culture) — 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 non-French languages like Corsu, Català, Occitan, Alsatian, Basque and Brezhoneg (Breton), and some of these regions have promoted movements calling for some degree of regional autonomy, and, occasionally, national independence (see, for example, Breton nationalism and Corsica). Corsican ( Corsu or Lingua Corsa) is a Romance language spoken and written on the islands of Corsica ( France) and northern Sardinia Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Alsatian ( Elsässerditsch; Alsacien Elsässisch or Elsässerdeutsch) is a Low Alemannic German dialect spoken in most of Alsace, a region Breton nationalism is the Nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily
There are huge differences in life style, socioeconomic status and world view between Paris and the provinces. The French often use the expression "la France profonde" ("Deep France", similar to "heartland") to designate the profoundly "French" aspects of provincial towns, village life and rural agricultural culture, which escape the hegemony of Paris. La France profonde ( "Deep France") is a phrase that denotes the existence of deep and profoundly "French" aspects of the culture of French provincial towns Heartland is used in geography to refer to the central areas of a country 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, "terroir" is a French term originally used for wine and coffee to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon these products. Terroir (/t̪εʁwaʁ/ in French (terruño pago was originally a French term in Wine, Coffee and Tea used to denote the special characteristics 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 overseas departments made up of its former colonies of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana in the Caribbean, and Réunion in the Indian Ocean. Overseas department (départements d’outre-mer or DOM) is a designation under the 1946 Constitution of the Fourth Republic that was given to the France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world Guadeloupe is an island group or Archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at, with a land area of 1628 square kilometres (629 sq Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km² French Guiana (Guyane française officially fr ''Guyane'' is an Overseas department (French département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Réunion ( French: Réunion or formally La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is an island located in the Indian Ocean, east of The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface (There also exist a number of "overseas collectivities and "overseas territories". The French overseas collectivities ( collectivités d'outre-mer or COM) like the French regions, themselves are first-order Administrative divisions For a full discussion, see administrative divisions of France. |||} Metropolitan France As of January 1, 2008, Metropolitan France is divided into 22 regions (including Corsica, although Since 1982, following the French government’s policy of decentralisation, overseas departments have elected regional councils with powers similar to those of the regions of metropolitan France. The government of France is a Semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares __FORCETOC__ Decentralization or Decentralisation (see Spelling differences) is the process of dispersing Decision-making governance closer to the people France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, As a result of a constitutional revision which occurred in 2003, these regions are now to be called overseas regions. Overseas region (Région d'outre-mer is a recent designation given to the overseas departments which have similar powers to those of the regions of Metropolitan ) These overseas departments have the same political status as metropolitan departments and are integral parts of France, similar to how Hawaii is a state and an integral part of the United States, yet they also have specific cultural and linguistic traditions which set them apart. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Certain elements of overseas culture have also been introduced to metropolitan culture (as, for example, the musical form the biguine). Biguine is a style of Music that originated in Martinique in the 19th century
Industrialization, immigration and urbanization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have also created new socioeconomic regional communities in France, both urban (like Paris, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Lille, Marseille, etc. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Villeurbanne is a commune in east-central France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second largest Conurbation Lille (lil Rijsel is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in the country Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ ) and the suburban and working class hinterlands (like Seine-Saint-Denis) of urban agglomerations (called variously banlieues ("suburbs", sometimes qualified as "chic" or "pauvres") or les cités ("housing projects") which have developed their own "sense of place" and local culture (much like the various boroughs of New York City or suburbs of Los Angeles), as well as cultural identity. Seine-Saint-Denis is a French department located in the Île-de-France region. Banlieue-erevanjpg|thumb|Banlieue of Erevan; Armenia]][[Image Etalement urbain banlieue paris - 03 South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. Public housing is a form of Housing tenure in which the property is owned by a Government authority which may be central or local In New York City, a borough is a unique form of government which administers the five fundamental constituent parts that make up the consolidated city The City of New York Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West
Other specific communities
Romani
France has an estimated 280,000-340,000 Roma, generally known as Gitans, Tsiganes, Romanichels (slightly pejorative), Bohémiens, or Gens du voyage ("travellers"). The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins
LGBT
There are large gay and lesbian communities in the cities, particularly in the Paris metropolitan area (such as in Le Marais district of the capital). France has traditionally been fairly tolerant in matters of private morality including homosexuality and this is reflected in the country's legislation Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city For other meanings see Marais. Le Marais (maʁɛ and meaning "the marsh" in French Although homosexuality is perhaps not as well tolerated in France as in Spain, Scandinavia, and the Benelux nations, surveys of the French public reveal a considerable shift in attitudes comparable to other Western European nations. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe that includes three neighboring monarchies, '''Be'''lgium, the '''Ne'''therlands, and As of 2001, 55% of the French consider homosexuality "an acceptable lifestyle. "[16] The current mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is gay. Bertrand Delanoë (born 30 May 1950) /bɛʁtʁɑ̃ dəlanɔe/ ( is a French Politician, and has been the mayor of Paris
In 2006, an Ipsos survey shows that 62% support same-sex marriage, while 37% were opposed. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 55% believed gay and lesbian couples should not have parenting rights, while 44% believe same-sex couples should be able to adopt. [17]
Other subcultures
Paris has traditionally been associated with alternative, artistic or intellectual subcultures, many of which involved foreigners. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Such subcultures include the "Bohemians" of the mid-nineteenth century, the Impressionists, artistic circles of the Belle époque (around such artists as Picasso and Alfred Jarry), the Dadaists, Surrealists, the "Lost Generation" (Hemingway, Gertrude Stein) and the post-war "intellectuals" associated with Montparnasse (Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir). The term bohemian, of French origin was first used in the English language in the nineteenth century to describe the untraditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished Artists Impressionism was a 19th-century Art movement that began as a loose association of Paris -based Artists exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s The Belle Époque (bɛːl e'pɔk French for "Beautiful Era" was a period in European history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 Alfred Jarry ( 8 September 1873 &ndash 1 November 1907) was a French Writer born in Laval, Mayenne For other meanings see Dada (disambiguation DaDa is a Concept album by Alice Cooper, released Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early-1920s and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members The ' Lost Generation' is a phrase made popular by American author Ernest Hemingway in his first published novel The Sun Also Rises. Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21 1899 — July 2 1961 was an American novelist short-story writer, and Journalist. Gertrude Stein ( February 3, 1874 &ndash July 27, 1946) was an American Writer who spent most of her life in France Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred on the intersection of the Boulevard du Montparnasse Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French "La Beauvoir" redirects here also see Beauvoir (disambiguation
Social class
Despite the egalitarian aspects of French society, French culture remains marked by social-economic class and by many class distinctions. The modern social structure in France started in the late 1950s and is based on three distinct classes
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 . [18] Over the twentieth century, the "traditional" family structure in France has evolved from extended families to, after World War II, nuclear families. Extended family (or Joint family) is a term with several distinct meanings World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The term nuclear family developed in the Western world to distinguish the Family group consisting of parents most commonly a Father and Mother 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. [19]
According to INSEE figures, household and family composition in metropolitan France continues to evolve. INSEE ( French: I nstitut N ational de la S tatistique et des É tudes É conomiques; inse (not) in French is the Metropolitan France (France métropolitaine or la Métropole, or colloquially l'Hexagone) is the part of France located in Europe, including Most significantly, from 1982 to 1999, single parent families have increased from 3. A single parent (also lone parent and sole parent) is a Parent who cares for one or more children without the assistance of another parent in the home 6% to 7. 4%; there have also been increases in the number of unmarried couples, childless couples, and single men (from 8. Cohabitation is when people live together in an emotionally- and/or physically- Intimate relationship. 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. " [2]
Voted by the French Parliament in November 1999 following some controversy, the pacte civil de solidarité ("civil pact of solidarity") commonly known as a PACS, is a form of civil union between two adults (same-sex or opposite-sex) for organising their joint life. This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) In France, a pacte civil de solidarité ( English: "civil pact of solidarity" commonly known as a PACS /paks/ (or A civil union is a legally recognized union similar to Marriage. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** 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 Lionel Jospin in 1998, it was also opposed, mostly by people on the right-wing who support traditionalist family values and who argued that PACS and the recognition of homosexual unions would be disastrous for French society. The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers Lionel Jospin (born 12 July 1937 is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France, during the third " cohabitation " In Politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that uphold traditional values and/or authorities Family values is a political and social concept used in various cultures to describe values that are believed to be traditional in that culture and in support of the idea
Same-sex marriage is however not legal in France. Same-sex marriage is not legal in France. As of 2006, one Same-sex marriage ceremony has been conducted in France and was declared void
Role of the State
The French state has traditionally played a key 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. [20]
The relationship between the French state and culture is an old one. Under Louis XIII's minister Richelieu, the independent Académie française came under state supervision and became an official organ of control over the French language and seventeenth-century literature. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. During Louis XIV's reign, his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert 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 Château de Versailles) became the preeminent model of noble culture in France (and, to a great degree, throughout Europe) during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Jean-Baptiste Colbert ( August 29, 1619 — September 6, 1683) served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal Château in Versailles, in France 's Île-de-France region
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 French Third Republic 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 Eugen Weber has put it) a "country of peasants into a nation of Frenchmen". The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe Eugen Joseph Weber ( April 24, 1925, Bucharest - May 17, 2007, Brentwood Los Angeles California) was a prominent The Vichy Regime, on the other hand, promoted regional "folk" traditions. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944
The cultural policies of the (current) French Fifth Republic 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. See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on 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
The French educational system is highly centralised, organised, and ramified. The French educational system is highly centralized organised and ramified It is divided into three different stages:
- primary education (enseignement primaire);
- secondary education (enseignement secondaire);
- higher education (enseignement supérieur").
Primary and secondary education is predominantly public (private schools also exist, in particular a strong nationwide network of primary and secondary Catholic education), while higher education has both public and private elements. This article is about Catholic schools in general for specific schools named Catholic High School, see Catholic High School (disambiguation. At the end of secondary education, students take the baccalauréat exam, which allows them to pursue higher education. The baccalauréat (bakaloʁeˈa often known in France colloquially as le bac or le bachôt, is an academic qualification which The baccalauréat pass rate in 1999 was 78. 3%.
In 1999-2000, educational spending amounted to 7% of the French GDP and 37% of the national budget.
Since the Jules Ferry laws of 1881-2, named after the then Minister of Public Instruction, all state-funded schools, including universities, are independent from the (roman catholic) church. The Jules Ferry laws are a set of French laws which established first Free education ( 1881) then mandatory and laic education ( 1882 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 the development of the individual as an independent intellectual rather than a productive servant (of the State or the Company).
Secular educational policy has become critical in recent issues of French multiculturalism, as in the "affair of the Islamic headscarf". The
Minister of Culture
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member 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 Minister of Culture is in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments promoting and protecting the arts (visual The government of France is a Semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic, in which the nation declares French government ministers are members of the Prime Minister 's Government or cabinet although in French the term " Cabinet " is rarely used to describe The Ministry of Culture is located on the Palais Royal in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city
The modern post of Minister of Culture was created by Charles de Gaulle in 1959 and the first Minister was the writer André Malraux. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. André Malraux (3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976 was a French Author, adventurer and Statesman, and a dominant figure in French politics and culture 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 French constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) -- by democratizing access to culture, while also achieving the Gaullist aim of elevating the "grandeur" ("greatness") of post-war France. The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly ( 10 December 1948 at Palais Gaullism (Gaullisme is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle. 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.
Under president François Mitterrand the Minister of Culture was Jack Lang who showed himself to be far more open to popular cultural production, including jazz, rock and roll, rap music, graffiti art ("tagging"), cartoons, comic books, fashion and food. François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand ( 26 October 1916 8 January 1996 served as President of France from 1981 to 1995 elected as representative of the Socialist Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (born 2 September 1939 is a French Politician and a member of the French Socialist Party. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property Graffiti (singular graffito; the plural is used as a Mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched scrawled painted or marked in any manner on property The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative His famous phrase "économie et culture, même combat" ("economy and culture: it's the same fight") is representative of his commitment to cultural democracy and to active national sponsorship and participation in cultural production. He was also responsible for the massive architectural program of the Mitterrand years (the so-called "Grands Travaux" or "Great Works").
The Ministry of Jacques Toubon was notable for a number of laws (the "Toubon Laws") enacted for the preservation of the French language, 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. Jacques Toubon (born 29 June 1941 in Nice France) is a Right-wing French politician who held several major national and Parisian The Toubon Law (full name law 94-665 of 4 August 1994 relating to usage of the French language) is a law of the French government mandating French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people
Académie française
The Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution, it was restored in 1803 by Napoleon Bonaparte (the Académie considers itself having been suspended, not suppressed, during the revolution). The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. It is the oldest of the five académies of the Institut de France. The Institut de France (French Institute is a French Learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is probably the Académie
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 military service of young men. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Military service in its simplest sense is service by an individual or group in an Army or other military organization whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary This has been credited by historians for further promoting a unified national identity and by breaking down regional isolationism.
Labor and employment policy
In France the first labour laws were Waldeck Rousseau's laws passed in 1884. Between 1936 and 1938 the Popular Front enacted a law mandating 12 days (2 weeks) each year of paid vacation for workers, and a law limiting the work week to 40 hours, excluding overtime. The Popular Front (French Front populaire) was an alliance of left-wing movements including the French Communist Party (PCF the Socialist Lists of holidays The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and continents but will usually refer to one of The Matignon Agreements (French Accords de Matignon) were signed on June 7 1936 at one o'clock in the morning between the CGPF employers trade union The Grenelle accords negotiated on May 25th 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. For other events in May 1968 see 1968. [21] The minimum wage was also increased by 25%. [22] In 2000 Lionel Jospin's government then enacted the 35-hour workweek, down from 39 hours. Lionel Jospin (born 12 July 1937 is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France, during the third " cohabitation " The 35-hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000 under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin 's Plural Left government Five years later, conservative prime minister Dominique de Villepin enacted the New Employment Contract (CNE). Dominique de Villepin (born Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (dɔminik də vilpɛ̃ &mdash) on 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco Contrat nouvelle embauche (abbreviated to CNE, New Employment Contract aka New Recruitment Contract or sometimes New-job contract in English 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 contingent work. Contingent work, also sometimes known as casual work, is a Neologism which describes a type of Employment relationship between an Employer In 2006 he then attempted to pass the First Employment Contract (CPE) through a vote by emergency procedure, but that it was met by students and unions' protests. The contrat première embauche ( CPE) translated first employment contract, was a new form of employment contract pushed in spring 2006 in France The 2006 youth protests in France occurred throughout France during February, March, and April 2006 as a result of opposition to a measure President Jacques Chirac 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).
Food and lifestyle
Food and alcohol
Traditional French culture places a high priority on the enjoyment of food. French cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, on over 800000 Hectares (over 2 million Acres of Vineyards and in a typical French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by Georges Auguste Escoffier to become the modern version of haute cuisine. Georges Auguste Escoffier (28 October 1846&ndash12 February 1935 was a French Chef, Restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated Haute cuisine (literally "high cooking" in French) or grande cuisine refers to the cooking of the grand restaurants and hotels 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 Guide Michelin helped to bring people to the countryside during the 20th century and beyond, to sample this rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of France. The Michelin Guide ( Le Guide Michelin) is a series of annual Guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground Basque cuisine has also been a great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Basque cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients of the cuisine of the Basque people.
Ingredients and dishes vary by region (see regional cuisine). French cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. 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. Cheese (see list of French cheeses) and wine (see French wine) are also a major part of the cuisine, playing different roles both regionally and nationally with their many variations and Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws (lentils from Le Puy-en-Velay also have an AOC status). Cheese is a Food made from Milk, usually the milk of cows, Buffalo, Goats or sheep, by coagulation. The following is a List of cheeses from France. France is home to a very large variety of cheese types Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, on over 800000 Hectares (over 2 million Acres of Vineyards and in a typical Appellation d’origine contrôlée ( AOC) which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French The lentil or daal or pulse ( Lens culinaris) is a bushy Annual plant of the legume family grown for its lens-shaped Seeds Le Puy-en-Velay ( Lo Puèi de Velai in Occitan, pronounced ˈpœj də ˈvəlaj is a commune of south-central France Other French products of special note include: Charolais cattle. Charolais cattle (sha-ro-lay are a beef breed of Cattle ( Bos taurus) which originated in Charolais, around Charolles, in France
The French typically eat only a simple breakfast ("petit déjeuner") (of, say, coffee or tea, served traditionally in a large handleless "bol" and bread, breakfast pastries (croissants), or yogurt). Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into For other things named Crescent see Crescent (disambiguation. Lunch ("déjeuner") and dinner ("dîner") are the main meals of the day. Formal four course meals consist of a starter course ("entrée"), a main course ("plat principal") followed by a salad course, and finally a cheese and/or a desert course. While French cuisine is often associated with rich deserts, in most homes desert consists of only a fruit or yogurt.
Food shopping in France was formerly done almost daily in small local shops and markets, but the arrival of the supermarket and the even larger "hypermarchés" (large-surface distributors) in France have disrupted this tradition. Customer divider barjpg|thumb|In supermarkets sellers periodically change prices for classes of goods in response to market conditions rather than negotiating the price of each good With depopulation of the countryside, many towns have been forced to close shops and markets.
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 Don't Get Fat). The French paradox refers to the observation that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of Coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in French Women Don't Get Fat The Secret of Eating for Pleasure (ISBN 0-09-948132-4 is a book by Mireille Guiliano which claims to explain why French women eating in the traditional French cuisine and eating habits have however come under great pressure in recent years from modern "fast food", American products and the new global agricultural industry (including genetically modified organisms). Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly This article is about organisms which have been genetically modified 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 "appellation d'origine contrôlée" laws, and by state and European subsides to the French agricultural industry. Appellation d’origine contrôlée ( AOC) which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain French Emblematic of these tensions is the work of José Bové, who founded, in 1987, the Confédération Paysanne, an agricultural union that places its highest political values on humans and the environment, promotes organic farming and opposes genetically modified organisms; Bové's most famous protest was the dismantling of a McDonald's franchise in Millau (Aveyron), in 1999. Joseph (José Bové (born June 11, 1953) is a French farmer and syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on Crop rotation, Green manure, Compost, Biological pest control, and mechanical Cultivation Millau (Occitan Milhau is a commune in the department of Aveyron in southern France. Aveyron ( Occitan: Avairon) is a department in southern France named after the Aveyron River.
In France, cutlery 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.
The legal drinking age is officially 18 for strong liquors (21% vol. alcohol), and 16 for most alcohol drinks (beer, wine. . . ).
France is one of the oldest wine-producing regions of Europe. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant Growing regions where Vineyards are planted 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). Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Bordeaux wine, Bourgogne wine and Champagne are important agricultural products. A Bordeaux wine is any Wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Burgundy wine ( is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France. Champagne is a Sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle Secondary fermentation of Wine to effect Carbonation.
Tobacco and drugs
While cigarette smoking has long been part of French culture — figures indicate that in France, 39% of male adults and 27% of female adults smoke [3], and that more than 40% of young adults (between 18 and 24) smoke [4] —, France, from 1st February, 2007, tightened the existing ban on smoking in public places found in the 1991 Évin law: Law n°91-32 of 10th January, 1991, containing a variety of measures against alcoholism and tobacco consumption. A cigarette ( French "small Cigar " from cigar + -ette) is a product consumed through Smoking and manufactured Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions
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, 1st January, 2008. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common [23] Opinion polls suggest 70% of people support the ban. [24] 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 Gitanes. Gauloises is a brand of Cigarette of French manufacture It is produced by the company Altadis. For the French bicycle manufacturer see Gitane. Gitanes, (" gypsy women" is a popular brand of French cigarettes sold in
The possession, sale and use of cannabis (predominantly Moroccan hashish) is illegal in France. Cannabis ( Cán-na-bis) is a Genus of Flowering plants that includes three putative species Cannabis sativa subsp Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Hashish (from Arabic: ar حشيش, lit "grass" also hash) is a preparation of cannabis composed of the compressed 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 at one time smoked cannabis. [5]
Sports and hobbies
The French "national" sport is football (soccer), colloquially called 'le foot' (see Football in France). The most-watched sports in France is football. Other popular sports include Handball, Basketball, Rugby union, Cycling, Sailing and Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Football in France is governed by the French Football Federation (Fédération Française de Football or FFF The most-watched sports in France are football (soccer), rugby union, basketball, cycling, sailing and tennis. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Basketball is a team Sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet (3 m Cycling is the use of Bicycles or - less commonly - Unicycles Tricycles Quadricycles and other similar wheeled Human powered vehicles Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles) France is notable for holding the football World Cup in 1998, for holding the annual cycling race Tour de France, and the tennis Grand Slam tournament Roland Garros, or the French Open. The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th staging of the World Cup was held in France from June 10 to July 12 after 60 years to celebrate the third edition scheduled History See also:CategoryTour de France by year The dominant sports newspaper in France The French Open ( Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros) is a major Tennis tournament held over The French Open ( Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros) is a major Tennis tournament held over Sport is encouraged in school, and local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments. While football (soccer) 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). Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest Rugby union is the second most popular team sport in France after football and is actually the dominant sport in most of the southern half of the country Rugby league has been played in France since the 1930s As with Rugby union, the heartland of the game is the
The modern Olympics were invented in France, in 1894. The Olympic Games is an international Multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games
Professional sailing in France is centred on singlehanded/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. The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance Other significant events include the Solitaire du Figaro, Mini Transat 6.50, Tour de France a Voile and Route de Rhum transatlantic race. Mini Transat 650 also known as Transat 650 is a solo Transatlantic Yacht race France has been a regular competitor in the Americas Cup since the 1970s. The America’s Cup is the most prestigious Regatta and Match race in the sport of Sailing, and the oldest active Trophy in international
Other important sports include:
- Grand Prix Racing (Formula 1) - invented in France in 1946
- Pétanque - the international federation is recognized by the IOC. Nice (nis Niçard Occitan: Niça norm or Nissa, Italian: Nizza or Nizza Marittima, Greek Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894 Pétanque (petɑ̃ːk in French is a form of Boules where the goal is while standing with the feet together in a small circle to throw metal balls as close as possible [6] [7].
- Fencing - fencing leads the list of sports for which gold medals were won for France at summer Olympics (see France at the Olympics). Fencing is the art of armed Combat involving Cutting, Stabbing, or slapping bludgeoning Weapons directly manipulated by hand France has competed at every celebration of the modern Olympic Games, although the participation at the 1904 Games is questionable with
- Parkour - developed in France, parkour ("art du déplacement") is a physical activity that resembles self-defense or martial arts. Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (the art of movement is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently Self-defense (or self-defence &mdash see spelling differences) is the act of defending oneself one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat.
- Babyfoot (table football) - a very popular pastime in bars and in homes in France, and the French are the predominant winners of worldwide table football competitions. Table football, also known as foosball, table soccer or baby foot, is a table-top game that is based on Association football (soccer
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). The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports ("Ministre de la Jeunesse et des Sports" alternatively translated "Minister of Youth and Sports" is in the Government The Stade de France is a Stadium in Saint-Denis, France in the inner suburbs of Paris.
Fashion
Along with Milan and New York, Paris is sometimes called the "fashion capital of the world". Fashion has been important industry and cultural export of France since the seventeenth century and modern " Haute couture " originated in The association of France with fashion (French: la mode) dates largely to the reign of Louis XIV [25] 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. Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine literature art architecture and general comportment that are popular in a culture at any given time French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent
France renewed its dominance of the high fashion (French: couture or haute couture) 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. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A couturier is a person involved in the clothing fashion industry who makes original garments to order for private clients Vogue is a Fashion and lifestyle Magazine published in eighteen countries by Condé Nast Publications. Elle is a Worldwide Magazine that focuses on Women 's Fashion, Beauty, Health, and Entertainment. A fashion show is an event put on by a Fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of Clothing. The first modern Parisian couturier house is generally considered the work of the Englishman Charles Frederick Worth who dominated the industry from 1858-1895. Charles Frederick Worth ( October 13, 1825 &ndash March 10, 1895) widely considered the Father of Haute Couture, was an English [26] 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). Chanel SA ʃəˈnɛɫ) is a Parisian fashion house created by Coco Chanel. Balenciaga is a fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Spanish designer, born in the Basque Country. 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). Christian Dior ( January 21, 1905 &ndash October 23, 1957) was an influential French Fashion designer, best known as the Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain (b St Jean de Maurienne France May 18, 1914 &ndash Paris France June 29, 1982) was a French Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy (born February 20, 1927) is a French aristocrat and Fashion designer who founded the The 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. Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, known as Yves Saint Laurent ( August 1 1936 &ndash June 1 2008) was an Algerian "Prêt-à-Porter" redirects here For the movie Prêt-à-Porter (English title Ready to Wear) see Prêt-à-Porter (film. [27] Further innovations were carried out by Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin. Paco Rabanne, (born Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo on February 18 1934 in San Sebastián (Donostia in Basque) in the Spanish Basque Pierre Cardin is an Italian -born French Fashion designer, who was born on July 7, 1922, near Treviso. 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. Sonia Rykiel (b 25 May 1930, Paris France) is a French Fashion designer. Thierry Mugler, born 1948 in Strasbourg France is a Fashion designer, photographer, and creator of a Fashion design company of the same Claude Montana is a French Fashion designer, known for his refined figure-hugging designs in lightweight materials or heavy leather Jean-Paul Gaultier (born April 24 1952, in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne) is a French Fashion designer and past television Christian Marie Marc Lacroix ( May 16 1951 in Trinquetaille, France) is a high-end French Fashion designer. The 1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants and multinationals such as LVMH. LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton SA ( usually shortened to LVMH, is a French Holding company and is the world's largest Luxury
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
In 2006, 52% of French households had at least one pet [28]: 9. A pet is an Animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a househeld animal as opposed to Livestock, Laboratory animals Working animals 7 million cats, 8. WikipediaManual of Style (spelling, articles should conform to one overall spelling style of English typically the one most linked to the article topic (if it is geographic 8 million dogs, 2. The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order 3 million rodents, 8 million birds, and 28 million fish. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two
Media and art
Art and museums
The first paintings of France are those that are from prehistoric times, painted in the caves of Lascaux well over 10,000 years ago. For practical purposes the history of French art has been divided into a series of separate articles accessible through the template to the right Lascaux is the setting of a complex of Caves in southwestern France famous for its prehistoric Cave paintings The original caves are located near The arts flourished already 1,200 years ago, at the time of Charlemagne, as can be seen in many hand made and hand illustrated books of that time. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his
Classic painters of the 17th century in France are Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain. Nicolas Poussin (15 June 1594 – 19 November 1665 was a French painter in the classical style Claude Lorrain (also Claude Gellée or Le Lorrain) ( Lorraine, c During the 18th century the Rococo style emerged as a frivolous continuation of the Baroque style. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Rococo is a style of 18th century French art and Interior design. Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc The most famous painters of the era were Antoine Watteau, François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Jean-Antoine Watteau ( October 10, 1684 – July 18, 1721) was a French painter whose brief career spurred the revival of François Boucher ( September 29 1703 – May 30 1770) was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste Jean-Honoré Fragonard ( April 5, 1732 &ndash August 22, 1806) was a French painter and Printmaker whose late Rococo At the end of the century, Jacques-Louis David was the most influential painter of the Neoclassicism. Jacques-Louis David (August 30 1748 &ndash December 29 1825 was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style considered to be Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and
Géricault and Delacroix were the most important painters of the Romanticism. Théodore Géricault ( September 26, 1791 &ndash January 26, 1824) was an important French painter and lithographer known for Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (26 April 1798 &ndash 13 August 1863 was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Afterwards, the painters were more realistic, describing nature (Barbizon school). The Barbizon school (circa 1830&ndash1870 of painters is named after the village of Barbizon near Fontainebleau Forest, France, where the artists gathered The realistic movement was led by Courbet and Honoré Daumier. Realism in the Visual arts and Literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in Everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation For the French Admiral see Admiral Courbet (1828-1885 Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( 10 June 1819 &ndash Honoré Daumier ( February 26, 1808 &ndash February 10, 1879) was a French Printmaker, Caricaturist, Impressionism was developed in France by artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro. Claude Monet ( French klod mɔnɛ also known as Oscar-Claude Monet or Claude Oscar Monet (14 November 1840 &ndash 5 December 1926 was a founder Pierre-Auguste Renoir ( February 25, 1841 &ndash December 3, 1919) was a French Artist who was a leading painter in Camille Pissarro ( July 10 1830 &ndash November 13 1903) was a French Impressionist painter. 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. Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin and Cézanne were painting then. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (ɑ̃ʁi dø tuluz loˈtʁɛk (24 November 1864 &ndash 9 September 1901 was a French painter, printmaker, draftsman Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903 was a leading Post-Impressionist painter. Cubism is an avant-garde movement born in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. Cubism was a 20th century Avant-garde Art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard The twentieth century of the Common Era began on
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. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common 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. Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a Poplar panel by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer The Aphrodite of Milos (Greek "Αφροδίτη της Μήλου" better known as the Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek statue
Music
France boasts a wide variety of indigenous folk music, as well as styles played by immigrants from Africa, Latin America and Asia. France has long been considered a center for European Art and Music. Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous In the field of classical music, France has produced a number of legendary composers, while modern pop music has seen the rise of popular French hip hop, French rock, techno/funk, and turntablists/djs. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance This article is about Hip hop music from the country of France, and does not cover the hip hop scenes in other French speaking countries like Senegalese French rock is a form of Rock music produced primarily in France, but also in other Francophone countries Techno is a form of Electronic dance music (EDM that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul music, Soul Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.
France created the Fête de la Musique (first held in 1982), a music festival, which has since become worldwide. This article refers to a music festival which began in France but which is now international in various cities It takes place every June 21, on summer's day.
Cinema
Television
See also: Category:French television
Books, newspapers and magazines
France has the reputation of being a "literary culture"[29], 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). The cinema of France comprises the art of Film making within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad Television in France was introduced in 1931 making the country one of the first countries in the world to broadcast television programmes Compared to other European nations the French are not avid Newspaper readers citing only 164 adults out of every 1000 as newspaper readers Compared to other European nations the French are not avid Newspaper readers citing only 164 adults out of every 1000 as newspaper readers This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the A trade fair (or trade show) is an exhibition organised so that companies in a specific Industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products service study The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given to the Author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year" The prix Théophraste-Renaudot or prix Renaudot is a French Literary award which was created in 1926 by ten Art critics awaiting the The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse (today known as Bernard Pivot (born 5 May 1935) is a Journalist, interviewer and host of French cultural Television programmes This image not withstanding, 1980s figures showed that the French spent 50% less on books and used lending libraries 1/12 as often as the British. [30]
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). List of countries by Literacy rate, as included in the United Nations Development Programme Report 2007/2008 Functional illiteracy refers to the inability of an individual to use reading, Writing, and Computational skills efficiently in everyday life situations [31]
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. [32] 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). Academic publishing describes the subfield of Publishing which distributes academic Research and Scholarship. University Presses of France ( French: Presses Universitaires de France or PUF) are the largest French university [33]
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. [34] 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%). [35] 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). William Boyd may refer to William Boyd 3rd Earl of Kilmarnock (died 1717 Scottish nobleman William Boyd 4th Earl of Kilmarnock (1704-1746 John le Carré is the Pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell (born October 19, 1931 in Poole, Dorset, England Ian McEwan, CBE, FRSA, FRSL, (born June 21, 1948) is a Booker Prize -winning English Novelist Paul Benjamin Auster (born February 3, 1947, Newark New Jersey) is a Brooklyn -based author known for works blending Absurdism Douglas Kennedy may refer to Douglas Kennedy (politician (1916&ndash2003 Canadian politician Douglas Kennedy (writer (born 1955 [36]
An important subset of book sales is comic books (typically Franco-Belgian comics like Tintin and Astérix) which are published in a large hardback format; comic books represented 4% of total book sales in 1997[37]. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Franco-Belgian comics are Comics that are created in Belgium and France. The Adventures of Asterix ( French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois) is a series of French French artists have made the country a leader in the graphic novel genre[38] and France hosts the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Europe's preeminent comics festival. A Angoulême International Comics Festival ( French: Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême) is the main comics festival in Europe
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. Value added tax ( VAT) or goods and services tax ( GST) is a consumption Tax levied on value added. 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. Below is a list of Newspapers in France. National Daily La Croix (Catholic daily Le Le Monde (The World is a Le Figaro is one of the leading French morning daily Newspapers Its editorial line is conservative and has generally been supportive of [39] The magazine market is currently dominated by TV listings magazines[40] followed by news magazines such as Le Nouvel Observateur, L'Express and Le Point. A newsmagazine, also spelled news magazine, is usually a weekly Magazine featuring articles or segments on current events Le Nouvel Observateur (often shorten to Le Nouvel Obs) is a weekly French Newsmagazine. Le Point ( is a French weekly News magazine. It was founded in 1972 by a group of Journalists who had one year earlier left the
Architecture and housing
Transportation
There are significant differences in lifestyles with respect to transportation between very urbanized regions such as Paris, and smaller towns and rural areas. History Baroque Classicism Empire Styles French provincial One of the most distinctive characteristics of many French This article concerns the history and current organisation of transport systems in France. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city In Paris, and to a lesser extent in other major cities, many households do not own an automobile and simply use efficient mass transportation. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The cliché about the parisien is rush hour in the Métro subway. A cliché (from French, klɪ'ʃe or cliche is a phrase expression or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force Rush hour at Shinjuku 02JPG|thumb|right|250px|Rush hour at Shinjuku Station, Yamanote Line]] A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which 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. The TGV ( t rain à g rande v itesse, French for "high-speed train" is France 's High-speed rail service 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
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. Public Holidays in France are Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. The general and most common understanding of the Christian Doctrine of Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to Heaven in the presence Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, pentekostē, "the fiftieth day" is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian Liturgical year, celebrated the This article is about the theological concept For the works of art with this title see Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Art and Roman Catholic Marian art. For the British girl group see All Saints (band. All Saints' Day (also called All Hallows or Hallowmas) often ). 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. Labor Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September
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. For the British girl group see All Saints (band. All Saints' Day (also called All Hallows or Hallowmas) often
- the vacances de Noël (Christmas) - two weeks, ending after New Years. The New Year is an event that happens when a Culture celebrates the end of one Year and the beginning of the next year
- the vacances d'hiver (winter) - two weeks in February and March.
- the vacances de Pâques (Easter) - two weeks around Easter weekend. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year.
- the grandes vacances - summer vacation.
On May 1, Labour Day (La Fête du Travail) the French give flowers of Lily of the Valley to one another. Labour Day is an annual Holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from efforts of Convallaria majalis, commonly known as the Lily of the Valley or Lily-of-the-Valley, is the only species in the genus Convallaria
The National holiday (called Bastille Day in English) in on 14 July. Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. 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. Bastille Day Military Parade (or 14 July Military Parade translation of the French name of Défilé militaire du 14 juillet) is a French military parade held each year in The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (ʃɑ̃zeliˈze) is the most prestigious avenue in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected
On November 2, All Souls Day (La Fête des morts), the French traditionally bring chrysanthemums to the tombs of departed family members. In Western Christianity, All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. Chrysanthemums, often called 'mums' are a genus ( Chrysanthemum) of about 30 species of perennial Flowering plants in the family Asteraceae
On November 11, Remembrance Day (Le Jour du Souvenir) is an official holiday. Remembrance Day also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates or Veterans Day is a day to commemorate the
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). The common name oyster is used for a number of different groups of Bivalve Mollusks most of which live in marine habitats or Brackish water. This article is about the Sausages For the Geological feature see Boudinage. Bûche de Noël (" Yule log " is a traditional dessert served during the Christmas holidays in France and Quebec. The term Midnight Mass or midnight mass can refer to A Church service that happens at midnight A Christmas Eve church
Candlemas (La Chandeleur) is celebrated with crêpes, which must be eaten only after eight p. The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus, and falls on or around 2 February. A crêpe (kreɪp French kʀɛp is a type of very thin cooked Pancake usually made from Wheat Flour. m. If the cook can flip a crêpe while holding a coin in the other hand, the family is assured of prosperity throughout the coming year.
In recent years, the Anglo-Saxon and American holiday Halloween has grown in popularity to some extent. Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a Holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.
See also
References
- Bernstein, Richard. This is a list of French people of note Actors/actresses A Isabelle Adjani Renée Adorée As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Catherinettes was a traditional French label for Girls of twenty-five years old who were still unmarried by the Feast of Saint Catherine ( See also the Romanesque architecture erected by the Normans at Norman architecture. 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. Robert Darnton (born May 10, 1939) is an American Cultural historian, recognized as a leading expert on eighteenth-century France. 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
- Gopnik, Adam. Adam Gopnik, (born August 24, 1956) an American Writer, Essayist and Commentator. Paris to the Moon. Paris to the Moon (2000 ISBN 0375758232 Random House) is a book of essays by Adam Gopnik. 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
- 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. Graham Robb (born 1958) is a British Author. Robb was born in Manchester and educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester and Exeter The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, from the Revolution to the First World War. New York: Norton, 2007. ISBN 978-0393059731
- (French) 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
- ^ Jary, D. and J. Jary. 1991. The HarperCollins Dictionary of Sociology, page 101.
- ^ Hoult, T. F, ed. 1969. Dictionary of Modern Sociology, p. 93.
- ^ Thompson, William; Joseph Hickey (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson. 0-205-41365-X.
- ^ see, for example, Jonathan Fenby: On the Brink; the Trouble with France Warner Books London, 1998
- ^ (English) (French) See for example Laurent Mouloud, "The Anger of the Suburbs", transl. November 6, 2005, accessible on www.humaniteinenglish.com (in French, "La colère des banlieues", L'Humanité, November 5, 2005. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. L'Humanité ("Humanity" formerly the daily newspaper of the French Communist Party (PCF was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the Retrieved on 2006-05-03. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João
- ^ Michèle Tribalat's study (INED)
- ^ Dumas, père, Alexandre (1852-1854). Mes Mémoires. Cadot.
- ^ Aïcha Saïd Ben Mohamed (1876 - 1930) was born in Kabylie, Généalogie Magazine, N° 233, p. The Kabyles ( Iqvaylyen or Iqbayliyen in Kabyle, iqβajlijən are a Berber people whose traditional Homeland is highlands of 30/36
- ^ Le Point, February, 8 2007
- ^ "One in three French 'are racist'", BBC News, March 22, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-05-03. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João
- ^ (Romanian) Franţa nu mai e o ţară catolică (France is no longer a Catholic country), Cotidianul, 2007-01-11; "France 'no longer a Catholic country'", Daily Telegraph, 10 January 2007
- ^ Religion Important for Americans, Italians, Angus Reid Global Monitor, December 30, 2006
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 104-5. Cotidianul is a Romanian newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Berliner format For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, for example, give a figure of 4 million Muslims, or 6. 9%, based on sources dated 1993, 1994, 1999. (102). See Islam in France for more on recent estimates. Statistics Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 30-31.
- ^ Embassy of France in the US - The PACS - A civil solidarity pact
- ^ Gay News From 365Gay.com
- ^ Kelley, "Family", 100.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Kelley, 246-7.
- ^ fr:section syndicale d'entreprise December 27, 1968 law
- ^ fr:SMIG
- ^ 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.
- ^ France to ban smoking in public. Retrieved on 2006-10-09. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks.
- ^ Kelly, 101. DeJean, chapters 2-4.
- ^ Kelly, 101.
- ^ Dauncey, 195.
- ^ Le marché des aliments pour chiens et chats en Belgique. Mission Economique de Bruxelles, 2006. Read this document (in French) PDF
- ^ Theodore Zedlin, quoted in Kidd and Reynolds, 266
- ^ ibid.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 261.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 261.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 266.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 258 and 264.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 265.
- ^ Donald Morrison, "The Death of French Culture", Time, Wednesday Nov. 21, 2007. {http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1686532,00.html}
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 264.
- ^ Donald Morrison, "The Death of French Culture", Time, Wednesday Nov. 21, 2007. {http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1686532,00.html}
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 232.
- ^ Kidd and Reynolds, 236
External links
- Frenchculture.org
- Frenchculturenow.com
- France in Brief / France From A to Z - Embassy of France in the US
- Culture and Leisure - subpage
- French society - subpage
- National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE)
- Morrison, Don. INSEE ( French: I nstitut N ational de la S tatistique et des É tudes É conomiques; inse (not) in French is the "The Death of French Culture," TIME
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