'France and the French have changed for the worse' - what do the French think?

Bloggers who choose to include email contact details in their profiles are quite likely to be contacted by some of their readers, and that has been the case for me too. Emails I receive are mostly from people outside of France who read blogs to keep their finger on the pulse of what is happening here. Some are French, some aren't, but most of them have lived in France at some point in their lives and all of them appreciate certain aspects of French life and French culture.

There are also one or two who are considering or have considered coming here/coming back here to live, and I have been struck by the fact that one of the doubts they express most about the idea is that France and the French may have "changed for the worse". I have my own opinions on that of course, and they are expressed elsewhere in this blog's content, but I thought that today I'd post the results of a survey by the Ipsos Institute with the aid of other institutions called 'France: the new fractures'.

Here they are, and I'm not going to comment them in any way, apart from saying that they have been published in almost all of the French online press outlets and are resulting in a lot of debate. So, have France and the French changed for the worse over the years?

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France and its place in the world
Over 50% of those surveyed think that 'the decline of France is inevitable' in both economic and cultural terms. Even more - 3 out of 5 - consider globalisation to be 'a threat to France', that 'France should do more to protect itself from the rest of the world', and, concerning Europe, that France should 'reinforce its decision-making powers, even if that means limiting those of Europe'.

French politics
Over 70% think that 'the democratic system in France functions rather badly', over 80% say that 'both male and female politicians act principally in their own personal interests' and 62% consider that 'most politicians' are corrupt.

'From distrust to rejection, withdrawal to fear of others, resentment to hostility and pessimism to catastrophism'
The survey's authors consider that the results indicate that 'the sentiment of fear is now profound' and that Poujadism (the defence of the common man against the elites, the rejection of modernism, and anti-intellectualism) has taken hold in the country over the last 30 years. They add that there is another, complementary, sentiment which pits identitarianism against authoritarianism..

Authority
86% of people think that 'authority is a value which is criticised too often', and 87% believe that 'France needs a real boss who can restore order' in the country'.

Foreigners, Muslims and increasing tensions
The study found that 70% of people think that 'there are too many foreigners in France' and just over 60% consider that French people 'don't feel at home in their own country like they did before'. There is much negative feeling vis-à-vis Muslims, with 74% of people saying that they tend to 'take over the jobs of French people'. Muslims are often associated with 'integrists' and the Muslim religion is said by 3 out of 4 people to be 'intolerant and incompatible with French society.'

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Those are the results, and I would be interested to read what you think of them.

Fripouille

'Le piston' - or 'using your contacts to help you get what you need'

No Fripouille, not THIS kind of piston, you silly boy *sigh...*

Jobs for the boys, string-pulling, immoral, a useful networking tool, call it what you will but 'le piston' - using one's connections to find a job, an education, or help in other areas - is a reality here in France. Have I used it? Of course I have. After all, 'I am not more Royalist than the King' as the French say, and it can be very helpful when living in France, a country which doesn't always make life as easy for foreign residents as it does for French citizens, and in which most people use le piston when they feel they need to. Here are a few examples of how I have used it and how it has helped me even without me trying to exploit it.

For example, it can be very useful when dealing with France's notoriously complex labyrinth of civil service administration departments and formalities, as I found out about 20 years ago when it helped me to get out of a hopeless Catch 22-style fix.

This story happened when I was living in a small village with my then girlfriend, and I needed a document called a 'fiche d'état civil' to enable me to change my driving licence. It was a document containing details of your marital state, births and deaths. I say 'was' because it was abandoned in 2000.

Anyway, I needed one and off I went to the local Mairie to obtain it. I produced my passport to identify myself even though I was well known there seeing as my girlfriend's family had lived in the village for literally centuries. "Sorry" said the lady, "I'll need to see your birth certificate as well." "No problem" said I and drove back home, picked up my birth certificate, went back to the Mairie, and proudly placed it in front of her. There ensued the following conversation.

"But it hasn't been updated since you were born."
"Yes I know, and that's because British birth certificates only contain details of birth and the identity of parents and it isn't used to record subsequent deaths and births as is the case for its French equivalent. So it can't be updated and even if I renewed it it would contain exactly the same information as it does now."
"Well in that case I can't give you a fiche d'état civil, not now, and not in the future either."
"But how can I update my driving licence without one?"
"You can't. Sorry, but the law is the law."
"But you know who I am! I've been popping in for one thing or another for years!"
"Sorry."

And that was that. I related this story at dinner that evening to my girlfriend's family and they found a solution to my problem within seconds. "Phone Chantal" said someone, "she'll look after that for you."

'Chantal' was a family relative who just happened to be the Mayor of a large village of about 5000 inhabitants about 20 kilometres away. I phoned her the next day and she told me to pop round to her Mairie where she would personally give me a fiche d'état civil. And she did. Job sorted. Le piston oblige.

Le piston also helps when you get into trouble with the law for minor road offences, on the condition that you are friends with a gendarme. I, like most other people, have had to pay fines for speeding, illegal parking and similar offences over the years. And I always paid on the spot because I knew I was guilty and it would have been churlish to argue that I wasn't.

One day though I was booked and recieved a hefty fine for failing to stop fully on a white line at a stop junction. I didn't agree with that as I was convinced that I had stopped, if only briefly, but nor did I argue and I took my ticket politely but didn't pay on the spot. Then I telephoned a gendarme friend and explained my situation. He believed my version of events and told me not to worry. Two days later he called me back to say "I've had your fine cancelled", and that was the end of it. (As a footnote to that, I hear that this particular use of the police piston - to get fines cancelled - is harder to do these days, so don't count on it working like it used to.)

Another story involving le piston happened a long time ago when I asked an estate agent friend to help me find an apartment. My problem was that I wasn't earning much at the time and didn't have enough money for the deposit. So he found me an apartment within days and I didn't have to pay a deposit, an expensive obligation which is very difficult to get around.

Then there's the world of work. I am a translator who works within a fairly narrow range of what could be called 'niche' markets. There are few opportunities for work there but on the other hand those in this sector who need translators all know each other and I have often found business by being introduced to new clients by existing ones who recommend me. In fact this has worked so well that I don't even need to go out and prospect for new clients any more

So much for my experiences, but there are many other areas in which it works. One of them is education. If you have children and know well-placed people in local education authorities or headmasters/mistresses it is relatively easy to circumvent laws which oblige parents to send their children to schools in their catchment area, particularly in cities. So if you live in a more modest area but have high hopes for your children it is possible to to place them in better schools in better areas of a city by using your connections. That may cost more travel time for the children, but many people think it's worth it. It's the same for the better universities. Your child will still need to take an entrance exam even if you use le piston, but at least they are guaranteed to be pre-selected and to be able take it.

Graduates with well-connected parents find it easier to get good jobs, and even in less exalted jobs le piston can work wonders if you are friends with, say, the owner of a local business who has a job on offer which may suit your son or daughter's needs.

In other words, le piston is everywhere, whether we like it or not. As to the French themselves and their attitudes towards it, 88% of them thought that le piston takes priority over talent in a survey carried out 2 years ago and whereas 75% of them would use it, only 20% said they would never use it out of principle, although I suspect that many of the 20% may well have been telling little fibs.

Is it immoral? I don't intend to take firm a stance in this blog, which is just here to explain how and when it can work and has done for me, although I am inclined to think that it isn't a uniquely French phenomenon and I am convinced that it is no more prevalent here than Britain or elsewhere.

One thing's for sure though, and that is that without it I would have had a hell of a job getting my driving licence changed, I would have had to pay a heavy fine I didn't deserve, I may have ended up homeless at one time, and without it my professional life would be much more difficult than it is.

Have you had any experiences involving le piston? Is it a natural reflex or should it be condemned? My jury's out on that. What about yours?

Eating à-la-française is not just about food

One of my preferred eateries here in Lyon

Elegantly-laid tables, fine wines, beautifully prepared dishes. These are just a few of the many images that are conjured up when discussing what eating in France is like, but the reality is somewhat different. Contrary to widely-held views, eating here is not first and foremost about enjoying the food. It’s about enjoying the people who sit down to eat it.

I’m writing this entry in response to a commenter on The Guardian who suggested that I write about French cheeses, of which he is a fan. Having thought about it for a while though, all my ideas for this subject seemed to revolve around the usual kind of gushing praise that British and other newspapers heap upon French food in their ‘Food & Drink’ sections. 

Articles on cheese in these papers often talk about bringing a fine selection of cheeses out of the fridge on time and laying them lovingly onto elegant cheese platters and selecting four of five excellent bottles, one for each cheese, and at least two different breads, before going on to relate the exquisite sensations to be enjoyed whilst eating and drinking each cheese and wine etcetera. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do that, so I hope the commenter concerned will understand why and forgive me.

The majority of French people do know how to select and serve cheese of course, and they also know how to eat correctly in good restaurants and prepare finely-tuned cuisine, but it isn’t what many of them prefer to do, which is to burn the good etiquette book and chuck it out the window.

A first social invitation to eat often involves a more-or-less formal table. Your host may even serve your wine, your food is served for you, and in no circumstances do you help in any way. You’re the guest after all. But if all goes well and everyone enjoys each other’s company, subtle changes to the conduct of subsequent meals together will occur.

You may begin to hear things like “how about if I bring the serving bowls in and we all help ourselves?” and your host may well hold his empty glass out and ask you to fill it because the bottle is nearer to you and he can’t reach it. Politics and/or religion may begin to creep into the conversation.

If this happens to you it’s a good bet that your company is appreciated and that your hosts would like to lighten up on the rules and become more relaxed and familiar with you. You should seize opportunities like this and help further them.

You will soon find yourself mopping up sauces with your bread and helping to clear the plates in preparation for the next dish. Bread connoisseurs who know each other smell bread from extremely close up to appreciate the aroma, and so shall you. 

Elbows will eventually be put on tables, and you won’t get a cheese plate anymore because, like everyone else, you’ll just clean a corner of your main dish plate with bread in which to place your cheese, cheese which you have cut with your own knife after wiping it on your bread. And if people are eating different desserts, they may well ask if they can “just have a little taste of yours” before dipping into it with their own spoon.

Now you’re getting somewhere. Conversation will become more incisive, ribald jokes will be told, and it’s now that you begin to realise what eating in France is all about, which is developing relationships and not showing off your impeccable table manners. What constitutes good table manners here can, and often does, vary according to who one is eating with. The food is important, sure, but the whole exercise is ultimately geared to enjoying the company of people whom one appreciates in a relaxed and unfettered manner.

In fact, some of the very best and most satisfying meals I’ve ever eaten in France happen when longstanding friends gather together and a couple of them, or I myself, have just been to the local market. So it’s roll-your-sleeves-up time and all the charcuterie and excellent cheeses are just plonked down in the centre of the kitchen table, still in their wrappers. Napkins are kitchen paper roll. Add a couple of good breads and a few bottles of local wine – fine wines would be out of place and inappropriate here - and it’s every man woman and child for him or herself. Banter and fun guaranteed. Heaven.

That’s what real eating à-la-française means to me. Eating for many French people is first and foremost a vehicle – an excuse even – for relaxed, informal and enjoyable social interaction. This is why the sooner the etiquette book gets burned the sooner everyone can start enjoying eating and each other. And that is precisely what art de vivre is all about in its day-to-day sense.

The most interesting thing about France is the French

French people. Just look at how different they are(n't)

One very enriching way of enjoying life here in France is to find out more about the French themselves. So just who are ‘the French’ exactly? Opinions will differ, but here are a few of my musings on the subject.

I like baguettes and French cuisine and wine as well as many more of the clichéd aspects and realities of life in France, but it seems to me that that’s not enough, and that it’s difficult to get the most out of living in any country without trying to understand its people and what makes them tick.  

The first clue for me came, although I didn’t realise it at the time, during a visit from my sister, who lives in Liverpool. It was her first visit to France and after just two days here in Lyon she suddenly asked “is today a day of national mourning or something?”

I answered that it wasn’t, that this was just a normal day. “What made you ask?” I enquired, curious. “Because I’ve noticed that very few people talk in the street here, or on the metro, and the clients in restaurants and bars seem very quiet and reserved compared to England. Nobody seems to laugh much either.”

I had all but forgotten that conversation nine months later when a French friend told me she was going to Liverpool because it was that year’s ‘European Culture Capital.’ She isn’t a particular adept of Anglo-Saxon culture or, indeed, of the Anglo-Saxon world in general. But despite her reservations about British food and the British way of life she bravely got on a plane and went.

I fully expected to be bombarded with her negative impressions of England when she returned, but when I next saw her, and to my great surprise, she declared that “I’ve been so depressed since I got back.” She explained that she’d fallen in love with Liverpool, its people, and England in general. She also said that people laughed and chatted away in the street, that pubs were animated and friendly, and that people dressed how they liked, whereas “here in France it’s all blue jeans and black coats except in summer, and nobody talks to anybody. They’re all so gloomy-looking and unexpressive.”

Her words tied in perfectly with those of my sister. What could this mean?

It all came full circle much later, during a conversation with a friend and emeritus French History professor. I related these anecdotes and he began his answer by evoking the well known French expression ‘pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés’ - literally ‘to live happily, let’s live hidden.’

We went on to discuss that in the context of the French Revolution, during and after which people had to be very careful about how they behaved in public and, more particularly, about what they said. 

That’s because saying or doing anything that could have been construed as being anti-revolutionary often resulted in the utterer receiving a one-way ticket to the guillotine. And that in turn, he theorised, may historically explain why French people are arguably less expansive in public than are, say, the British or Americans.

Opinions will differ on that of course, but I feel that trying to learn more about who the French are has undoubtedly enriched my life here. 

So, my tip on how to enjoy France to the full? Learn about the French, accept that they may be different to people in your country, and remember that even if their national characteristics may be different to yours, and that they are generally more reserved in public, they too tell dirty jokes, have a lot of insights into life and living, or not, cheat on their husbands and wives, or not, and they too do the shopping, go to work and clean up after the kids. And, of course, a meal at home with French friends is every bit as raucous and rambunctious as it would be if the guests were Anglo-Saxon.