Personnages historiques
This is a storymap of ten historic figures that each contributed a great deal to France’s development and identity.
La République
4/15/20
The French Government
France has experienced quite a few governments in its time. The latest of these is the 5th Republic, established in the autumn of 1958 (as mentioned in my Charles de Gaulle timeline). It bears enough similarities with the US government to be slightly familiar, but is most certainly its own unique system. It has a bicameral legislature that at a glance looks like ours – a Senate and National Assembly like our Senate and House of Representatives – but with the key difference that members come from a much larger selection of parties. France also distinguishes itself from the US by having both a president and a prime minister. The president (currently Emmanuel Macron) is the head of state, and the prime minister (currently Edouard Philippe) is the head of government. This means that the president focuses on representing the nation as a whole, especially internationally, and the prime minister focuses on the domestic functions of the government. As for the courts, we in the US are used to a supreme court that can strike down any law or executive action that is unconstitutional, but in France the highest courts can only strike down executive actions. The reason for this is because France, like most continental European countries, uses a civil law system rather than a case law one. I would love to unleash my political science knowledge, but I should not else this post would be about three times longer than it will already be.
A major difference between France and the United States is that France has far more active and “viable” parties. These generally form coalitions, which then act similarly to the large parties that we have in the US – but still in far higher numbers. Another difference is in structure. The French equivalent to a state is called a département, but these have nowhere near the independence that the states of the United States have.
Right now, the French government’s most pressing concerns are both due to COVID-19 (as might be expected). The first is the rising death toll among the infected and the second is keeping the economy running enough to avoid long-term downturns.
The number of fatalities in France has increased past 17,000 in the past week, especially among the elderly. The pandemic is definitely still active in the country, and Health Ministry Director Jerome Salomon has called on the public to continue respecting their confinement. But there is hope. For the first time since the outbreak began, the number of people hospitalized for the virus has dropped in France, including the number in intensive care. The number of confirmed cases, while still rising, is now much slower. This comes at the same time that the number of Italians in ICU is also falling.
On the economic side, the French government has increased its economic support measures by more than double, going from 45 to 110 billion euros. The French economy is likely to shrink up to 8%, according to Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, and the country’s budget deficit is setting a new post-WW2 record. The International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to suffer the worst it has since the Great Depression, dwarfing the recession of 2009.
But I have faith that France will weather this storm. The French have known suffering before, and every time they have endured. The Hundred Years’ War, the Great Mortality, the famine of 1789, the Dreyfus Affair, the World Wars, terrorism, social upheaval, you name it, they have overcome it.
Sources:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html
Les Infos
The News
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that the state of lockdown will continue in France after the 15th of April. This is likely in response to the French death toll rapidly nearing 11,000. However, the spread of the virus seems to have slowed, for which the government credits the compliance of the citizenry.
This information comes from: https://www.france24.com/en/20200408-france-to-extend-coronavirus-lockdown-again-will-run-beyond-april-15
Always more aware of world events than American sources, the French news has also noted that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen will begin a ceasefire starting… well, given the time zone differences, it’s already started as of the time of writing this. While Yemen has no recorded cases yet, it is already suffering from what I’ve heard consistently called a humanitarian disaster. Hopefully this will give the civilian population some time to recover from the war that’s been tearing their country apart for years. I remember reading about it when it first started and then being confused as to why US news stopped covering it despite it still raging.
But to end this blog on a positive note – or at least a less negative one – I also found information on how people can create their own face masks. The French government has released a mask pattern to the public and has ramped up production and purchase of masks. Even though wearing a mask does not make close contact safe or make hand washing unnecessary, French doctors recommend masks as an additional protection and a way for people to reassure themselves.
These articles were taken from France24, the English-language French news site. In my day-to-day life, however, I typically read from Franceinfo, which is French-language. I receive headline notifications from their app, which I downloaded a couple years ago to aid my French learning. I used the English articles because I figured they would be accessible to more of the people who are likely to read this blog.
Timeline: Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
Sources:
Carpentier, Jean et Lebrun, François. Histoire de France. © Éditions du Seuil, 1987, 2000. ISBN 978-2-7578-4218-8
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-de-Gaulle-president-of-France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle#First_World_War
La Musique Française
3/25/20
La Musique Française
For the subject of French music I have decided to take a unique approach – but given how distinct French music is, I think that’s exactly what the French would want me to do.
A quick caveat before we begin: though I make assertive statements in this piece, they represent my interpretations at this time. I do not pretend to know everything, nor do I assume that my judgement will never change. I also do not pretend to know everything about France or French culture – that’s why I’m going there to study abroad! This is just what I can make of things based on my current experience.
Now, if we’re going to talk about the most popular artists, especially of recent times, we absolutely cannot leave out Johnny Hallyday. He is one of the most visible faces of the uniquely French genre known as « chanson française. » His music, such as the song « Je te promets » conveys a passion for the joys of life and a dedication to going forth and doing. This particular song is about love and nurturing a relationship, even if it ultimately fails.
I readily admit that my experience with recent French music and chanson française is limited, but know more about France and its values, so I can still look for them in the music. Even from my limited musical experience I can see French values shining through in the lyrics. Hallyday sings about passion. The French and romance are somewhat of a stereotypical pairing, but interpersonal relationships are indeed important to the French. In France, even an “ordinary” friendship is something to be cherished and cultivated rather than a casual association. And love is far more serious. Far from the stereotype, love in France is a very serious matter and not to be trifled with. Hallyday promises so much to his love because he is committed to putting in the effort needed to maintain the relationship. Also contrary to popular belief, the French are hardworking and value the progress gained by their extensive labors – just look at their scientific advances, engineering feats, military success, and artistic endeavors for the proof. However, in France value is also placed on taking time for the self and in balance. Just as the perfect wine strikes an aromatic and gustatory chord, so to must work be balanced with relaxation. But enough of tangents. Our man Johnny draws near the close of his song with remarks about the relationship potentially failing, and ends by seeming to put on a brave face and repeating his promises despite the new sad tones in the accompanying music. This too, is highly French. In the US, we tend to associate France with pride and even a superiority complex, in spite of this pride the French are also prone to fatalism from time to time. In my History of France course I learned about the French concept of the “defeated hero,” exemplified in Vercingetorix, Joan of Arc (though to a lesser extent), and the World Wars (especially the second one). The French, like one of Tolkein’s heroes, do not recognize defeat as a valid excuse to abandon their nation and their values. Fulfilling one’s duty in the face of loss is an integral part of French identity. When Hallyday restates his promises after talking about failure, it is a continuation of this tradition (albeit not in life-and-death circumstances). We can rephrase fulfilling a duty to the nation as keeping promises to what (or to whom) we love most – see it now? He sticks to his word, even if it won’t go his way in the end.
Unfortunately I now need to turn my attention elsewhere and to other tasks, but I hope to return to this topic in the not-too-distant future. I also want to talk about modern French music in comparison to its medieval counterparts. There’s something to be said for looking to a place’s history to learn about its present. But, until then, I will leave you with a link to the late monsieur Hallyday’s song, and a goodbye.
A la prochaine !
Angers: Where I’ll Go
In this post we’ll look at the storymap I created of Angers
Until I work out how to embed it on this page, you can check out my storymap here:
Economy of Anjou
Before I chose to go to Angers, I already knew some things about France and its economy. The French economy is #5 in the world, and France has the second largest economy in the EU after its neighbor and ally Germany(1). I also knew that these two countries form the backbone for the European Union as its founding members. The French economy includes many fields, such as energy (the majority of French energy being nuclear), agriculture (France is very fertile), heavy industry (from great natural resources), banking (French investment has built nations from the ground up), technology (such as the renown TGV) and, of course, wine and luxuries(2). Another noticeable feature of France’s economy is the fact that workers are much more prone to striking than their American counterparts. Americans typically scoff at this, but the French see strikes as a form of political participation, and thus a citizen’s civic duty. The French are in reality hard workers who just want fair compensation and time to spend with their families.
What I did not know about the French economy is the double blow it has recently taken. First, strikes slowed the economy in December of 2019 when President Emmanuel Macron proposed a new reform to pensions(3). France’s economy is quite strong, so the people have not been too upset with pro-business legislation, but I have heard about consistent irritation with just how much “Manu” favors (both in reality and in perceptions) the elites above the common French citizen. While these strikes do not seem to have garnered the same level of momentum as the « Gilets Jaunes » or “Yellow Vests” fuel tax protests, I can definitely see how they could get to economy-disrupting levels. However, the Elysée seems to have come up with a compromise and the economy was rising again as 2020 began(4). But, of course, nothing is ever that simple. As we all know, early 2020 is also when the new coronavirus rapidly spread from China across the world. France alone has almost 2,000 known cases as of the time of this writing, according to French news source Franceinfo. We can only wait and see how this will impact the French economy in the long term, but that’s not really important at the moment.
Chateau d’Angers
The Anjou region in the Loire Valley (where we find Angers) has had an especially important role in French history, being the place where much of the fighting occurred during the 100 Years War between France and England. Because of this, the region is absolutely chock full of medieval fortifications, such as Angers Castle with its roofless towers and Revelations tapestry, Chenonceau Castle built over the Loire river, and even many private castles still owned by the same families that owned them centuries ago. These testaments of power are ample fuel for the busy French tourism sector. Of course, wine is also a major industry in the Loire valley, in competition with Provence and Champagne. Wine is not my personal favorite beverage, but in my opinion the Loire wines were the best ones I had when I was there last.
Something I did not think about was that wine is not the only alcohol in this region. Cointreau orange liqueur is also made here – right next to the city of Angers, as a matter of fact(5). My book about the Loire Valley also tells me that the finest fruits and vegetables in the Loire province are gown in Anjou(6). I knew France was a very fertile land, but I never thought about Anjou as a center of fruits and vegetables. I guess we learn something new every day.
Vineyard in Loire Valley
1,2 https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/france
5 https://www.cointreau.com/fr/fr/carre-cointreau
6 DK Eyewitness Travel: Loire Valley, edited by Stephanie Driver. ©1996, 2018 Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. ISBN 978-1-46546-829-1
It’s a Big World
The Grand Canyon from the north rim
They say it’s a small world, but it still feels really big to me.
I’m no expert, but I think I have enough experience to provide a fairly educated opinion on travel. One thing that I often hear about history is that the advent of various methods of transportation made the world “smaller” and brought more people in contact with one another. This always made sense to me, but as I consider this assertion further my opinion has become more nuanced. Despite my use of advanced technology to reach faraway places, the world still feels pretty huge to me. Just because I can get to France in less than a day doesn’t make the Atlantic Ocean look like any less of an obstacle. Humans are still tiny creatures on a giant planet. Even a country as small as Luxembourg would take ages to fully explore.
But yet the world is more interconnected. The internet allows us to communicate with only milliseconds of delay. News now updates constantly through all 24 hours of each day. Globalization is real, whether you call it the salvation or the doom of our world.
French Romanesque architecture
But none of this is new. It’s not like contact between distant peoples is a recent invention. Traders sailed to England from Greece and Phoenicia, a Carthaginian is rumored to have reached the Horn of Africa, and Chinese dignitaries visited the Romans. Vikings found the Americas long before Columbus’ great-great-grandparents were born. And yet the world still hadn’t gotten any smaller… I guess since travel was still too slow back then for our modern tastes.
To find some sort of stopping point for what is becoming quite a ramble, I will say that I don’t think the world has “gotten any smaller.” What’s changed is that communications are quicker. The planet remains as massive as it’s ever been.
Starting out on a strange mood but eager to continue,
Grant