Modern France: Cultural Richness and Complex Realities

Modern France vs. the Export Version

No one ever seems to ask us why we moved to France, of all of the places we considered. They should. Somehow, a lot of people I know have bought into the image of France for export. The export version typically includes some of the famous symbols of the country, the Eiffel Tower, somebody in a beret and a striped shirt and so on.

It is a culturally rich and beautiful place. I don’t question that, but one thing I do enjoy about the country is considering some of the complexity that is here, the diversity and the contributions from other cultures, and so on.

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It is simply not the postcard version or the historical version or even just Paris. While Paris remains a symbol of the culture and it is a stunningly beautiful city, it’s also a symbol that people look to and say, “This is French,” and to other, “this is not French.” But it all is.

garbage strikes are very French, it seems

There’s a lot more, for good and bad.

The French language is a big unifier, even if there is an irritating correctness about it that excludes many people. There’s a common practice of asking about accents and cultural backgrounds in a way that’s not always welcoming.

Living here without a strong command of the language can be isolating and frustrating. Pronunciation poses a constant challenge - mastering the accent takes time. I’m not there yet.

French business hours are getting to be a bit less of a mystery and, unless it has anything to do with food, we don’t expect to see anywhere open from 12-2pm near where we live.  Everything stops for lunch.

The amount of paperwork and waiting for anything bureaucratic to get done has just been incredible. If anything had to urgently happen, I don’t know if the paperwork would allow it.

students at a high school take down their protest garbage piles at the end of the day

modern France is complicated, but that’s good too

I’m a fan of modern France, but there is a lot of conflict. Certain parts of society have a problem with changes to the language and the like, or changes to the food. France is a diverse place in terms of languages, cultures and people you see on the street.

France has a nostalgia problem. For a country with a long history, it seems natural. The culture is changing and some people don’t like that in ways that remind me of the United States.

France has a not-too-thinly veiled islamophobia that looks like people protesting to make sure the country “remains secular,” whatever that means in a country dotted every 5 feet with religious statues or an actual church. A series of recent attacks by people with Islamist associations has exacerbated this. It’s not that concern about the attacks isn’t legitimate, it’s just that there are well over 3 million Muslims in the country - about 5% of the country.

It’s hard to completely ignore the political situation in France when our first 2 months in this town were marked by garbage strikes and regular protests. When they’re burning car tires around the supermarket, the focus changes away from just running errands.

As the French say, c’est compliqué. “It’s complicated.” It just is. I can appreciate people’s desire to make things simpler, but that’s not likely to happen. Chances are that your problems will still be there no matter who you want to blame for the country’s problems.

If you’re looking for modern symbols of France, I’d likely use burning car tires before a beret or an accordion or something. I’ve seen a lot more of those. Or perhaps the yellow vests, after the protests of 2018 paralyzed much of the country, they have been ready to begin again. And yes, in our town at least, all of the strikers took breaks for lunch every single day.

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