French Cultural Overview

The French are the people of France and its territories, a modern republic and former empire of Western Europe.

Geography

France is a Western European nation bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean. Rolling plains and hills to the north gradually give way to the Pyrenees and Alps Mountain ranges in the south and east. Among the nation’s major rivers are the Seine, Loire, Rhone, Garonne, and Dordogne. Beyond metropolitan France, the country also maintains territories in the Caribbean, French Polynesia, and Guiana, among others.

• Climate: Temperate and Mediterranean

• Capital: Paris, France (approx. population 10.9 million)

• Total Population: 67,106,161 (2017)

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History

The culture of France traces its origins to a blending of Celtic, Germanic, and Roman peoples around 2,000 years ago. After the fall of Rome, medieval France first united under the Frankish Merovingians and Carolingians. By the 10th century, the House of Capet and its cadet branches had taken control. Their dynasties led France through an era of great wealth, artistic achievement, and poverty among its common people. At its height, the House of Bourbon built a global colonial power that would endure well into the 20th century.

Revolution broke out in 1789, briefly toppling the monarchy in favor of a republic. General Napoleon Bonaparte used this instability to declare himself Emperor of France in 1804. He conquered much of Europe before meeting a final defeat in 1815. France then entered another golden age of artistic expression, which was interrupted by two devastating World Wars. Since that time, the nation has remained a major economic and cultural influence in Europe and abroad.

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Daily Life

In pre-modern France, the majority of the population lived as peasant farmers. Most led simple lives in one- or two-room houses, growing food for both themselves and the local nobility. Their diets were heavy in breads, dairy, vegetables, and seafoods in coastal areas. The upper classes could afford more meat, larger houses, and to pursue more advanced trades in the cities. Industrialization brought many changes, including the growth of a broad middle class. From humble roots, the peasant fare of France gave rise to its internationally known regional cuisines. The nation is particularly famous for its fine wines, breads, soups, sauces, and cheeses.

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Society

The Kingdom of France developed during the medieval era, when most European societies organized along feudal lines. A large class of peasant farmers, sometimes free and sometimes not, provided labor to support a warrior nobility. Nobles of various ranks served a single king or emperor while also owing certain duties to the clergy. As the Middle Ages progressed, a middle class of merchants, craftsmen, and scholars grew more prominent.

In the late 18th century, the people of France embarked on a turbulent path to republican government. They were inspired by Enlightenment ideals, which persisted through Napoleon’s empire and German occupation in World War II. The concepts of liberty and personal fulfillment are still prized by many in France today. Its modern government, the Fifth French Republic, formed in 1958 under the leadership of Charles de Gaulle. France is now a diverse society and home to immigrants of many nations. Cultural and linguistic differences still exist between its historic regions and overseas territories, though these are decreasing with time.

• Major Languages: French (76.8 million native speakers) and smaller regional languages

• Urban Population: 80.4% (2018 est.)

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Economy

Before the late Middle Ages, the economy of France revolved around peasant farmers and their lords. Due to violence, disease, and famine, most communities were limited to small villages and feudal manors.

The Renaissance encouraged the growth of urban centers, specialized industry, and foreign trade. Ships left booming ports to claim colonial land in the Americas, Africa, the South Pacific, India, and Southeast Asia. These colonies generated immense wealth for the French middle class and nobility but pushed the peasants into famine, poverty, and eventual revolution. Over the course of the modern era, France lost much of its colonial holdings. Those remaining are now territories with equal status by law. Today, France is a modern economic power with a mostly industrial- and service-based economy.

• Major Industries: Tourism, manufacturing, transportation, technology, energy, and agriculture

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Beliefs

The traditional religion of France is Roman Catholicism, a faith long supported by its monarchy. Prior to Christian conversions, the people of France followed varying blends of Gallic, Roman, and Germanic polytheism. The Middle Ages saw an influx of Jewish communities in France as well as the rise of Protestantism. Bloody conflicts between the Catholic majority and Protestant holdouts divided the kingdom for decades. In the 18th century, France’s educated elite grew to value secular philosophy alongside religious beliefs. The modern nation of France, in keeping with those ideals, does not endorse any specific religion.

Religious Demographics:

• Christian: 63-66%

• None 23-28%

• Muslim 7-9%

• Buddhist 0.5-0.75%,

• Jewish 0.5-0.75%,

• Other 0.5-1.0% (2015 est.)

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Arts & Music

France is world renowned for its contributions to art and architecture. From illuminated manuscripts and stately cathedrals to rococo and impressionism, the nation has long been a major center for European art. The 19th and 20th centuries marked a particular high point in French painting and literature. Among its most famous painters are Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

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References

Haine, W. Scott. The History of France. Greenwood Press. 2000.

Hewitt, Nicholas. The Cambridge Companion to Modern French Culture. Cambridge University Press. 2003.

Simons, Gary F., and Charles D. Fennig. “Summary by Language Size.” Ethnologue, SIL International, www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size.

Small, Graeme. Late Medieval France. Palgrave Macmillan. 2009.

“The World Factbook: France.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html.

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