Tour Manager Notes: France

Key facts

Size: 552 000km².

Biggest country in Europe (excluding Russia).

Almost twice the size of Nevada.

5500 km of frontiers.

Population: 60.7 million (2001).

12 million people live in the greater Paris area, referred to as the “Ile de France”.

Biggest cities:

• Paris (9.8 million)
• Lyon (1.4 million)
• Marseille (1.4 million)
• Lille (1.1 million)
• Toulouse (0.9 million)

Important rivers: The Seine, 775km long and the Loire, 1010 km long.

Forest: 26% of France is forest. It has one of the largest amounts of forest of any European country; only Sweden and Finland have more.

Overview

These notes are intended as additional material, which may be useful for long bus trips, when they can be presented informally and left open for discussion.

Regional diversity and shape

L’Hexagone, as the French frequently refer to their country, is washed by the sea on three sides (Channel, Atlantic, Mediterranean) and the other three sides share borders with Spain (SW), Italy and Switzerland (SE), Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium (NE).

Regions

France is divided up into distinct regions, e.g. Provence, Normandy, Auvergne, Burgundy. Administratively these regions are split up into départements. Altogether (including the two départements of Corsica) there are 96 départements, which are numbered in alphabetical order: 01 Ain, 02 Aisne, 03 Allier ….88 Vosges, 89 Yonne. Only the relatively recently created départements of the Ile de France don’t observe this rule (Paris is 75, there are 77, 78 and 91 to 95). These figures are used in the postcodes and car number plates.

France is the most centralized country in Europe. The centralization of authority was begun by Louis XIV who brought the entire nobility to Versailles where he could keep his beady eye on them and quash any potential regional disturbances before they began.

However the centralization of France is really the work of the French Revolution. In an attempt to break down old loyalties and inspire patriotism, the country was divided into the above-mentioned départements, with strictly geographical names (in most cases rivers). After the Revolution Napoleon consolidated this system by sending out his prefects (based on the Roman model) to administer throughout the country, which explains why the capital town of the département is called the préfecture. All the towns in the département had to be within a day’s ride on horseback from the Prefecture, which is why in mountainous areas the départements are much smaller than those of flatter regions.

De Gaulle’s “certaine idée de la France” did not encourage decentralization, and it is only in the last fifteen years or so that efforts have been made to increase the autonomy of the different regions.

Notwithstanding the centralized administration, regionalism has survived over the years and any visitor to France will realise that it is not a country with only one soul. Situated between Flanders and Cataluña, only a hop away from England and Africa, there is a vast panoply of traditions particular to one area.

The following notes constitute just a brief introduction to each region and serve to illustrate the great diversity of the country. For more detail see the region-specific notes.

Brittany

An independent country until the 15th century, Brittany is in many ways quite different to the rest of France. As an independent state, one striking difference was that it allowed female rulers – the most famous being Anne of Brittany. Winning the hand of the Bretonne Queen proved as vital for Charles VIII as it was to the creation of modern France. Upon her marriage (which took place incidentally in the Loire valley castle of Langeais) the young Queen was made to promise that should her husband die before her, she would marry his successor. It was therefore inconvenient that when Charles died his successor was already married. Louis XII had to have his first marriage annulled so that he would be free to marry Anne – a lot of machinations to keep a kingdom. It just goes to show how important the consolidation of this territory was considered. Brittany has been part of France ever since, giving it oysters and crêpes, yet it retains much of its local colour and has only a tiny nationalist movement.

The local language, Breton, is a Celtic language quite close to Welsh – a fact hardly surprising when you think that Brittany was essentially “created” in the 4th century AD by Celtic migrants who were fleeing the incursions of the Anglo-Saxons and crossed into Finisterre from Cornwall. Some schools still teach it and there is even a satellite TV channel called “TV Breizh” based in the town of Lorient that broadcasts in “Breizh”, the Breton language.

Normandy

Normandy is usually associated with William the Conqueror, who defeated poor old Harold and went on to become King of England. It is also known for lending its name to the style of architecture that uses rounded arches and round towers. Local specialties include cider, Camembert and Calvados (apple liqueur).

For many of course, the region is inseparable from the events of modern history, namely World War II. A beautiful rural area, devastated by the battles of June 1944 that lead to the liberation of France, it has become a poignant reminder of that horrendous time. Nearly 600 towns and villages were reduced to rubble. The countryside is dotted with important landmarks commemorating particular events of the war, such as the Pegasus Bridge (where the first paratroopers landed), the Pointe d’Hoc (abandoned German bunkers and shell holes), and of course the D-Day beaches.

Pays Basque

Tucked away in the far south-western corner of the country, the Pays Basque is home to oldest European language “Euskara”. Nobody is quite sure where this language comes from as it’s quite unlike all other European languages. The Basques are conscious of their national identity and in most towns the street names and signs are written in both Basque and French.

Crossing the Pyrenees into Northern Spain, the region is known for its hard sheep’s cheeses, its strength contests and of course “Pelote Basque”. As you drive around the region you’ll often see 3-sided courts which are used to play this high speed ball game. It involves wearing a huge leather glove and whacking a ball that’s hurtling at frightening speed. It is said to be the fastest ball game in the world.

Sadly, at international level, the Pays Basque is associated with the ETA – the movement for Basque independence, which operates on the Spanish side of the frontier. In France, the separatist movement is very small and has little popular support.

The three French Basque provinces are: Le Labourd, La Basse Navarre, La Soule.

Alsace

Alsace has a pretty unique history largely due to its geographical situation on the border of Germany. Sometimes French, sometimes German, the local people speak a dialect that blends the two languages in much the same way as they have blended their cuisine, their architecture and their customs. Alsace is home to Choucroute (essentially a bitter cabbage dish served with sausage, or jarret de porc – a side of ham).

It too has a rather sad side to its history, since being annexed to Germany from 1871 to the end of WW1 as well as from 1940–1944, its male citizens at these times were required to serve in the German army. Many families had elder sons who fought for France at the start of the war and younger sons who fought for Germany towards its end.

Strasbourg is the seat of the Council of Europe, of the European Parliament and European Court of Human Rights.

Provence

Associated with lavender, olives, and the chirruping of the cigales (a kind of grasshopper) this region soared in popularity amongst English-speakers with the publication of Peter Mayle’s novel “Toujours Provence”. For the French however it’s more the films of “Manon des Sources” and “Jean de Florette” based on the novels of Marcel Pagnol (1895–1974) that conjure up the real Provence. Whatever your reference, the heat of the summers, the metallic clang of boules being played by old men on a shady square, the aniseed smell of Pastis being sipped before lunch are all unmistakably Provençal. What with the bright coloured fabrics that adorn the shop fronts, the purpley hue of the lavender fields and the costumes of the cowboys running bulls through the streets, Provence has a theatrical quality that lends itself to film and fiction. No wonder painters like Van Gogh (Arles) and Cézanne (Aix en Provence) found inspiration here.

Paris – a special case

Take a road map – or even better – a rail map, and you will understand how France works. Paris is the point where all the lines meet. It’s not surprising that for many French people Paris, c’est la France. Parisians especially tend to think this.

Due to the great centralization, many young people feel obliged to come to Paris if they are to succeed in professional careers. Of course Paris is a typical cosmopolitan city with all the de-humanising aspects that inevitably go along with it. Violence is less of a problem than the day-to-day unpleasantness that comes with working in a capital city – of traveling long distances in crowded public transport and of course having to confront the harsher realities of life, i.e. beggars, gypsies and the homeless.

For a long time on the increase however, these social ills are starting to fall back as recent government measures to increase urban security and get people back to work are taking effect. The introduction of a 35 hour working week for example, although hugely controversial, has helped to lower the unemployment rate, just as the threat of a presidential victory for Jean Marie Le Pen’s National Front has awakened the mainstream political parties to the importance of tackling urban insecurity if they are to keep the extreme right from gaining votes.

Apart from this, Paris is still one of the most pleasant cities to live in, especially if you have some money to spend. In a European opinion poll, when asked to choose the country and city with the highest quality of life, by far the biggest proportion of Europeans selected France and Paris. Spared the bombs of World War II which were to wreck so many architectural treasures in Germany or Britain, the French capital has conserved an ancient elegance in its tree lined boulevards (who can resist a stroll along the Champs Elysées), its neat, shady parks (Luxembourg or the Tuileries) and carefully aligned perspectives. 71 million foreign tourists from all over the world visit each year making France the most visited country in the world.

The Metro

• Opened 19th July 1900
• 124 miles of track
• 368 stations
• 6 million commuters per day
• No building in Paris more than 500m from a metro station

Politics – Le Président

The French Head of State lives at the Elysées Palace just off the Champs-Elysées. Until 2000, the President ruled for 7 years, but now he rules for only 5, as will Jacques Chirac who in May 2002 was elected to a second term of office.

National institutions

The Marseillaise

Composed in Strasbourg in 1792 it was the war song for the Rhine troops. It became the National Anthem by decree on 14 July 1795.

The « Tricolore »

In 1789 La Fayette added the white symbol of royalty to the blue and red insignia of the Paris National Guard – the new three-coloured flag became the official emblem of the French Republic.

Le Premier Ministre

Appointed by the President, the Prime Minister heads the government and must answer to parliament for its actions. Jean-Pierre Raffarin was appointed by Chirac in May 2002.

Le Parlement

Parliament consists of 2 assemblies:

• The National Assembly – elected for 5 years, containing 577 members
• The Senate – elected for 9 years containing 321 Senators

Their role, apart from keeping an eye on the government, is to develop and vote laws.

Society – School

To get a lively image of French primary school, read Le Petit Nicolas. The national education system includes the école maternelle, the école primaire and the collège or lycée with the baccalauréat (le bac) as a final exam. In 1980, 34% of pupils got to this point, compared with 62% in 2000. (Is France getting cleverer?)

The bac automatically allows entrance to the University (la Fac), without an entrance exam. University is free (except for a small registration fee), but unfortunately most of the Universities are running out of space – for obvious reasons. The major University towns are Paris, Aix, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Lille, Montpellier, Strasbourg and Nice. The idea of a campus has not yet caught on and students generally rent a room in town or live with their parents.

School teachers are employed by the state and do not have a lot of choice in where they teach, especially teachers without much seniority. This explains why desirable places like Paris and the French Riviera are taken over by older teachers, leaving the young ones to struggle with posts in underprivileged areas.

July and August are the holiday months, during which primary school children can choose to go to a colonie de vacances. For this purpose, most major French towns and firms possess a country house, if possible near the sea or in the mountains. La rentrée in September is a big event, commercially rivalled only by Christmas. Parents spend a fortune to equip the kids with the right sort of satchel, pencil case, scrap books … and the sneakers and jeans that go with them.

At school the pupils greet each other formally from about the age of twelve. The girls se donnent la bise (kisses on the cheek; two, three or four depending on local customs), the boys shake hands.

Names

Most surnames go back to the Middle Ages, becoming permanent in 1539 when a registry of births, marriages and deaths was first established. What is interesting is how these names reflect French history, geography, or society. Here are some examples:

• Names taken from peoples that occupied: i.e. Greek (Phillipe), Latin (Antoine), or Germanic (Girard).
• Names reflecting geography: i.e. Lebreton, Montagne.
• Names reflecting professions: i.e. Meunier, Pelletier.
• Names reflecting social positions: i.e. Lemaître, Lenoble.
• Names reflecting family relationships: i.e. Cousin.
• Names reflecting physical features: i.e. Leblond, lesage, Petit (like Emmanuel Petit, the footballer!).

People

Most people in France are at least nominally Catholic, around 65% declaring themselves so in a recent poll. If they’re not regular church-goers, many nonetheless attend key ceremonies – going to mass at Christmas, baptizing their children, getting married in church etc in the traditional way. Trends are changing however, with increasing numbers of young couples choosing to live in a state of “union libre” – living together in a shared home without actually getting married (about 50% of couples). Displaying great broadmindedness, the French created in 1999 the “PACS” (Pacte civile de Solidarité), which has enabled both homosexual and heterosexual couples to co-habit and enjoy the fiscal and social welfare benefits of married couples, without actually having to get the dress or the ring. Since today only 48% of young French people say they believe in God as opposed to 81% thirty years ago, such secular institutions may soon become the norm.

Islam

Islam is the second most important religion with almost 5 million adepts in France, mostly those of North African abstraction. On your tour of Paris you are likely to see the vast glass façade of the “Institut du Monde Arabe” (just next to the Jardin des Plantes) and perhaps even the dome of the nearby Mosquée de Paris which bear witness to the importance of Islamic culture in France today.

The family

The family continues to be an important institution and the welfare state is designed to promote and protect the interests of those raising children. Increasing numbers of women manage to juggle their children and their work with varying success. The big difficulty for working women as elsewhere in the Western world, lies in finding cheap reliable childcare. Paris has a large number of public crèches, but to get your child a place, it must be on the list as soon as it’s conceived. For many women the cost of childcare is too prohibitive particularly for single mothers – although women make up 45% of the work force they are still on average earning 25% less than their male counterparts.

Immigrants

Immigrants are increasingly replacing the disappearing Paris working classes. In most cases their roots are in the former French colonies in central and Northern Africa, and particularly from le maghreb (an Arabic term, quite literally the land of the setting sun) i.e. Algeria and Morocco. Many of them are second or even third generation and therefore may not speak Arabic and may never have visited their parents’ homeland. Undoubtedly a cause of racial tension and the rise of extreme rightwing attitudes, the North African immigrants (les beurs) have, on the other hand, added a whole new culture to urban French life.

Modelling themselves on the New York rap scene they have greatly influenced French pop music and films, creating an interesting French/Arabic hot pot. Couscous can be found just as easily as crepes or baguette, and Arabic words such as “le toubib” meaning doctor, have been absorbed into French slang. One of the country’s best-loved comedians, Jamal Debbouze (the grocer’s assistant in “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain”) is of Moroccan descent and the hero of French football, Zineddine Zidane, who led his team to victory in the 1998 World Cup, is of Algerian origin.

Undoubtedly a cause of friction in cities with high unemployment rates and large concentrations of illegal immigrants (such as Marseille for example), the vast majority of French people deplore right wing parties that seek to reduce the rights of immigrant families, giving priority instead to those of French ancestry. On May 1st 2002 1.3 million people took to the streets to show their disgust and outrage at the presence of the far right in the second round of the presidential elections. The National Front lead by the infamous Jean Marie le Pen won 16% of votes in the first round, only 3% behind Jacques Chirac, which rocked the French nation to the core. Interestingly, Paris has one of the lowest levels of support for the far right of any city in the country.

Croissants

Croissants have an interesting origin. During the Crusades, when the Christian armies were fighting the Muslims in the Holy Lands, the Christians used the cross as their symbol (on banners, flags etc) and the Muslims used the crescent moon as theirs. Whenever the Crusaders won a victory, the Christians back home celebrated by baking crescent-moon shaped pastries, “Croissants” in French.

Gastronomy

At 1 pm more than 50% of the population of France is having lunch and 70% of them are eating at a table at home (Gallimard, 24h en France).

This says it all. Food is still one an important part of a French person’s life. If they are not eating it, they are shopping for or preparing it. Lunch and dinner are traditionally three or four course meals, while breakfast consists of just coffee and a “tartine” (slice of bread or toast). The quality of the meal is important (fresh ingredients, un-spoilt flavours), and whatever you order will always come with bread. Some people still eat fish on Fridays; horse-meat is less popular than it used to be but is still on sale (which do you prefer: Mad Cow or Crazy Horse?). Vegetarians are considered hardly sane in a country where no part of the animal is wasted. If you go to a traditional Parisian brasserie, you’ll often come across delicacies such as sweetbreads, gizzard, trotters, tongue, muzzle, brain or tripe.

On the coast, shellfish and seafood abound and you’ll often see two-tiered trays stacked with mussels, crab, oysters and shrimp. When the French want to pull out the stops, it is often oysters they turn to, eating them at Christmas, as they do « foie gras » (a kind of duck liver paté from the south west), which is eaten on little pieces of toast and accompanied by a sweet white wine.

Most towns have street markets selling fresh local produce – even in Paris most districts have a market at least once a week. If you’re travelling in Provence the markets are full of wonderful smells and colours and you at once get a feel for what’s in season – heaps of watermelons can only mean summer. Of course each region has its own specialty and the best way to find it is to head for the market and see what the locals are buying.

Cheese

In 774, on return from fighting Lombards, Charlemagne stopped at Plateau de Brie near Abbey of Meaux. The Monks there served a plate of cheese, which they told him to eat without removing crust. He loved it and ordered two batches of it to be sent to his castle every year.

Brie is one of 500 listed cheeses in France and dates back to the time of monastic farming. The curd is aired then shoveled onto a flat straw-based mould before being left to drain on a sloping shelf. After 24 hours it is salted, dried, turned and matured for 4–7 weeks.

Final product is: 37 x 3.5 cm

Weighs: 3kg

Has taken: 23 litres of full cream milk.

Brie has a golden crust, a straw-coloured body and should be eaten with crusty bread.

It was a favourite of Charles VIII and Henri IV but cost Louis XVI his life – he was caught in a tavern at Varennes because he took too long to eat his cheese.

European legislation is killing traditionally farmed cheese. In 1985 6,000 tons of “proper” traditional Brie were produced against 18,000 tons of industrially produced Brie.

August 1792, many Monks of Meaux were killed in the French revolution, but one fled to Normandy on his way to England. He stopped long enough in one village to show a farmer’s wife all he knew about cheese-making. This village was called Camembert.

Officially there are 340 different kinds of French cheeses (as in De Gaulle’s “how can you govern a country that has …”).

A traditional plateau de fromages in a restaurant should include at least one hard cheese (pâte pressé) like Cantal or Comté, one soft cheese (pâte molle) like Brie or Camembert, one blue cheese like Bleu d’Auvergne or Roquefort, and a goat cheese. French cheeses normally come with picturesque names especially in the goat cheese category. There is for example Crottin, Chabichou, Cabécou, not to mention Poivre d’âne (donkey pepper) and cervelle de canut (weaver’s brain).

Wine

Meals are accompanied by bread, water (France is one of the largest consumers and bottlers of mineral water) and wine, which is quite often very ordinary (du onze ou du douze refers to the alcohol content of vin ordinaire). Many French people are, of course, very knowledgeable about their wine but it is hard to find a wine snob. The French drink French wine almost exclusively – it is nearly impossible to find Californian, Chilean or South African wines in a French supermarket, and you might have to go a long way to find your bottle of Chianti. Wine is part of the meal and is even given to children, diluted with water. However, the level of public drunkenness seems to be much lower than in Northern European countries since wine always accompanies meals. Still, alcohol consumption per head in France is relatively high and the idea of not drinking and driving has not really caught on.

French wine is divided up in four categories:

• AOC meaning Appellation d’Origine. The best and most expensive, which is subdivided into different levels of Grand Cru, e.g. 2eme Grand cru classé. The highest percentage of AOC’s are found in Burgundy and around Bordeaux.
• VDQS meaning Vin de Qualité Supérieure.
• Vin du Pays meaning honest local stuff (eg. Vin du Pays de l’Hérault, Côteaux de l’Ardèche).
• Vin de Table meaning plonk (le gros rouge qui tâche). A generally vile brew, but usually still considered better than any foreign muck.

Each wine growing area uses different root-stock. Depending on the rules imposed on an appellation controllée, different varieties of grape are mixed. Some of them use just a single variety (Pinot Noir in Burgundy) or up to 13 (Chateuneuf-du Pape).

Culture – Cinema

Since its creation by the Frères Lumières in Lyon in 1895, the cinema has continued to play an important part in French life. The calendar is dotted with festivals celebrating what has become one of the best-loved art forms of all time. Ranging from the glitz and glamour of Cannes to the more low key charm of Honfleur or Dinard, French towns vie to attract the big names of directing, acting and script writing. Of course, Cannes is perhaps the best known (look for the hand prints of the rich and famous in the paving stones around the Palais des Festivales), but fans of American film flock to Deauville in Normandy for its August festival, whilst those with a taste for mystery head for Cognac – no, not to test the well-known digéstif – but rather to attend the Thriller Film festival which kicks off in the Spring.

In 2000, 171 films were produced in France making it the second largest investor in the film industry in the world. Many of the great successes achieve international reknown: “Le fabuleaux Destin d’Amelie Poulain” for example, which is set in Montmartre and tells a story of romantic idealism attracted over 8 million French viewers in 2001, and 15.5 million viewers across Europe.

Many French actors too have succeeded in exporting themselves, particularly those who master English. A good example is Jean Reno, who played the part of a professional killer with a warm heart in « Leon ». American audiences will probably also be familiar with Gerard Depardieu (Green Card, Asterix and Obélix), who recently performed alongside Uma Thurman in a French historical drama called « Vatel » in which he played the part of Louis XIV’s Master of Ceremonies and Head Chef, entrusted with the daunting task of preparing entertainment and banquets for the royal court.

Although the French excel at producing these very high quality historical dramas, which incidentally include « La Reine Margot » (great for getting to grips with the Wars of Religion and all the intrigue of Catherine of Medicis Loire Valley court), they have recently broken into the action movie market with blockbuster hits such as « Taxi » (also available « Taxi II ») which features high speed car chases through the streets of Paris.

Sport

The French tend to be a very active nation. The great diversity of landscape means that you can ski, surf, mountain-climb, and sail without leaving the country. With access to both the Pyrenees and the Alps as well to 3 seas (the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Channel) holidaymakers can happily stay on French soil to practice both summer and winter sports.

Some typical casual French words:

• le fric : l’argent
• le flic : l’agent de police
• le cinoche : le cinema (Bastoche – la Bastille etc)
• le canard : le journal
• la frangine : la soeur
• une nana : une fille
• un mec : un garcon
• un truc : une chose
• le boulot : le travail
• la bagnole : la voiture

Abbreviations are very common, like Le Boul’ Mich’, la Secu, la Bédé and le beauf (beau-frère).

Football is of course hugely popular. Having hosted and won the World Cup in 1998, the interest in International as well as local teams is enormous, particularly as many French players have signed colossal contracts with other European teams such Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester United. Look out for the Stade de France as you approach Paris from Roissy airport, it was built especially to host the World Cup and can seat up to 100,000 spectators. Its roof alone covers 6 hectares – the size of the place de la Concorde – and it welcomes some 1,750,000 spectators every year. It’s made of 42000 tons of steel and cost about 4 million Euros to build.

Cycling too is very popular and many people turn out to watch the Tour de France if it passes through their region. Texan Lance Armstrong, having overcome cancer, has won every Tour since 1999 increasing interest in the sport across the ocean and many tourists as well as French nationals rush to the Champs-Elysées to see the winners cross the finish. 2003 will be particularly spectacular as the Tour celebrates its 100th anniversary. The 22 teams have three weeks to cover the 3350km including 21 mountain passes. In all there are about 3 million Euros to be won of which 400,000 will go to the single fastest cyclist. Get pedalling.

For tennis, it all happens at Roland Garros to the west of the capital, whilst for horse-racing you have to go east, to Vincennes. Rugby is traditionally played in the South West of the country, the best teams being those of Toulouse and Brive, although in recent years this sport too has received a huge boost on a national level as the French team has not ceased to win international competitions.

Communication

French journalism often has to do with linguistic and intellectual acrobatics, in particular in Le Monde. The most important serious daily newspapers are, from the political left to right: L’Humanité, Libération, Le Monde, Le Figaro. The sensational press is less extreme than in Germany and Britain. France Soir and Le Parisien have the largest circulations. Weekly magazines reviewing current events are a tradition and widely read. They are, from Left to Right, Le Canard Enchainé (satire), Le Nouvel Observateur, L’Evénement du Jeudi, L’Express, Le Point, Figaro Magazine and Minute (National Front).

There is the usual array of “people” magazines with titles like Voici, Ici Paris and the famous Paris Match (le choc des photos).

Monthly magazines range from computer science to pornography with a wide variety of women’s magazines like Marie Claire, Marie France, Biba and Elle, which appears weekly.