Francofile

French Universities

I haven't blogged since forever ago because I have been submerged by university life.  Thanks to those who inquired about my well-being during my exile from blogdom and please excuse my horrendous breach of blog etiquette.  (Michele was just not going to let me off the hook!) The main preoccupation was all that was going on at the college where I teach.  A secondary preoccupation was watching from afar the situation in France.  You see, I strongly encourage French majors to take a semester or a year at a French university.  They are in fact required to spend time in a French-speaking country in order to complete a French major.  Two of my students were spending the spring semester at a French university.  Around the 22nd of March, I got an email from our study abroad coordinator, uncharacteristically on edge, who had gotten an email from one of our students in France who had slightly injured herself while climbing over a barricade during the CPE backlash.  She asked if I knew what was going on in France. Of course I did, and I was not a bit worried about it.  I calmly asked her to reassure the students and to tell them (and their parents, and the Administration, and whoever else might be worried about it) that this is perfectly normal in France.  I was in touch with them by email to check on morale--they seemed a bit bored with this lack of structure, but OK.  I pitched it as a learning experience.  They would have to make the most of it as they waited it out.  This is very French, after all.  There was talk of general strikes.  Further "actions" took place the following week.  During the third week, an administrator friend at the French university where my students were studying emailed me and said he had been able to get to his office, but that classes would not resume before spring break.  This started to seem a long time for the students to continue to block entrance to the university, but I was not worried.  The government would probably concede and classes would begin again after spring break.  There was a lot of negative buzz about the decline of France in the environment where I live and work.  (I am in one of the "reddest" parts of a pretty red state, so I am often on the defensive when it comes to France and the French.)  Some positive things came of the confrontation regarding this labor law aimed at making it easier to terminate workers in their first two years of employment.  France was suddenly getting a lot of visibility, not necessarily good, but for something less disturbing than the rash of car-burnings that occcurred in fall, '05.  During the CPE controversy, we discussed current developments in my classes, arguing the pros and the cons.  Many sided with the students, many with the government.  Some, regardless of their position on this particular issue, expressed admiration for the French protesters, saying they didn't understand why citizens in the US do not take to the streets when far more objectionable actions are taken by our government.  We used French newspaper accounts and sometimes emails from our students in France to frame the debate.  My students in the US got a good chance to see how ill-informed US coverage of French politics really is.  (We don't expect much accuracy from the likes of Fox News, but even the so-called "elite" media outlets like the New York Times did a pretty sorry job.)  The unrest did not help recruitment efforts for the summer program I was planning, but it did not cause the program to fail, so ten of us will go to France in July.  At the end of March, I attended a gathering of French educators in the US and heard their old war stories from the barricades in France.  Some of them recalled university closings of several months at a stretch in the 1960's and 70's.  This CPE issue seemed to be developing some real momentum and for the first time, I, too, started to think seriously about lost semesters, contingency plans, alternative college credits, and damage control.  In the end, classes did start up after break, and I think my students who were there may one day agree that during the weeks of no classes, they may have learned more than they would have if they had been in class.  They directly experienced a way of exercising power within a democracy that was new to them. I received their photos of mountain hikes and communal dinners "a la francaise."  It seems that a spirit of solidarity flourished in the absence of the daily routine of lectures, labs, and homework.  Students and professors in France once again labor in the vineyard of truth and understanding, at least until the next clash comes along between reformers seeking a more flexible workforce and those who value the French tradition of protecting workers. 

US Coverage of French Riots

Now that the riots have died down and the French are sorting out causes and solutions, I would like to recap the coverage in the US media.  The mainstream news networks were not generally too inflammatory, despite a bit of sensationalizing that is frankly typical of the ratings-conscious major news outlets.   Reports focused on the burning of cars (which made for dramatic photo ops) and the reactions of Villepin, Sarkoszy, and a lack of visibility on the part of Chirac.  The extreme right expressed their triumphant glee (naturellement), but we won't waste time on the predictably tedious spewings of the Fuckfrance.com knuckledraggers or their icons Limbaugh and O'Reilly.  Many conservative newspapers couldn't resist muted displays of smug satisfaction and adaptations of the facts to suit their world view.  Some emphasized that it was a Muslim (read: jihadist ) movement, for which they provided no credible supporting evidence.  Some made observations to the effect that France got its just deserts for refusing to join the US in the War on Terror in Iraq.  (It is amazing that serious journalists are still referring to the Invasion of Iraq as part of a War on Terror, given that the connection to 9/11 has been amply debunked.  Even the Bush Administration has stopped using this term.)  A journalist for the International Herald Tribune claimed that the HLM housing projects in the suburbs had been built expressly to segregate immigrant populations, which is patently untrue.  They were built to ease a housing crisis and to accomodate French people with moderate means from all backgrounds.   For more  examples of conservative disinformation and Schadenfreude-infused quotations from conservative blogs and newspapers, read Patrick Gavin's blog post on the topic.  Patrick closes his post with the reflection that In the end it was hard for me to figure out which was worse: What the riots said about France? Or what our reaction said about us. 

What type of coverage would I have preferred to see?  First, it would have been nice for media outlets to cover expressions of solidarity in France's moment of crisis, given our close economic and historical ties with that country. Not that I would have expected President Bush himself to declare "Now we are all French." during such domestic upheaval, mirroring what Chirac said on September 11th.  But the media didn't seem to have much to cover in terms of American expressions of solidarity.  There seemed to be a tacit underlying assumption that France had this coming.  As far I as I was able to observe, any official expression of solidarity, concern or sympathy for our long-time ally was notably absent.  The French have some social problems to solve and I am confident in their willingness and in their ability to do so.  The right-wing and even moderate press coverage in the US generally reflected a pervasive intellectual laziness and certainly did not provide a serious critique of the societal challenges faced by France. 

Unrest in Suburban France

After a few days of ignoring the news media while enjoying a fall retreat in the woods, I have awakened to the news stories and blog accounts coming from France.  I plan to accompany college students to France this summer, and will face questions from students, parents, and administrators about whether or not we should go, given the current state of affairs, so I am trying to get a good grasp.

Unfortunately, I don't know quite where this situation is going and neither does anyone, really.  Is it the clash of religions? unsocialized adolescent males impulsively acting out their anger?  a reaction against the racism of the "Francais de souche"?  To an extent, it's all of these things, but there is no single satisfactory explanation.  France can and will adapt to the new social realities, but it will probably happen gradually. 

When I traveled in the beautiful country of Algeria in the early 1980's, I found the culture appealing, but very opaque. I enjoyed the trip and met welcoming and interesting people.  But the first thing that struck me in Algiers was that there were so many idle men on the streets and in cafes.  Just like French and American people have very different conceptions of work, there may be a difference in the way immigrants of Algerian descent and the French engage with the working world.  As much as racism, it may be ingrained cultural differences that contribute to the lack of economic advancement of many of the "beurs" (French citizens whose parents were born in North Africa) in the HLM's (subsidized housing complexes).  I know many French citizens (some with ancestry going back generations in France and some of them second generation North Africans) who are undaunted by the task of bridging the two cultures.  They see themselves as part of France, Europe, and the global economy.  The root causes of the current social unrest will eventually be resolved by these people, who will lead others away from ignorance and hate by their own living example. 

Something similar happened over time in the Southern US between black and white Americans.  While many of my friends in the Northern US believed that the South was a hotbed of racism and that African-Americans were far better off in the segregated cities of the north, real everyday people of both races (without attention from the media since only bad news and celebrity news are reported) were living and working together in the South year in and year out and achieving an increasingly (if not perfectly) integrated society. 

This can happen over time in France.  One problem in bridging the cultural breach in France is the gender issue.  It will be a real challenge.  But the legacy of slavery and its aftermath once also seemed an insurmountable obstacle to racial harmony in the US.  Much progress has been made and more must be made.  There have been setbacks and there are still racists in every community.  But if people of good will of all races in France continue to do their part as individuals as many have in the US, these invisible, unsung heroes can create a new society that will be stronger and more resilient than ever before.   

The French have a history of initially seeing recent arrivals as cultural outsiders who bear undesirable "barbarian" values.  Paradoxically, they also have a history of assimilating the energy and ideas of these cultural outsiders, to the overall benefit of France.  Those who think with their reptilian brains, like the rioting gangs, Le Pen's nationalist party, and racists and bigots of various stripes will have their say, but they will not prevail. Normal, everyday people will resolve the cultural divide.  I will continue to plan a three-week study tour to France for summer '06.  And with a little luck, this summer's trip will be the experience of a lifetime for the students. 

Au Revoir or Adieu?

I came across a beautiful post by Amerloque, a long-term American expatriate resident in France.  http://amerloqueparis.blogspot.com/ After talking about the notion of "tradition," Amerloque gives a brief and interesting history of the Samaritaine department store in Paris. I have a long history of shopping at Samaritaine and have always recommended to visitors to Paris that they ride the elevator to the top floor to enjoy one of the best views of the city. You are up high enough to see a lot, but not so high up that everything below looks minuscule. In any case, Samaritaine has been acquired by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), a conglomerate specializing in luxury goods. Amerloque describes the reaction in Paris to a recent announcement by LVMH that Sama will close (for work on the structure), perhaps temporarily. Some feel that the curtain has been drawn on Samaritaine forever and that real estate speculation is behind the closing.

LVMH may be more concerned about keeping its shareholders happy than about preserving a Parisian landmark and an important local employer, but beware. If pervasive corporate interests start running Paris, the City of Light may not continue to draw the visitors it currently attracts. Mitterand’s ‘grands travaux,’ a series of public building projects including among others the expansion of the Louvre, the Bastille Opera, and the Musee d’Orsay, revitalized Paris in the late 20^th century. Corporate interests are also capable of generating the capital to carry out major projects, but with the motivation of enriching shareholders and corporate officers, many of whom are foreign and have no stake in the future of the city. If corporations cash in on Paris, it will be for their gain and at the city’s expense in the long term.

France's Own Path

An internet post from "American Daily News and Commentary" states: "Admit it. The average American would just like to smack Chirac every time his face is shown on the television screen. Chirac and the French use the U.N. to hang on to what little power France has left, and the fact the United States can survive quite nicely without any help from France just drives the French crazy. How dare the United States be so darn successful!"

Of course the US can survive without France’s help or advice. As the world’s only superpower for the time being, the US can survive without help from any other country. But the author shouldn’t be so convinced that France is jealous of the success of the US. Many in France measure success in terms very different from the way it tends to be measured in the USA. Rather than sitting around consumed with envy of the US, France is thoughtfully carving out its own path, one that we may one day want to consider if Americans finally become fed up with the excesses of the work-obsessed, hyper-materialistic and increasingly uncivil lifestyle we have created for ourselves.

The rejection of the EU constitution is neither a repudiation of globalization nor of Europe. What was rejected was a flawed document that was unassimilable to the citizenry and lacked the structure of a framework of guiding principles that a constitution must have to work. The leaders need to listen to the people and make another attempt at crafting a European constitution.

Globalization is a reality embraced by the elites but also largely accepted by the masses in France. A country the size of France cannot afford to be isolationist. Even José Bové, the famed agricultural activist, is not against globalization. He a self-proclaimed "paysan du monde" ("global peasant"). One can be against a certain manifestation of corporate rule without accountability (call it McDonaldization or whatever you will) but still be a globalist. The French are not anti-global despite the May 29 referendum’s result.

The French do not measure wealth in the same way that Americans often do, i.e. in sales figures of durable goods like new cars, refrigerators, and television sets. The idea of well-being and quality of life is based on factors that go beyond consumption. The idea that France is a country on the dole, where citizens depend on the State to satisfy their every need is simply not true. Ronald Reagan constructed the straw woman of the Cadillac-driving "welfare queen" in the 1980's and in the US successfully discredited the idea of a social safety net benefitting anyone but society’s worst parasites. The French have never bought into the idea that because a system of social assistance can be abused, those with a legitimate need should be deprived of it. A well-managed social safety net benefits even those who do not use it. For example, we pay for the lack of a social safety net in higher healthcare costs as hospitals must pass on to patients with the ability to pay their losses incurred while treating the indigent. We live with higher rates of violent crime since the social fabric becomes frayed in a money-driven culture. Whether you prefer to quote the Bible, the Torah, the Qu’ran, or the Enlightenment philosophers, a lot has been written that backs up the French way of thinking when it comes to social welfare.

As the French seek an alternative path to the unfettered free market and corporate forces that are driving much of today’s globalization, they have better things to do than to be tormented with jealousy of the US. If indeed they were jealous of the success of our money-driven society, they would systematically attempt to emulate it. Why should it bother anyone in the US if they don’t?

A Vote Against the Constitution Is Not a Vote Against Europe

Americans talk about the intent of the "framers of the constitution" in many contexts and to prove many conflicting points. What remains a constant is that they are almost always referred to in reverent tones. The framers may have had historical events on their side, but they were also adept in statecraft.  They knew how to write in a voice that would inspire their intended readers and those who would read it for generations to come.

The well-intentioned writers of the 450-page European constitution, which is on the verge of being voted down by the French, have not been so lucky. The "Eurocrats" do not have a momentous historical moment to seize, and have not succeeded in finding the tone or content that would inspire support among the intended beneficiaries.

The French are not known for their "esprit critique" for nothing. A politically mature electorate such as France’s does not jump on every initiative that is touted as a panacea. France showed it was not the 51^st state of the United States, for example, by holding firm in its belief that joining the US-led Iraq invasion was wrong. 

If the French as a people can be criticized for sometimes being too negative, too cynical, and too resistant to change, they can also be admired for being discerning, analytical, and independent in their decision-making. In the case of the European constitution, the French are showing signs that they will once again assert their independent cast of mind by voting down the referendum. Maybe the problem is not Europe, which the majority of French voters still support, but the document itself. If the French hew to their lack of conviction that this is the document that will create a united and democratic Europe, rather than going along with it for the sake of European unity, maybe the result will be a new constitution that will better reflect the aspirations of the European people.

France Deeply Divided

According to a May 13 Agence France-Presse report, French farmer François Goulet poured 20,000 litres (4,400 gallons) of milk down the drain. His gesture shows Goulet is on the side of approximately two thirds of French farmers in his opposition to the European Union’s new Constitution, for which France will hold a referendum on May 29. Goulet is quoted by AFP as stating "It’s not a vote against Europe, but against the technocrats in Paris and in Brussels. They’re imposing more constraints on us and yet we’re earning no more, sometimes even less."

Less predictably, leading French newspaper Le Monde also argues against the referendum.  Commentators have expressed surprise at Le Monde’s stance, since the newspaper’s editors understand full well the damaging impact such a rejection of the European Constitution would have on the European project, not to mention the situation of France within the EU. To understand this split, one need only recall the last EU referendum in France.

On the day in 1992 when France voted to narrowly approve the Maastricht Treaty, I had been invited to enjoy the noon meal with a Parisian family. The father, a business magazine editor, was discussing the "yes" vote he was preparing to cast. The mother, concerned about the loss of France’s unique culture, was prepared to vote "no." One son, a graduate of the prestigious HEC business school employed by a multinational corporation, had decided to vote in favor of the treaty. Another son, a history student at the university, declared his intention to vote against it. On that sunny afternoon, the family ambled peaceably toward the neighborhood polling place, each aware that they were about to cancel out one another’s votes.

Another close referendum comes as no great surprise in a country where the cultural and economic stakes are so high. However, as a self-avowed globalist who also happened to come of age in the agricultural Midwest of the United States in the 1970's and 80's, I believe that France has thus far been judicious to refuse to submit to the domination of agribusiness. Many French farmers feel that powerful supermarket and food processing companies wield too much influence over prices and that they are prevented from selling their produce at a fair price. If a vote against the European Constitution is what it takes to prevent a scenario in which independent farms are nearly eradicated, as they have been in the US, then I reluctantly have to agree with François Goulet and with the editors of Le Monde.

France and the European constitution

The French referendum on the European constitution remains too close to call.   Early on it appeared to be a question of anxiety over cultural identity. But recent reports show that many "no" supporters are driven by economic concerns and what they perceive as an evolution from European cooperation to unbridled competition.  The French newspaper Le Monde came out against the treaty as being divisive, comparing the lack of harmonisation among states it would cause to the competition between US states in the 1920,  leading up to the 1929 stock market crash.  The newspaper argues that a lack of regulation could create a climate of cutthroat competition in which companies in low-wage Eastern Europe might undercut their counterparts in countries such as France, leading to higher unemployment rates.  With Le Monde taking a clear editorial stand againt the European constitution, can anyone doubt that it's ratification in France is in question?