France

E

Education

The French constitution guarantees all permanent residents a basic education. School attendance is compulsory for students aged 6 to 16, and all public schools up to the university level are free. Higher public education is free for all students who qualify. There are also about 10,000 private schools and colleges in France, most controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. About one in six students under the age of 16 attends private schools. The adult literacy rate in France is 99 percent, one of the world’s highest.

Public education in France is highly centralized. The centralization of state control over school administration began in the early 19th century under Napoleon I. Prior to the French Revolution in 1789, most schools were administered by the Roman Catholic Church. Many of the main features of the modern educational system were adopted in the late 19th century, under the leadership of Education Minister Jules Ferry. A series of laws, enacted between 1881 and 1886, provided for free, compulsory public education entirely under government control. Among later modifications were the establishment of free tuition in secondary and technical schools, the separation of church and state in education in 1905, and the extension of compulsory school attendance to the age of 16 in 1959.

Today, the central government’s administrative role is strongest in primary and secondary education. Metropolitan France is divided into 27 educational districts called académies. Each district is under the jurisdiction of a rector, who is accountable to the ministry of education. The ministry is responsible for maintaining schools, hiring and allocating staff, defining academic programs and curricula, and other matters. The ministry also supervises private schools.

As a result of student unrest in 1968, in which strong demands were made for greater decentralization in higher education, the government created an independent ministry of universities. Prior to 1968, the universities were organized into facultés, or schools, according to the subject taught, and were directly administered by the ministry of education. Afterward, they were reorganized into autonomous multidisciplinary universities, and students and faculty were given a voice in university administration. Under the reform, most of France’s large universities were restructured into smaller units. The University of Paris, the largest, was split into 13 independent universities, 3 of which were formed from the oldest unit, the Sorbonne (see Paris, Universities of).

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The French educational system is competitive. After two or three years of optional preschool activities, students attend a primary (elementary) school from age 6 to 11. Secondary education is divided into two phases. In the first phase, students attend a collège (middle school) until the age of 15. During the second phase, students either take academic courses in general lycées (secondary schools) or take technical and vocational courses in separate institutions called professional lycées. Students attending professional lycées typically earn a professional certificate or diploma after one to three years of study. The general lycée program lasts three years and ends with a comprehensive nationwide examination for the baccalauréate degree, which is required to enter the universities. The baccalaureate examination is rigorous; only two-thirds of those taking the test typically pass it the first time.

The university sector has gradually expanded to offer a wider range of educational opportunities and serve an increasing number of students. In 1966 several instituts universitaires de technologie (technological institutes, or IUTs) were founded. These schools depart from the general studies of the traditional university and specialize in technology subjects. Community colleges, called antennes universitaires, have been established in medium-sized towns such as Blois, Troyes, Tarbes, Beauvais, and Bayonne. In 1991 the government adopted an ambitious program designed to enlarge the system of higher education. By the early 2000s there were 100 IUTs and 87 universities in France. Besides the Universities of Paris I-XIII, noted French institutes of higher education include the Universities of Aix-Marseille I-III, the Universities of Lille I-III, the Universities of Lyon I-III, the Universities of Nancy I-II, and the Universities of Strasbourg I-III.

Alongside the universities is an elite network of graduate schools, known as the grandes écoles. Admission to the grandes écoles is limited by special competitive examinations. Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte (see Napoleon I), these prestigious schools train executives for the highest positions in business and government. Among the best known of these schools are the École Polytechnique (Polytechnic School), founded in 1794 to instruct military professionals, and the École Nationale d’Administration (National School of Administration), a training ground for government leaders.

In a unique category are the Collège de France, founded in 1530, and the Académie Française (French Academy), founded in 1635. The Collège de France invites eminent scholars from all over the world to lecture publicly on their research. Membership in the Académie Française is limited to 40 of the nation’s most prominent citizens, the immortels. The Académie was established in 1635 to uphold the highest standards in the French language and literature, and it is responsible for the publication of the standard grammar and dictionary of the French language. It is the oldest of the five learned societies that make up the prestigious Institut de France.

F

Social Structure

The French Revolution swept away many of the ancient legal privileges enjoyed by the nobility and the clergy and established the principle of legal equality among all citizens. Yet the revolution did not erase sharp distinctions among social groups, nor did it fundamentally alter the distribution of wealth. France still retained a rigid social structure in the early 20th century, with little mobility among social groups. The social strata included peasants, craft and factory workers, shopkeepers, merchants, civil servants, intellectuals, landowners, and petty nobility.

The old social order changed considerably after World War II, as the postwar economic expansion brought growing affluence to an ever larger share of the French population. The vast expansion of the middle classes reduced inequality of wealth and blurred the lines between many social groups. Today power, success, and money are more important than birth in determining a person’s social status.

Another sweeping change in postwar France is the growing role of women in society. Beginning in the early 1970s, women began entering the workforce in increasing numbers, many taking jobs in the expanding service sector. Today women constitute 45.9 percent of all French workers. However, women tend to be concentrated in low-paying jobs, and they are more likely than men to be unemployed. In recent decades women have also played a growing role in politics. Women won the right to vote in 1944; today they account for 53 percent of the French electorate. Many women have pursued successful careers in politics, but their representation in the national parliament is still lower than in most other nations in the European Union (EU).

Many social divisions remain visible in France. A privileged elite composed mainly of leading politicians, senior civil servants, business leaders, and wealthy families still retains a strong grasp on the levers of power. The middle classes are highly stratified. Among white-collar workers, two different groups have emerged: the successful, upwardly mobile senior executives and professionals with expanding spending power and stable jobs, and a growing mass of people in clerical, retail, and food-service jobs for whom unemployment and lower living standards have become increasingly the norm. Blue-collar workers remain, to some extent, economically and socially segregated; only a small proportion of university students come from blue-collar households. The number of blue-collar workers has steadily declined in recent years as the economy has shifted from jobs in industry to those in the service sector.

G

Way of Life

For centuries the French have taken pride in the sophistication of their culture, the beauty of their spoken language, and their diverse accomplishments in literature, the arts, and sciences. Even French cuisine and clothing fashions have long been a source of national pride. During the second half of the 20th century, as French society grew increasingly middle class and consumer oriented, a new set of attitudes and pursuits appeared alongside these elitist cultural attitudes. Material comforts, such as homes, new appliances, and automobiles, became synonymous with a high standard of living.

Despite the concentration of the French population in urban areas, nearly 60 percent of French people live in houses, rather than in apartment buildings. Most dwellings are comfortable and have modern conveniences. In 1962 less than 20 percent of French housing had central heating. By the 1990s nearly 80 percent had central heating, at least one telephone, and access to hot water. Housing is in short supply, and housing costs, as a share of household budgets, have risen in recent decades. Outlays for housing absorb about one-fifth of all household spending.

The French enjoy a wide range of sports and recreational activities. Millions of people belong to sports clubs, the most common of which are devoted to soccer, tennis, a bowling game called boules, and basketball. The most popular professional sports are soccer and bicycle racing (see Cycling). The monthlong Tour de France, the world’s most famous and prestigious bicycle race, has been held annually since 1903. Horse racing at Longchamps and Auteuil in Paris and automobile racing at Le Mans also draw large crowds. The French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris attracts international attention.

Many French people enjoy eating, drinking, and socializing at sidewalk cafes, which are prevalent in most cities and towns. The cinema is also very popular, drawing some 15 million patrons each year. Music concerts are well attended throughout France, and many provincial towns host their own music, theater, and dance festivals.

The French are famous for their cuisine, and fine food remains an important part of the French way of life. Thousands of regional dishes are popular in France. Beloved ingredients include generous amounts of garlic, olive oil, butter, cream, and local cheeses and wines. French dishes that have risen to national and international prominence include a seafood soup called bouillabaisse, crepes, quiches, andouillette sausage, and a goose-liver paste called pâté de foie gras. Breads and pastries are a daily staple and are widely available at local bakeries, known as boulangeries.

The traditional French meal pattern is to eat a light breakfast, a large lunch, and a somewhat lighter dinner. French wines are often served with lunch or dinner. In recent decades fast food has grown in popularity, especially among young people, and elaborate meals are increasingly reserved for special occasions. The movement toward convenience in eating is also evident in the growing consumption of frozen and prepackaged foods.

The French are devoted to holidays and vacations. In addition to the Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Easter holidays, the religious feast days of Mardi Gras in the spring, Pentecost in May or June, Assumption Day on August 15th, and All Saint’s Day on November 1st are celebrated across France. The national holiday, Bastille Day on July 14th, commemorates the fall of the Bastille in the French Revolution. Most French workers are entitled to five weeks of paid vacation annually, and travel abroad has become increasingly popular. August is the most popular month for vacation, leading to enormous congestion in resort areas at that time of year.

H

Social Issues

Despite the generally high living standards enjoyed by many French citizens, the nation has not escaped serious social problems. One of the most pressing issues is the apparent formation of a permanent underclass. During the 1990s, unemployment consistently exceeded 10 percent of the workforce—a high rate by the standards of the more prosperous countries of the European Union (EU)—and it declined only marginally in the early 2000s. The unemployed include blue-collar workers unable to find work in an economy increasingly dominated by services and high-quality manufactures; immigrants, especially from countries in North Africa; and large numbers of women and young people. Unemployment rates are highest in the old coal- and steel-producing regions of northern France and along the Mediterranean coast. Strikes and labor unrest are common in France. Student protests are also prevalent and bear some relationship to the difficulty young people have in finding good jobs.

A serious social issue related to the persistence of high rates of unemployment has been a rise in crime and violence, particularly among youth. During the 1990s the number of people aged 13 to 18 jailed for violent crime nearly tripled. Youth violence and other criminal activity are often associated with gangs in the tough, low-income housing projects that ring many French cities. Most of these complexes were originally built in the 1960s and 1970s to help solve housing shortages, but they soon became homes for the disadvantaged and underprivileged. Immigrants tend to be concentrated in these housing projects, and unemployment usually far exceeds the national average. Major riots erupted in some of these complexes in the 1980s and 1990s. Some critics put part of the blame for the rise in crime and youth violence on the French state, blaming the government for failing to integrate immigrant populations into French society.

Racism is an enduring social problem in France. The most significant expressions of contemporary racism are anti-Semitism and anti-immigrant racism. Most of the violence directed against Jewish people in recent decades has been symbolic, such as anti-Semitic graffiti and the desecration of synagogues and graves. Immigrants, especially those bearing visible signs of ethnic and cultural difference, have also been targets of racial violence in recent years. The anti-immigrant National Front, led by Jean-Marie Le Pen, blames immigrants, particularly people from North Africa, for high unemployment and urban violence in France. National programs are in place to address racism, including the diversification of France’s police force, but many underlying problems remain.

Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov contributed the People and Society section of this article.

IV

Culture

The culture of France has profoundly influenced that of the entire Western world, particularly in the areas of art and letters, and Paris has long been regarded as the fountainhead of French culture. France first attained cultural preeminence in Europe during the Middle Ages; later, the wealth of the French crown in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries provided a subsidization of art on a scale comparable to that of the papacy in Rome, attracting to Paris many of Europe’s most talented artists and artisans. Wealth also created a leisure class, which had both the time and the means for developing elegance in dress, manners, furnishings, and architecture. French styles still pervade much of Western culture. In the 20th century French cinema assumed a leading world position, particularly in the 1960s with the nouvelle vague (“new wave”) group of film directors, such as Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, and François Truffaut.

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