Rick Steves France

About the time of Christ, Romans “Latinized” the land of the Gauls. With the fifth-century AD fall of Rome, the barbarian Franks and Burgundians invaded. Today’s France evolved from this unique mix of Latin and Celtic cultures.

While France wallowed with the rest of Europe in medieval darkness, it got a head start in its development as a nation-state. In 507, Clovis, the king of the Franks, established Paris as the capital of his Christian Merovingian dynasty. Clovis and the Franks would eventually become Louis and the French. The Frankish military leader Charles Martel stopped the spread of Islam by beating the Spanish Moors at the Battle of Poitiers in 732. And Charlemagne, the most important of the “Dark Age” Frankish kings, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope in 800. Charles the Great presided over the “Carolingian Renaissance” and effectively ruled an empire that was vast for its time.

The Treaty of Verdun (843), which divided Charlemagne’s empire among his grandsons, marks what could be considered the birth of Europe. For the first time, a treaty was signed in vernacular languages (French and German), rather than in Latin. This split established a Franco-Germanic divide, and heralded an age of fragmentation. While petty princes took the reigns, the Frankish king ruled only Ile de France, a small region around Paris.

Vikings, or Norsemen, settled in what became Normandy. Later, in 1066, these “Normans” invaded England. The Norman king, William the Conqueror, consolidated his English domain, accelerating the formation of modern England. But his rule also muddied the political waters between England and France, kicking off a centuries-long struggle between the two nations.

In the 12th century, Eleanor of Aquitaine (a separate country in southwest France) married Louis VII, king of France, bringing Aquitaine under French rule. They divorced, and she married Henry of Normandy, soon to be Henry II of England. This marital union gave England control of a huge swath of land from the English Channel to the Pyrenees. For 300 years, France and England would struggle over control of Aquitaine. Any enemy of the French king would find a natural ally in the English king.

In 1328, the French king Charles IV died without a son. The English king (Edward III), Charles IV’s nephew, was interested in the throne, but the French resisted. This quandary pitted France, the biggest and richest country in Europe, against England, which had the biggest army. They fought from 1337 to 1453 in what was modestly called the Hundred Years’ War.

Regional powers from within France actually sided with England. Burgundy took Paris, captured the royal family, and recognized the English king as heir to the French throne. England controlled France from the Loire north, and things looked bleak for the French king.

Enter Joan of Arc, a 16-year-old peasant girl driven by religious voices. France’s national heroine left home to support Charles VII, the dauphin (boy prince, heir to the throne but too young to rule). Joan rallied the French, ultimately inspiring them to throw out the English. In 1430, Joan was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English, who then convicted her of heresy and burned her at the stake in Rouen. But the inspiration of Joan of Arc lived on, and by 1453 English holdings on the Continent had dwindled to the port of Calais. (For more on Joan of Arc, see here.)

By 1500, a strong, centralized France had emerged, with borders similar to those of today. Its kings (from the Renaissance François I through the Henrys and all those Louises) were model divine monarchs, setting the standards for absolute rule in Europe.

Outrage over the power plays and spending sprees of the kings—coupled with the modern thinking of the Enlightenment (whose leaders were the French philosophes)—led to the French Revolution of 1789. In France, it was the end of the ancien régime, as well as its notion that some are born to rule, while others are born to be ruled.

The excesses of the Revolution in turn led to the rise of Napoleon, who ruled the French empire as a dictator. Eventually, his excesses ushered him into a South Atlantic exile, and after another half-century of monarchy and empire, the French settled on a compromise role for their leader. The modern French “king” is ruled by a constitution. Rather than dress in leotards and powdered wigs, the president goes to work in a suit and carries a briefcase.

The 20th century spelled the end of France’s reign as a military and political superpower. Devastating wars with Germany in 1870, 1914, and 1940—and the loss of her colonial holdings—left France with not quite enough land, people, or production to be a top player on a global scale. But the 21st century may see France rise again: Paris is a cultural capital of Europe, and France—under the EU banner—is a key player in unifying Europe as a single economic power. And when Europe becomes a superpower, Paris may yet be its capital.

CONTEMPORARY POLITICS IN FRANCE

Today, the sociopolitical issues in France are—as in many countries—the economy, terrorism, its relationship with the European Union, and immigration.

French unemployment remains high (over 10 percent, even higher for youth) and growth has flatlined. France hasn’t balanced its books since 1974, and public spending, at over half of GDP, chews up a bigger chunk of output than in any other eurozone country. The overwhelming challenge for French leadership is to address its economic problems while maintaining the high level of social services that French people expect from their government. The French want to continue the benefits of their generous social system, but are they willing to pay the taxes required to support it?

France also has its economic strengths: a well-educated workforce, an especially robust service sector and high-end manufacturing industry, and more firms big enough to rank in the global Fortune 500 than any other European country. Ironically, while France’s economy may be one of the world’s largest—and the French want all the creature comforts of a consumer economy—they remain skeptical about the virtues of capitalism and the work ethic. Globalization conflicts in a fundamental way with French values—many fear losing what makes their society unique in the quest for a bland, globalized world. Business conversation outside the office is generally avoided, as it implies a fascination with money that the French find vulgar. It’s considered gauche even to ask what someone does for a living (in part because they think there’s much more to a person than their occupation). In France, CEOs are not glorified as celebrities—chefs are.

The French believe that the economy should support social good, not vice versa, and that people are entitled to secure jobs from which they cannot be fired easily. This has produced a cradle-to-grave social security system of which the French are proud. France’s poverty rate is half of that in the US, proof to the French that they are on the right track. But if you’re considering starting a business in France, you’re on the wrong track—taxes are formidable (figure a total small-business tax rate of around 66 percent—and likely to increase). This job-security entitlement makes it difficult for employers to find motivated staff. You’ll feel this impact in small hotels and restaurants where owners run themselves ragged trying to do everything themselves.

French voters are notorious for their belief in the free market’s heartless cruelty. France is routinely plagued with strikes, demonstrations, and slowdowns as workers try to preserve their rights in the face of a competitive global economy.

Meanwhile, immigration is shifting the country’s ethnic and cultural makeup in ways that challenge French society. Ten percent of France’s population is now of North African descent—mainly immigrants from former colonies. Many immigrants are Muslim, raising cultural questions in this heavily Catholic society with a history of official state secularism. In 2011 the government (quite controversially) made it illegal for women to wear a full, face-covering veil (niqāb) in public. Debates continue about whether banning the veil enforces democracy—or squelches diversity.

In 2015, Paris was hit with a double-whammy of Islamist terrorist attacks—at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and then at the Bataclan theater. In 2016, an attack in Nice shook the entire country. Locals have had to adjust to life with armed soldiers patrolling rail stations and streets. The French have had to come to grips with the realization that many of the attackers were French citizens as well as immigrants. These attacks raised serious questions about immigration, policing, class divisions, and what it means to be French. Together they have undermined the nation’s self-confidence.

France is governed by a president elected by popular vote every five years. The president then selects the prime minister, who in turn chooses the cabinet ministers. Collectively, this executive branch is known as the gouvernement. The parliament consists of a Senate (348 seats) and Assemblée Nationale (577 seats).

In France, voters have an array of political parties to choose from, making compromise and coalition-building essential to keeping power. Even the biggest parties rarely get more than one-third of the seats in parliament. And, because the parliament can force the gouvernement to resign at any time, it’s essential that the gouvernement work with them.

For a snapshot of the current political landscape, look no further than the 2012 and 2017 elections. (French elections last only a few months, with just one TV debate.)

In 2012, socialist François Hollande defeated center-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. But when Hollande’s term became fraught by scandal, rocked by terrorist events, and weighed down by a flat economy, Hollande opted against running for reelection in 2017. That left the field wide open.

The 2017 election was a wild ride, with events never seen before in France. Eleven candidates competed in the French version of a primary, reducing the field to two for the final vote. For the first time since de Gaulle, neither of the two finalists were from the traditional right and left parties. (Imagine a US presidential election sans Republican or Democratic candidates.) Emmanuel Macron, a centrist businessman, had no party affiliation and had never held elected office. Marine Le Pen represented the far-right National Front party, once a pariah party tarnished by accusations of anti-Semitism.

Le Pen rallied support by proposing to limit immigration and step back from the EU. Macron proposed a moderate stay-the-course plan that attracted both liberals and moderate conservatives. The tone of the debates was uncharacteristically nasty—something unheard of in genteel France. The French were presented with a stark choice: moderate vs. extreme. In the end, they overwhelmingly chose the moderate path. Macron won with a whopping 66 percent of the vote. Still, Le Pen’s result was the best yet for a National Front candidate.

Elected at 39, Macron is France’s youngest leader since Napoleon Bonaparte (and looks even younger). His success was completely unpredicted. He won as an outsider, representing a change from traditional party politics. (Sound familiar?)

Macron carries on a tradition shared by many recent French leaders: unorthodox sexual relations that would raise eyebrows in America (at least, historically). Past leaders such as Jacques Chirac and François Mitterand were noted for their mistresses. Sarkozy divorced his wife to marry a young supermodel who previously dated Mick Jagger. And Macron, though happily married, met his bride when he was 16 and she was his high school teacher.

After an almost flawless first year in office, Macron’s second year was a different story. While internationally respected for his commitment to multilateralism and for combating climate change, his popularity among the French dropped from 64 percent to below 30 percent in 2018. The working class felt abandoned by Macron, calling him “the president of the rich” (thanks to more business-friendly policies and an easing of labor laws). His proposal to fund climate change initiatives by raising the tax on gasoline was the final straw, leading to sustained protests and the first true crisis of his presidency. The “yellow vest” anti-government protestors created havoc throughout France and dominated the news in 2019. In late 2019 and early 2020, France also endured a debilitating four-month transportation strike in response to a proposed reform of its generous retirement system. Shortly after, the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the country—and most of Europe.

With the possibility of reelection on the horizon in 2022, Macron has work to do to restore the country’s faith in his ability to connect with the working class. It also remains to be seen how Macron will deal with the rise in nationalism that France, like other European countries, continues to experience, as well as the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of the 28-member European Union, the “United States of Europe” that has successfully dissolved borders, France’s governments have been decidedly pro-EU and critical to the EU’s success. But many French are Euro-skeptics, afraid that EU meddling threatens their job security and social benefits. The Brexit vote in 2016 focused attention on France. Would a Frexit follow? The EU can survive sans Britain but probably not sans France. For now, that possibility seems to have been shelved with Macron, who is pro-EU. What is clear is that, regardless of the shifting winds of politics, France has a social structure that stretches back 1,000 years.

For more about French history, consider Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw, available at www.ricksteves.com.

FRANCE: PAST & PRESENT

FRENCH HISTORY IN AN ESCARGOT SHELL

CONTEMPORARY POLITICS IN FRANCE