French Paradoxes

"Imagine a country where people work thirty-five-hour weeks, take seven weeks of paid holidays per year, take an hour and a half for lunch, have the longest life expectancy in the world, and eat the richest food on the planet. A people who keep alive their mom-and pop merchant class, who love nothing better than going to the public market on Sundays, and who finance the best health-care system in the world. A people whose companies are the least unionized and most productive among modern countries, and whose post-industrial consumer society ranks among the most prosperous in the world. "

Sounds too good to be true. The first country that comes to mind is Switzerland. Close, but not enought. You are now in France. The authors of the "Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong", Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow, did en excellent job trying to understand not just one famous "French Paradox", but many other. Jean-Benoît Nadeau is a French-speaking Quebecker and Julie Barlow is an English-speaking Canadian from Ontario with an extensive experience in observing and analyzing cross-cultural differences.

The book is an eye-opener on many French traditions and "facts of life" and how these traditions fit the modern life style. The French have been very successful in "projecting the image of cultural uniformity to the outside world." But in fact, France is an extremely diverse country both geographically and culturally.

The book is an entertaining journey into French culture written by two correspondents for the New Hampshire-based Institute of Current World Affaires within the framework of Jean-Benoît's project to study why the French were resisting globalization.

They soon discovered that inspite of all predictions made earlier by prominant journalists and economists regarding the France's economic prospects, France's economy was doing quite well. That was challenging enough for them to start their exploration of many other French paradoxes.

One of my favorite chapters in this book is the "Art of Rethoric", the art of eloquence in writing and speech. Just a few facts about how important this art can be in France: to enter a civil service, "candidates must pass examinations that test both their knowledge of the position and their general culture." I hope that the Authors of the book will not frown on my quoting another passage that I absolutely love:

One former student of the most prestigeous schools in France, École Normale d'Administration, was asked the depth of the Danube River and replied: "Under what bridge, sir?" Maybe it's an urban myth, but that's the kind of brilliance the French expect from their civil servants."

Already hungry for another French "fact of life"? Here it is: "France only spends 9.5 percent of its gross domestic product on health, compared to 13.5 percent in the United States. A 1999 study from the World Health Organization ranked France's system first in the world for allocation of resources and overall coverage. The United States ranked thirty-seven."

Other interesting chapters: "Civil Society: Invisible Helping Hands", " Redistributing Wealth", "The State: One for All, and all for One", and many other...

If you have read this book and would like to share your opinions, please send your comments to Valerie. Your opinion is welcome.