Key Aspects Of French Culture

French people are stereotyped to be very complaining, feeling superior and aggressive behavior towards strangers. People from other countries are often finding French People to be very critical in many aspects. However, French culture is very rich in both material and non-material aspects. They have many different sub-cultures as well. For example, the sports game soccer or Football as they call it is huge in France. Therefore, a sub-culture in France is French football fans.

In 2018, France won Fifa world cup, after 20 years they brought home a world cup.

Before 2018, they won the world cup in 1998. Some key points of France’s material culture can be their cities, art food and more. Some key points of France’s non-material culture can be their social conventions, holidays, celebrations, etiquette and more. Wither French culture is good or bad it all depends on perspective, however, one thing everyone can agree on is France is filled with a rich culture, which makes them so unique from other countries.

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France has many beautiful cities. Each unique in their own way. With their capital city being Paris. The city of love is a great place for tourist and people who live there.

Another aspect to the French culture is the slight lack of pollution. In France and many parts of Europe, many civilians would prefer to use a bike rather use a car. Obviously, if most people are using bikes instead of cars than it would be much better for the environment. Paris is the home to a well-known landmark, the Eiffel tower.

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Built in January of 1887. Over 100 years later, even today millions visit the Eiffel tower yearly. Another beautiful and second most populated city in France in Marseille. The city is located at the heart of the Vieux-Port, which in French is the old port. Since this is near the old port, Marseille consists of many fishmongers. People will catch the fish and sell their goods. Since Marseille is near the ocean, they mostly have mild temperatures. There is much old architectural building. Marseille also has a theater, which has a variety of concerts and shows. The city is also home to the Ballet National de Marseille. Overall, French culture would not be what it is today without their cities. French cuisine is famous throughout the world. It consists of cooking and traditions from French cooks from 17th and 18 centuries. They have many rich foods. The French love their butter. From the 19th century, Georges Auguste Escoffier is considered to be the founder of haute cuisine (gourmet French food). Some foods that originated in France are Baguette, Onion soup, Croque-monsieur Sandwich (ham and cheese sandwich), Chocolate mousse, croissants and more. Croissants are very popular in North America. However, other than France most places that make croissants do use butter, rather they use fat and margarine. This affects the taste of a butter croissant. In France, they use actual butter, which gives the croissants the rich and buttery flavor it was originated with.

French cuisine would not be what it is today without Julia Child. Julia Child was an American who lived in France. She made a French cookbook in English mainly for North Americans. Her cookbook had many great recipes on French cuisine. Many cooking terms used today originated from France. An example of this can be Bon Appetite. To conclude French Cuisine is famous worldwide, many chefs in other countries use French techniques and recipes to cook. This is because of the rich flavors French cuisine offers, and why French cuisine is a huge part of French culture.

Another key part of French culture is the Art. French Arts mainly relies on elegance and sophistication. This relates to their culture because many French citizens are also very elegant and sophisticated. Auguste Rodin, a famous French sculpture shows much sophistication in many of his work. One of this sculpture’s, the thinker is simply a sculpture of a man sitting down and thinking. The large muscular Figure has captivated an audience for decades in his moment of concentration. Not only French people but also, everyone have been blown away from the magnificent piece of art created by the French. From the 18th century to the 19th century, French Art has evolved from a realism perspective to an impressionism perspective. This was a big impact on France’s art culture because it went on to influence cubistic art. Fast-forwarding to modern art in movies. “Directors like Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard relied on Auteur theory of filmmaking”. The Auteur theory of filmmaking is when directors are the creative force behind the movie. Today directors are all behind the creativity of the film. Some would even call the directors the captain of the ship. French films do not dominate the box office, however; France has become the center of Artistic films. In the city of Cannes, every year there is a film festival known as the Cannes film festival. They preview films of all genres is the most respected film festival in France. To conclude art is also a huge part of France’s culture as it has a very rich history and influential to the world.

Non-material culture is the ideas made up by a society. A non-material culture difference between Canadian cultures is the etiquette system of the French. The French do not prefer you to slice your bread from a loaf but they would instead have you tear a section of bread and then butter it. Asparagus is a finger food, you should always dress professionally even if the host or hostess tell you not to, never ask for a tour of the place, always keep your hands visible in defence of all, and never serve cheese before dinner as It is the main course and never do so without salad, if you are at an event the men should always be poring women the wine. The etiquette system of French cultures seems to be a lot more different in Canadian culture as we use the British etiquette system which is barely used. We rarely follow it and are more concerned with eating fast at times than we are with how it looks. This system is barely used at family outings as well and it is not taught unless you are in a culinary program or are a wealthy family.

Bastille Day is a national French holiday that is celebrated in honor of the storming of a French grand fortress that held prisoners during the French revolution. Bastille was built in the 1300s during the hundred year’s war and was designed to protect the eastern entrance to the city of Paris. On the day of July 14th, 1789 the building that once held hundreds was soon to be replaced by a public square as it only held seven people at the time. The people around Bastille began to grow furious and began to stand around Bastille in a mob of sorts waiting for the people to be released and the governor of bastille Bernard-René de Launay, watched as people became angrier as they waited around Bastille. He had received a message that those opposing him would surrender and he welcomed them inside to negotiate under the promise that he would not open fire, but as those who waited became more unruly many decided to climb the wall with the successful hopesof lowering a drawbridge. After the draw, the bridge had been opened many swarmed in, and the governor instantly broke his promise, which lead to the deaths of nearly 100 attackers later that day the French Guard arrived and overwhelmed the governor who then surrendered. This day would not be dubbed a national holiday until it was proposed by Benjamin Raspail (Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères, N. A) and since 1880 it had been celebrated nationally by any and all French speakers. Liberté, Unité, Fraternité. These three words are the motto of the French, which translated to English mean liberty, unity, and fraternity. Each word refers to what they believe in and standby. Liberty to them is the freedom to do what we wish to do within reason and to exercise our rights. Unity is to unite under one cause no matter what the circumstance as a country without unity will fall, and fraternity is exactly as it seems; it is a brotherhood just like the ones of colleges or universities that live in houses called a fraternity where we are all pledged to help each other as best as possible.

The language of French plays a big role in our Canadian society today. It is our countries second language and is taught in most elementary and high school. There are many schools like Pickering high school for example that offer a French emersion program throughout the whole schooling period from start to finish but French wasn’t always the second language of Canada. Canada’s first language was English until the British North America act was established in 186. The country we live in now wants many people to be speaking French in governmental roles and more. In the grocery stores, you go to most products if not all that have company labels on them that have one side in English and one side in French. French culture has shaped the way we are as a society and will continue to do so.

To conclude the French have a lavish culture. From their cuisine to their basic table manners. Other material and non-material cultures can include their religion, values, clothing, customs and much more. Obviously, with cultures, it is always better to experience rather than just research, however, simply from research, everyone can conclude with the fact that France is full with a lavishing culture, which makes them so distinctive from other countries.

Works cited

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  2. Chappell, A. (2018). France's World Cup Win: A Brief History. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/07/15/629631082/frances-world-cup-win-a-brief-history
  3. Child, J. (1961). Mastering the Art of French Cooking. New York, NY: Knopf.
  4. Leighton, C. (2017). French Cuisine: A Cultural Journey. Food, Culture & Society, 20(3), 485-503.
  5. Pioch, N. (n.d.). Rodin, Auguste. The Art Story. Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/artist/rodin-auguste/
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  7. St John, G. (2014). A History of France: From the Gauls to the Present. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  8. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019). Bastille. In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bastille
  9. Travelfranceonline.com. (n.d.). French Etiquette: 12 Tips to Help You Avoid Faux Pas in France. Retrieved from https://www.travelfranceonline.com/french-etiquette-12-tips-to-help-you-avoid-faux-pas-in-france/
  10. Université de Lyon. (n.d.). French Language and Culture. Retrieved from https://www.universite-lyon.fr/french-language-and-culture-47476.kjsp?RH=WWW_UK-1-ACCUEIL
Updated: Feb 02, 2024
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Key Aspects Of French Culture. (2024, Feb 08). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/key-aspects-of-french-culture-essay

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