Modern France

Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Geography
	Overview
	Administrative and Territorial Subdivisions
	Cities
	Climate
	Historical Sites
	Mountains
	Natural Resources and Environment
	North and South
	Overseas France
	Paris
	Population
	Regional Identities
	Rivers
	Transportation
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 2: History
	Overview
	Timeline
	Charlemagne and the Carolingian Dynasty
	Clemenceau (Georges) and World War I
	Clovis and the Merovingian Dynasty
	De Gaulle (Charles), World War II, and the Fifth Republic
	Ferry (Jules) and the Third Republic
	Francis I and the Renaissance
	Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years’ War
	Louis IX and the Capetian Dynasty
	Louis XIV and the Absolute Monarchy
	Louis XVI and the End of the Ancien Régime
	Macron (Emmanuel) and the New Political Landscape of France
	Mitterrand (François) and France in the 1980s and 1990s
	Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I) and the First Empire
	Napoleon III and the Second Empire
	Robespierre (Maximilien) and the French Revolution
	Sarkozy (Nicolas) and the Hyper Presidency
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 3: Government and Politics
	Overview
	Center
	Constitutional Council
	Counterterrorism
	Elections
	European Union
	Far Right
	Judicial System
	Left
	Military
	Parliament
	Presidency and Executive Branch
	Protests
	Republic
	Right
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 4: Economy
	Overview
	Agriculture
	Budget, Debt, and Taxes
	Energy
	Financial Sector
	Innovation and Startups
	Labor Relations
	Luxury Goods
	Major Industries
	Public Sector and Privatization
	Social Security and Healthcare
	Tourism
	Trade
	Unemployment
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 5: Religion and Thought
	Overview
	Catholicism
	Islam
	Judaism
	Laïcité
	Philosophy (Contemporary)
	Philosophy (Traditional)
	Protestantism
	Rationalism and Universalism
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 6: Social Class and Ethnicity
	Overview
	Arabs
	Blacks
	Bourgeoisie and Middle Class
	Immigration
	Income Distribution and Inequality
	Nobility
	Poverty and Homelessness
	Refugee Crisis
	Senior Citizens and Elderly
	Suburbs
	Working Class
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 7: Gender, Sexuality, Marriage, and Family
	Overview
	Attitudes toward Sex
	Child Raising Practices
	Feminism and Women’s Rights
	Gender Equality and Sexual Harassment
	Kinship and Family Structures
	LGBTQ+ Community
	Marriage, Divorce, Civil Unions, and Cohabitation Today
	Marriage Traditions
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 8: Education
	Overview
	Early Childhood Education and Elementary Schools
	Erasmus and International Educational Exchange in France
	Grandes Écoles
	Private Schools
	Republicanism and Public Schools
	Secondary Schools
	Universities and Higher Education
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 9: Language
	Overview
	Académie Française
	Francophonie
	Language Laws and Policies
	Regional and Minority Languages, Dialects, and Varieties of French
	Sexism and Gender Bias in French
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 10: Etiquette
	Overview
	Formal vs. Informal Forms of Address
	Greeting Strangers, Acquaintances, Friends, and Family Members
	Hosting and Gift Giving
	Privacy and Personal Space
	Social Hierarchies
	Social Importance of Good Manners
	Table Etiquette and Dinner Parties
	Workplace Etiquette and Customer Relations
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 11: Literature and Drama
	Overview
	Eighteenth-Century Literature
	Houellebecq (Michel) and the Recent French Novel
	Literary Avant-Garde, 1950–1980
	Literary Criticism and French Theory
	Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature: J. M. G. Le Clézio and Patrick Modiano
	Novel in the Nineteenth Century
	Poetry (Modern and Contemporary)
	Reza (Yasmina) and Recent French Theatre
	Seventeenth-Century Theatre
	Twentieth-Century Literature through Mid-Century (Novel and Theatre)
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 12: Art and Architecture
	Overview
	Contemporary Architecture
	Contemporary Art
	Fashion
	French Cinema I (through the Nouvelle Vague)
	French Cinema II (since the Nouvelle Vague)
	Gothic Cathedrals
	Impressionism
	Loire Valley Châteaux
	Ministry of Culture
	Modern Architecture
	Modern Art and the School of Paris
	Versailles
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 13: Music and Dance
	Overview
	Chanson
	Classical Music
	Dance
	Fête de la Musique
	Folk Music
	Jazz
	Opera
	Rock, Pop, and Rap
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 14: Food
	Overview
	Bread
	Cheese
	Food Quality, Organic Products, and GMO Resistance
	Gastronomy
	Regional Culinary Traditions
	Shopping for Food
	Wine
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 15: Leisure and Sports
	Overview
	Books and Reading
	Cafés
	Holidays
	Movies
	Museums
	Outdoor Pastimes
	Sports
	Tour de France
	Vacations
	Selected Bibliography
Chapter 16: Media and Popular Culture
	Overview
	Internet, Social Media, and Video Games
	Pop Culture Icons
	Press
	Radio
	Television
	Selected Bibliography
Appendix A: A Day in the Life
	A Day in the Life of a Café Owner
	A Day in the Life of a High School Student
	A Day in the Life of a Winegrower
	A Day in the Life of a Working Mother
Appendix B: Glossary of Key Terms
Appendix C: Facts and Figures
Appendix D: Holidays
Index
About the Author