The great debate on French culture

by Neil Thomas
February 25th, 2010

As we blogged at the time, about three months ago, President Sarkozy launched a nationwide debate in France on what being French meant in current times. It was supposed to encourage discussion about French Culture and the French way of life – to try and accentuate the positives and re-establish just what the key elements of France’s cultural heritage are and what should be carried forward.

Of course, cynics saw it as a bit of subtle electioneering – an attempt to stop the voters being lured by the ultra-right by setting out Sarkozy’s stall as the guardian of French Culture in the years ahead.

It was initiated with a patriotic flourish – a national debate was to take place in town hall meetings and on a website. Views were to be collected and exchanged, with the aim of preserving French culture from the ravages of the global influences that have been blurring French national identity.

‘Let’s have a heated debate,’ as Mrs Merton would have said.

Well, they certainly got that. So much so that Sarkozy has ordered the prime minister, Francois Fillon (pictured above), to wind it up. Not as in crank it up, but as in stop it, here and now.

The town hall meetings ended in disarray and the website ended up as racist and obscene: immigrants were described as “ten million people we pay to do nothing” by one mayor, while the Minister for Families said that French Arabs should learn to speak properly and get a job. So much for strengthening the qualities of La Douce France.

What has been the result? Well, apparently M Fillon declared the debate a success and announced these initiatives: the French flag to be flown on school buildings; the Declaration of the Rights of Man to be put up in classrooms and the Marseillaise to be sung at least once a year in all schools. Cynics have said that these things happened anyway.

The sad truth is that most people do not care about culture. They care about money. They care about celebrity. They care about fame. They care about themselves and give not a fig for the cultural inheritance they can pass on.

In all this, it is particularly sad to realise that France, with its rich cultural heritage, is no more protected from the decline in its cultural wealth than any of the rest of us are in our own countries. You can’t put a value on culture. Shame that most people, as a result, don’t value it.