French culture

What is the French "exception culturelle" ? Is French culture alive or dying ?

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The French "exception culturelle"		Is French culture alive or dying ?
Culture and markets do not mix well ! The French have a concept that they call "l'exception culturelle française" (the French cultural exception) which drives all American delegates in any international meeting crazy. What does it mean? Basically, refering to "exception culturelle" means that everything "cultural" must be protected from the "hegemony" of the markets, the State being the regulator and, when necessary, the sponsor of a cultural policy. Basically it means that "cultural products" are not "products" and cannot be subject to: the regulation which applies to "products" (free enterprise, no State subsidy, no quotas etc...) the criteria which apply to "products" (the more you sell, the better it is, etc...). Why ? Because they express the cultural value of the French society, particularly its language, and they need to be protected against competition by a stronger competitor, with a larger market, lower production cost, different values which would kill the French culture and replace it by a foreign one. It does not matter if a foreign car industry overcomes the French one : cars would be different, that's all, but if French writers, French film-makers, French musicians were replaced by foreign writers, film-makers and musicians, France would no longer be France. As a consequence, most French support the idea that it is legitimate to protect cultural activities from pure market laws and it is the role of the State to protect them and if necessary subsidize them with public money.This is why there is a Minister of Culture in the Cabinet. This is also why when the Louvre developed a new policy of renting some of its art works to raise money, it created a huge uproar in France. Read more about typically French ethical values. Two well-known illustrations of this policy: France instigated and supported the 1988 EU directive Television without Frontiers : TV programs must include at least 50% European productions (for France : 60%) In the 1993 negotiation of the Uruguay Round (GATT), French negotiators opposed violently US negotiators who, to avoid the political risk of a failure, had to concede that cultural products would be excluded from the agreement. By the same token, in May 2013 France was actively pushing the other European countries to exclude the whole audiovisual sector from the (future) free-trade agreement between the US and the EU. A French specificity : every year the President of France MUST present his greetings to the "world of culture" (which generally answers back with street demonstations against him!)		Is the French culture dead or dying? This recurrent question is a classical theme in the American press (such as "The Death of French Culture" in Time Magazine Dec. 2007) The comments are always the same : France no longer has world-famous thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre or singers such as Edith Piaf ; contrary to the "Nouvelle Vague" French movies are now mediocre and self-centered, French novelists are not translated and are unknown outside France, the French State puts too much money to help too mediocre artists, etc.... My comments : There is a language issue : French culture is of course in French (!) and is not known if not translated : what do you know about Japanese novels if they're not translated ?  For books and movies, the role of US publishers and distributors is very important and often they are not interested if it is not "typically French" (see an interesting example, of a good movie which did not look "French enough") Culture has many aspects and in some of them, the French do very well all over the world : architecture (Nouvel, Portzamparc,  etc.), dance, techno music, etc... The French culture is not dead (as US magazines like to write : see an example) and the "new France" is not only represented by suburban riots. Thanks to ethnic diversity, there is an incredibly rich new generation of young singers, movie-makers and writers. Says Jerome Clément, President of Arte, the (excellent) Franco-German TV Channel : " Culture is not a beauty contest. You must not evaluate the cultural level of a country by counting the number of writers Mr.Average on the other end of the planet can name or the Top 50 of the best world sales . If Arte exists and contributes to the influence of French culture worldwide, it is thanks to the action of the State. " (Le Monde 16/12/2008) When you say "it was better fourty years ago", it's often what people used to say fourty years ago... The French Magazine Figaro published a list of 35 "French personnalisties of the Year 2008" who all got international prizes and awards. How many of these names have you seen in the US press ? And Le Monde writes that "2008 was a great year for French culture!" : read more. More about "l'exception culturelle française". See also : "Is French science alive or dying ?" Read about French bashing... More to come
This concern (largely shared in France) explains certain elements of the French legislation such as : "prix unique du livre" : a limitation on the % of discount on books (to support small publishing houses and help maintain small bookstores against the competition of supermarkets) quotas on non-French movies on French national TV channels and mandatory financing of films by TV channels (as a provision in their license) quotas of French music on radio channels (standard : 40%) "avance sur recettes" or "fonds de soutien": a financial State advance on all French films (the French movie industry is third in the world after the USA and India and France is the only Western country where foreign films represent less than 50% of the market : in Germany, Italy and UK, they represent more than 80%) less taxes : TVA (value added tax) is 5,5% on cinema (like on food) when it is 19,6% on almost everything the legal status of "les intermittents du spectacle" (unemployment-system for artists, musicians, technicians, etc...) is outside the general system and heavily subsidised. Read about the French policy for movie : "l'exception culturelle" A classical theme of the US press is : with the State playing such an important role in the financing and the promotion of films, literature, etc..., "no wonder the French culture is dead " (or just "dying" if the writer wants to be more balanced...). More to come....		Cultural activities of the French Periodically, the Minsitry of Culture runs a survey and ranks the cultural activities ("pratiques culturelles") of the French. Here are the main results (1973-2008) (see an excerpt or the whole official study) : a steady increase of music : listening and playing (of course) more time on a screen less reading of books and newspapers more artistic activities with others more frequent visits to cultural places (this section is under construction)
To related pages : French movies, French songs, French literature, intercultural differences, French attitudes, etc...

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Harriet Welty Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French. Order her books : "Joie de Vivre", Secrets of Wining, Dining and Romancing like the French, St.Martin's Press, New York, 2012 "French Toast, An American in Paris Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press, New York, 1999 "French Fried, The Culinary Capers of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001 More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming events, testimonials, etc..)

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