The
French society: law, organization, etc... (#3) |
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Women in political life |
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Powers
and territorial organization of the country |
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In France, women were only given the vote
in 1945
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.A French law ( June 6,
2000) demands that in any political party, the proportion of
women running for office is 50%. If it is below, the party is
penalized and the grant it receives from the state is reduced
accordingly. In 2002, the UMP (Center-Right) was penalized 4,26
million Euros, the Socialist Party 1,65 million, etc....
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The proportion of women
in politics is growing since 2000 (Law on parity men-women) but is still too low : 26,9 % in the National
Assembly (2012) vs. only 10,9% in 1997, 22,1% in the Senate (2011) vs. 5,9% in 1998, 44,4%
of the French members of the European Parliament (2009) vs. 40,2% in 1999, 48%
of the members of Regional Councils (2010) vs. 27,5% in 1998, 13,9% at the Departement (county) level (2011) vs. 9,6% in 1998 and 34,8% of City Counsellors
(2008) vs. 21,7% in 1995 but only 13,8% of mayors (2008, but only 7,9% in 1995) (Source : La Documentation Francaise 2014)
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Regarding women in the national
Parliament, France ranked 21rst in Europe (before 2012) : 12,8%
compared to Sweden 45%, Finland and Denmark 38%, Netherlands
37%.
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The "Observatoire de la
Parity" in an official body in charge of monitoring the
progresses of parity men/women in political life ; the situation
in France is improving, but there is still a long way to go....
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Popular women in French politics
include : Simone Veil (who
legalized abortion in the 1970s), Martine Aubry, Ségolène
Royal, Rachida Dati,
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In 2008, the "Conseil d'Etat"
(the French Supreme Court) ruled that a condition to claim French
nationality is to fully acknowledge equality between men and
women : read more
about it.
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Read more about the French
woman
DID YOU KNOW THAT.... In France, women are legally entitled to wear pants ! Among the thousands of laws that the French enjoy, some are so absurdly obsolete that nobody remembers they still exist. Among them, a law of 1800 forbids women to disguise themselves as men i.e. to wear pants ! This law has been amended twice (by adding "unless they hold the handlebars of a bike" in 1892 and "unless they hold the rein of a horse" in 1909) but was still valid until January 31, 2013, when it was abrogated. A (recent) success for women in France !
(credit) |
Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) is the first French feminist. A writer and the author of the Declaration of the Rights of the Woman and of the Citizen, she was sentenced to death on the guillotine. |
DID YOU KNOW THAT.....? Americanization through TV : in French courts, you call the judge "Monsieur
le Président" (Mr.President) but many young offenders
now use the word "Your Honor", because they have seen
so many American series on TV. It is not very good for their
case because French judges hate it... That is considered part
of the "americanization" of the French
society.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT...? In France, the most popular politician is, by far, the Mayor. Mayors are important and they have much more power than their American colleagues (building permits,
money allowance to help people or families, etc...). People who could spend hours dumping on their Deputy, Senator, Members of the Cabinet, Prime Minister or President generally declare that the only politician they like and trust is their Mayor. If you decide to settle in a French village, the very first person to meet is the mayor! In a nutshell, the French love (or hate) their local politicians,
love (or hate) their President and tend to consider with skepticism
and cynicism any form of political life between. More about French politics.
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Surprising facts about
France and the French society |
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The French judicial system |
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In France, if your former employer
collapses (like Enron), your pension does not vary one cent and
it has no impact on your health plan
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On maternity leave (16 to 18
weeks), you get your full salary
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The French health coverage system
is NOT paid by the State but by organizations managed on a paritary
base by employers and employees associations
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Credit cards for everyday expenses
hardly exist and most French people think that it is a dangerous
and useless concept (read why I think it's crazy to have a credit card). Peeople use only debit cards and there is no credit scoring for individuals : loans are
negociated on a case by case basis
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Whatever your income and your
job situation, if you suffer a serious illness, your expenses
are reimbursed 100%
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If you are an employer, you
cannot fire an employee without a serious reason, which can be
challenged in court
- More to come...
USEFUL TIPS ....The French love to wear a decoration
and you can see it on their jackets. Apart from purely military
decorations, the four most prestigious decorations are :
- Légion d'honneur (red ribbon), the most prestigious, created
by Napoleon for military (mostly) or civil services (3,000 to
5,000 awarded a year, 112,000 bearers)
- Ordre du Mérite (blue ribbon), for civil services (3,000 to
5,000 awarded a year, 195,000 bearers) (the webmaster is the
proud bearer of it !)
- Palmes Académiques (purple ribbon), mostly for teachers
- Médaille des Arts et Lettres (striped ribbon), for artists,
often awarded to foreign artists
Each of them has several levels : " chevalier " (knight)
is a ribbon, " officier " is a round button, "
grand officier ", " commandeur ", etc are larger
buttons. When you receive it, it is always a rather formal ceremony
: the person who presents you the medal (and already has it for
him/herself) gives a speech to explain how much you deserve it,
then he/she pins it on your chest on behalf of the President
of France, then, you give a thank-you speech and try to look
modest but you explain that you do deserve it. There is also the
"Médaille du Travail", granted to any employee
who worked for 3 employers ore less for 25 (silver) or 30 (gold)
years : when you receive it, you also receive a gift (from your
employer) of one month salary !
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The judicial system in France
is fundamentally different from what Americans are used to. Among
the major differences (as established by someone who is not a
lawyer !) :
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Written law
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in France, the major source of law is written law as opposed
to jurisprudence, which can also be used but only if written
law is not sufficient to judge the case adequately;
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Appointed judges : judges are
not elected but appointed by the State ; constitutional provisions
and a special body (Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature)
ensure their independence ; the French are as shocked by judges
who would have to please the voters as Americans are shocked
by judges who would have to resist the State (America is the
only contry, with Switzerland, with elected judges)
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Accusatory vs inquisitory procedure : in a criminal case, establishing the facts is the
job of the " juge d'instruction", a magistrate
who manages the police investigations and brings the case to
court : in court, new facts may appear but the facts are supposed
to be already established and the cross examination as we see
it in the (many) American series on TV looks very strange to
the French
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Several types of jurisdictions, according
to the nature of the case : civil and/or criminal (Tribunal d'Instance,
Tribunal Correctionnel, Cour d'Assises), commercial or labor
disputes (Tribunal de Commerce, Conseils de Prudhommes), any
case involving the State (Tribunal Administratif, Conseil d'Etat)
and several other specialized juridictions ; for the most serious
criminal cases, the Cour d'Assises includes a jury of nine citizens
and three judges
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Plea bargaining is against
French laws ; this is why a case like Executive
Life is so difficult to manage from a French standpoint ;
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Lawyers
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generally speaking, the French are horrified by the influence,
the power and the cost of lawyers in the USA. The increasing
influence of lawyers in French corporate life is considered one
of the major signs of "Americanization" through US
law firms.
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Crime : the number of people
in jail is not very different from other European countries,
but the ratio/inhab. is 7 to 8 times smaller than the US number
- More to come
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To related pages : more about French
society(#4), French politics (#1) and religionin France
(#2), French institutions (#5), French attitudes, French values, French issues, 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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