ABC'S FOR CULTURE OF FRANCE

A FOR ART

• In Paris, France art is extremely popular
• Ever since the renaissance age, art has been in homes, museums, and palaces
• An example of this art in a museum (Louvre) and one in the gardens!

B FOR BUILDINGS

• To avoid over crowding, France has many multi story buildings
• Stores on the bottom and homes on top
• In urban areas, it is tall building with many homes
• In rural areas it is typical for some homes here and there

C FOR COMMUNICATIONS

• The French don't pay much attention to gossip like America does
• ideas are spread through France by meeting or over phone
• The way goods are spread are by mostly boat and train

D FOR DRESS

• France is very fashionable
• People dress elegant
• They also dress like anyone else (Americans, etc.)
• They wear a lot of natural fibers

E FOR ECONOMY

• Second largest economy in Europe
• Fifth in the world^
• second largest agricultural exporter
• Tourism is the main income in France

F FOR FAMILY

• several generations lived in the same house
• Marriages decided by families long in advance usually
• Father is usually the bread winner
• Doesn't apply to all families (traditional or modern couples)
• France is still the European country’s highest child rate (2 or 3)

G FOR GOVERNMENT

• semi-presidential system by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic
• executive, a legislative and a judicial branch
• President shares executive power with the Prime Minister.

H FOR HISTORY

• 1789 On July 14, citizens storm the Bastille
• Bastille day: celebrated each year
• ^event leading up to the royal family being over thrown
• Bastille was a French prison
• This was the start of the French revolution

I FOR ICONS

• Eiffel Tower
• stands 324 meters (1,063 ft) tall, about the same as an 81-story building
• When people think of France or Paris, they think of the Eiffel Tower
• It's like a monument; very well known and admired

J FOR JOBS

• find employment through local media (ads)
• Typically men work, but more and more women are working
• A lot of business jobs available

K FOR KNOWLEDGE

• schools in France and quit good
• Schooling in France is mandatory as of age 6, first year of primary school
• 17 -> 18 years old; eleventh grade Graduate and then go to college.

L FOR LANGUAGE

• French is the official language
• Over 80 percent of France speaks french
• Other languages are spoken here too, but they are minorities

N FOR NATIONAL PRIDE

• French nationalism is based upon the ideals of the French Revolution
• the ideal of "liberty, equality, fraternity"

O FOR ORGANIZATIONS

• org. of European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities is in Paris
• sports groups, to volunteer and service organizations, religious and political orgs.
• Youth groups
• Groups dedicated to leisure activities

P FOR POPULATION

• 65.7 million people Are living in France

Q FOR QUANTITY OF LIFE

• Life expectancy is 81.4 years
• The gross domestic product (GDP)
• They make up 4.21 percent of the world's economy
• 290 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants

R FOR RELIGION

• largest religious group in the French Republic is the Roman Catholic Church
• majority of the population does not actively attend or practice the faith

S FOR STATUS

• Just being in France gives someone status
• French people are oblivious to the notion of someone wanting to leave
• French teens are like teenagers anywhere else (they want designer clothes)
• Not being completely poor makes you acceptable in society

U FOR URBAN OR RURAL

• France is more urban
• People like to live in cities
• There are places in France that are rural but only small portions of it

VACATION AND RECREATION- FUN?

• sports, visiting family or friends, or going to the cinema
• Many go to the coasts of Spain to vacation
• They shop, and watch tv and read