Agathoune!

Mediterranean Sea from Le Cheiron Mountain

As a native New Englander, I learned that downhill skiing meant wearing six layers of wool clothing, thick face-cover, triple socks and the occasional mitten warmer to survive the -15F  (-26C) wind-chilled New Hampshire slopes.  Also don’t forget your well-sharpened skis to grip all of the ice patches that were bound to appear on the 2000 ft “mountains” where I grew up.  With this in mind, it was a real pleasure to discover skiing in the French Alps, where even the smallest ski areas tend to have multiple peaks, awe-inspiring views and slopes covered in snow instead of ice!

The Long and Winding Road

Just Your Typical French Ski Station Road

Before you can ski in the French Alps, you first have to survive the climb to the ski station.  This means driving up narrow, winding mountain roads in caterpillar formation with cars full of skiers on all sides.  Inevitably, also expect the guy behind you to tailgate the entire way, despite the fact that if he passed you he’d still be behind hundreds of other cars also heading to the ski area.  Throughout this time, you must constantly scan the road for black ice and never look at the spectacular views to avoid drifting into the other lane or falling into the thousand meter abyss appearing just over the ancient brick and mortar guard rails that still seem to line many mountain roads.  For an added thrill, you could also opt to catch a “ski bus” that takes skiers from the city to a nearby station, where looking out the high windows as the bus winds its way up the mountain can be scarier than some roller coasters I’ve been on!

Organized Chaos

I must also mention that if it starts to snow the local police will often setup roadblocks at the bottom of critical mountain roads where they will force motorists to pull over and put on snow chains – if you forget your chains, time to turn around and go home.  For some reason (at least in the South), many French have never heard of snow tires and insist on only equipping their cars with summer tires all year round;  Perhaps they simply enjoy the finger-numbing thrill of putting on snow chains any time a storm blows in!

The French are also experts with jamming their cars into any available space for parking, and ski stations are no exception.  Expect the parking lots to be packed full by ~10am, with cars and recreational vehicles lined up in some strange, fractal fashion.  If you search hard enough, you’ll eventually find the single lane route that’s somehow left open through the parking lot, allowing traffic to flow.  And also be sure to watch out for the ice as you step out of the car – salting is optional!

 

Vintage Diesel-Powered French Téléski

Compared to your average North Eastern US $70 full-day ticket price, ski rates in France are a bargain.  An adult ticket is ~25€ ($35) with rental ~20€ ($28).  There is also usually a way to find some local coupons for discounts.  When you purchase your ski ticket, expect to be pressured to add on accident insurance for a few extra euros.  Basically, this covers your medical expenses and evacuation in case you decide to try that triple helicopter jump in the huge pile of powder at the summit.  If you actually dare to refuse the insurance, the hourly rescue rates tend to be listed next to the ticket prices so at least you’ll know that it will only cost a mere 300€ an hour if you break your leg (which is probably cheaper than most US health insurance deductibles).

French ski stations in the Alps vary widely in size, but even the small family ones are often huge by New England standards.  When purchasing your ticket, it is very important to ask for a ski map to navigate the labyrinth of slopes and shortcuts for connecting to the various lifts leading to different peaks.  If you need to go back to the base station, you sometimes have to mount 3-4 different peaks before connecting to a return path.  Ski slopes are also color-coded with different lines:  green/blue (circles), red (squares) and black (diamonds). 

Le Tire-Fesse

That Crushing Sensation...

One of the more thrilling experiences in older French ski stations is wrapping your legs around a pole with a circular seat at the end known affectionately as a “tire-fesse” (literally ”butt puller”).  Because of ski area size and basic economics, there can’t be chairlifts (télésiège) everywhere, so the smaller hills are sometimes serviced by an old fashioned “tire-fesse”.  Some of these lifts seem like they were built at the dawn of industrialization and are literally chiseled into the mountainside with whizzing cables and ancient gears pulling you up an ungroomed 20% incline with no hope of escape and nobody at the top to help extract you from the contraption…  At this point, all you can do is remember the rules:  hold on tight and try not to crush anything important with the pole!

Lunch Time

If there’s one thing that French skiers like to do more than skiing, it’s also eating of course!  At many stations there are snack bars, bistrots and restaurants at the bottom, top and mid-slope.  If the ski area is sunny enough, many also have outside lounge chairs for a quick cat nap in the afternoon sun to recover from all the spiced wine served with lunch.  Although this may seem like a great way to spend the afternoon, the pleasure of eating out can also cost more than the ski ticket itself because, just like in America, restaurants in ski areas are often overpriced rip-offs.

Priorité à Droite?

The French can also be quite frugal and frequently bring their own coolers and picnic lunches to save on the exorbitant food prices.  The difference is that in American ski lodges you just need to find a free bench, empty your cooler on the table and have a grand old time.  However, in France it is completely rude to just sit at a random free restaurant table, even in an outside snack bar, and start eating your picnic lunch.  Often you’re left with the choice to either pay for food or join the French tailgate party in the ski area parking lot during lunch hour (unfortunately, without any music).  At this time you’ll see many families cracking open their compact hatchbacks and having some good old ham and butter baguette sandwiches with the occasional flask of “eau de vie”¹ before heading back to the slopes.

Risky Business

Did Somebody Say Lawsuit?

Unlike in America, the average French ski resort doesn’t seem too concerned with lawsuits.  They may put up a warning sign or two, but you have to be smart enough to not ski too close to cliff edges and be careful when the slope intersects a “téléski” (the official name for the “tire-fesse” ski lift).  Also, don’t be a moron and ski off the groomed trails when there is a high chance of an avalanche!  This may seem like common sense, but in America it would definitely be grounds for a lawsuit if you slipped off the sheer unfenced cliff edge that happens to be a mere 5m (15ft) from where you get off the ski lift!  In any case, don’t expect a Saint Bernard to come running to save you anytime soon.  Like many natural tourist destinations in France (mountain hiking trails, natural beaches,  etc.) the spectacular beauty can also be pretty dangerous, so try to keep in mind that you’re pretty much on your own…  In the meantime, pull out that flask of “Eau de Vie” and enjoy the stunning vista of the French Alps!  Happy Skiing!

Links

Le Vanoise Express - France boasts the biggest ski area cable car (téléphérique) in the world.  It is a massive, double decker machine that can hold over 200 people and links La Plagne and Les Arcs ski resorts in the Savoie area.  Despite its size, fortunately the laws of physics still apply!

Conduite sur Glace at Serre Chevalier  - Many of France’s bigger ski stations also have a special car circuit nearby reserved for teaching people how to drive on ice.  Basically, it’s a regular driving school where you can crank on the steering wheel, slam on the breaks and slide into snowbanks to your heart’s content!  It’s amazing what fun you can have when companies don’t have to worry so much about lawsuits…

SkiFrance.fr - the domain name is self explanatory.  Lists all the ski areas in France with webcams, snow reports and ratings

Skiset.com - Online ski rental site for many stations.  As usual in France, I’d recommend giving a call after you reserve just to double check with the rental shop that they received the email…

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1. ”eau de vie”, literally translated as “water of life”, is popular after-meal hard liquor usually made from fermented mountain flowers [↩]

February 28th, 2010 | Tags: Auron, circle, Conduite sur Glace, diamond, eau de vie, france blog, french blog, French lawsuit, French mountain roads, Gréolières, guard rails, icy ski trails, Isola 2000, Le Vanoise Express, mountain rescue, New England skiing, route de ski, Serre Chevalier, ski bus, ski parking, ski restaurants, skiing in the alps, spiced wine, square, St. Bernard, tailgate party, télésiège, téléski, tire-fesse, Valberg, wind chill | Category: Civil Society, Côte d'Azur, La France, Le Vagabond | Comments (1)

France is generally regarded as the birthplace of democracy in Europe.  Although the 1789 French Revolution is considered by many as the spark that lit the fire of European democratization and the propagation of fundamental concepts such as equality or human rights across the continent, the French Republic itself has had a very turbulent history of trying to maintain its core democratic values and power over the centuries.  When I use the general term “French Republic”, I’m referring to a period in France’s history when it was more or less governed democratically by representatives of the people without any interference from a king, an emperor or an autocrat.  In fact, since the declaration of the “First Republic” in 1792, the French government has actually functioned under five different republics, each governed by different constitutions, with the current republic conveniently known as the “Cinquième République” (Fifth Republic) whose constitution was actually only recently approved in 1958! 

Between these different republics were various periods of crisis and social upheaval, including World War II, two Napoléon emperorships, the restoration of the French Monarchy, the 60s culture wars and general infighting between different political factions who only wanted their strict vision of democracy applied.  In fact, given France’s history, I fully expect to live through the foundation of the Sixth Republic sometime in my lifetime!

Still Going...

Unlike France, the United States still adheres to its original 1789 constitution¹ with only a mere twenty-seven amendments added to the text.  And the first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, don’t count because they were approved at the same time as the original constitution.  Of the remaining seventeen amendments, two amendments (18th and 21st) concerning prohibition of alcohol cancel each other out, so in reality the US constitution has only been modified just fifteen times since it’s original inception!  Other than these fifteen additional amendments, NOTHING has been changed - not one old English phrase has been modified and not one strange looking letter ”S” rewritten!

Founding Fathers Think Things Through...

In fact, simply to propose an amendment to the US constitution requires either 2/3 of both houses of Congress or 2/3 of states legislatures to launch the ratification process.  Then the amendment must be approved by 3/4 of the US states’ legislatures (or a state’s ratifying constitutional convention)!  This is the reason I tell my French friends why it is so difficult to reform anything that is hard coded into the US constitution, such as changing the US presidential election process (which was designed to allow time for delegates to a special “electoral college” to arrive on horseback to designate a president) or to pass any sort of gun control laws (the 2nd amendment explicitly allows the “right to bear arms”).  For my European friends, remember that the US constitution is almost considered a sacred document by most Americans, so even simply the thought of modifying it brings shivers down people’s backs.

The French, however, have no such scruples about changing their constitution.  Changing the constitution only requires 3/5 approval of the current legislature which gives the impression that it is constantly being tinkered with, whether it is to allow France to conform to the latest European Union directive or simply to promote the President’s current program.  In the beginning I found this nonchalant approach to constitutional modifications surprising, but after a while it all turns into background noise until one day soon when the Sixth Republic will be secretly declared…

The history of France’s five periods of republican rule (by the people) is very interesting reading.

Just Another Monarchist Collaborator!

The First Republic (1792-1804) - The ”First Republic” was declared in 1792 during the turbulent time of the French Revolution and was meant to be a complete rupture with every religious or monarchist convention of the past.  And there’s no better way to force people to obey a new republican constitution than to temporary suspend it, terrify the population into mutual betrayal and then send any suspected traitors to the guillotine²!!  After events calmed down a bit, in 1793 a second constitution was adopted called “La Constitution de l’An I” (The Constitution of Year 1) which established a republican government and also had the unique idea to reorganize the calendar into 12 months³ of 10 day weeks⁴, and dividing each day into 10 hours, each hour into 100 decimal minutes and each minute into 100 decimal seconds! 

Napoléon - Who needs a Republic when you can have an Emperor?

In 1795, yet another constitution came into effect, “La Constitution de L’An III” (The Constitution of Year 3), reorganizing the government into two creatively-named legislative bodies called the “Coucil of Elders” (upper chamber) and the “Council of 500″ (lower chamber with, amazingly, 500 representatives).  These bodies were managed by a five person executive committee called the “Directoire”, which, after an internal coup d’état, later became a group of three “Consuls” (The Constitution of Year 8) and finally only ”First Consul for Life” Napoléon Bonaparte  (The Constitution of Year 10), who became Emperor two years later!  With five different constitutions in twelve years, it’s no wonder people so easily accepted Napoléon as their Emperor, if only to simplify government!  Incidentally, Napoléon also abolished the new calendar in 1805…probably because he was so sick of trying to remember the bizarre names of all the months!

French Revolutionary Calendar Months (starting with the first month of autumn):  Vendémiaire (vintage), Brumaire (mist), Frimaire (frost), Nivôse (snow), Pluviôse (rain), Ventôse (wind), Germinal (seed), Floréal (blossom), Prairial (meadow), Messidor (harvest), Thermidor (heat), Fructidor (fruits)

July Monarchy (King is from the “Orléans” branch) - (1830 - 1848)

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The Second Republic (1848-1852) - As you can see by the dates, this constitution didn’t last long.  Maybe the founders should have reconsidered when they designed direct presidential elections resulting in Napoleon’s nephew, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, as president.  What a surprise when he declared himself Emperor (Napoléon III) during the coup d’état of 1852!  Won’t they ever learn?

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Emperorship of Louis-Napoléon (1852 - 1870)

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The Third Republic (1870-1940) - Currently the longest lasting French constitution, la Troisième Republique (The Third Republic) is considered by many as one of the most stable periods of French republican government.  In a sort of irony, the constitution of the Third Republic was actually just a temporary measure designed to limit executive power (remember all of the recent coup d’états?) before a better one could be agreed on.  However, the temporary solution was actually fairly well balanced and ended up lasting 70 years!   The constitutional power was heavily weighted towards the legislature resulting in a very weak, figurehead president of the Third Republic who was also frequently the butt of many jokes!

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Invasion and Occupation of France by Nazi Germany (1940-1945) - déjà vu?

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Prime Minister Chirac Absolutely Loves President Mitterand!

The Fourth Republic (1946-1958) - Although executive power was slightly increased, the motto of the Fourth Republic was that government only requires one big happy assembly and there would always be a majority consensus to manage the country.  Unfortunately, if you combine the Algerian War (France’s Vietnam) with the 60s culture crisis and the rise of communism, you have a good recipe for complete governmental gridlock…  Time to make a new constitution!

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The Fifth Republic (1958 - present)- The distinguishing feature of this constitution is the French rediscovery and reinforcement of executive power which the Third and Fourth Republics lacked.  The new presidential powers were meant to arbitrate during periods of crisis, command the armed forces and foreign policy, and basically to maintain the integrity and unity of the French Republic.  Although the French President has the right to dissolve the current national assembly and call elections, it is actually the prime minister (head of the elected assembly) who is in charge of government legislation.  In fact, in the history of the Fifth Republic there have been two periods of “co-habitation” where the President and the Prime Minister were from opposing parties!  This makes for great early evening TV with both men competing against each other for power, prestige and sound-bites (especially in high profile events on the world stage).

So despite being such an ancient power, the French still haven’t had the same constitution for more than 70 years while the US is still running strongly after 220 years!  Which approach is better?  Did France really have a choice after so many coup d’états, emperors and foreign invasions?  Could it possibly be a better design to allow a consitution conceived before electricy, cars or the telephone to be more easily changed?  Or is it better to not touch a document that has worked relatively well as a basis of government for over 2 centuries?  I guess we’ll see generations from now when the US is still debating whether it’s a constitutional right to machine gun a deer and France has entered it’s Tenth Republic (for better or for worse!).  Until then, Vive La République!  

Links:

Wouldn’t it be cool to say you were born on “10 Nivôse CLXXX”?  Click here to convert any normal date into revolutionary French format!

France isn’t the only place with a constitution.  The European Union is trying desperately to ratify its own supra-national constitution (currently disguised under the name “The Treaty of Lisbon” after the original one was rejected in 2004 by French and Dutch referendums).  In a sort of irony, just the preamble of the proposed European constitution is almost the same length of the entire US constitution!

Link to the European Constitution Explained by the BBC

So how many constitutions has France invoked since guillotining their king?  Quite a lot to say the least!!  Here is a definitive list of ALL the French constitutions, including the not so democratic ones…(Napoléon actually reigned under a constitution)

Here is a list of all of the modifications to the constitution of the current French Fifth Republic since its inception in 1958.  With 24 modifications, it’s almost the equivalent of a constitutional change every other year!

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1. the country did briefly function under the 1781 “Articles of Confederation” until the final federal constitution was approved [↩]
2. this period of the French Revolution was known as “La Terreur” (The Reign of Terror) [↩]
3. every 3 months corresponded to a season [↩]
4. The 10th day replaced Sunday as the “day of rest” [↩]

July 11th, 2009 | Tags: amendments US constitution, Bill of Rights, change US constitution, cohabitation, Consul, Council of 500, Council of Elders, Fifth Republic, First Republic, Fourth Republic, france blog, french blog, French constitution, French constitution changes, French dates, French democracy, French presidential power, French revolutionary calendar, La Terreur, Louis-Napoléon, Napoleon, prohibition, Reign of Terror, Second Republic, Sixth Republic, Third Republic | Category: Administration and State, Civil Society, History, La France, Politics | Comments Off

Driving in France is not for the faint hearted. Although the French do (thankfully) drive on the right side of the road, it still is a huge learning experience to adapt the relatively easy-going, law-obeying American driving style and concept of space to the ultra-aggressive, unforgiving driving style common here in France.

My French Urban Warhorse!

Take something as simple as vehicle space. When I drive in the US, I’m always amazed at how much room exists around the car. In general there is ample space on either side of the car, not to mention huge breakdown lanes on both sides of the road in case of any issues. Vehicles are also much wider, heavier and tend to be slower to respond, so that I sometimes feel as if I’m literally floating in a boat down the road. In comparison, many of the roads in France have little or no breakdown lane and, with the sheer number of winding streets and overpasses mashed into the urban landscape, it frequently feels like you’re a rat running through some sort of twisted concrete maze hoping to find the cheese of your final destination (preferably Roquefort)! Most French cars are also 5-speed, manual-shift compact vehicles¹ ideally adapted for navigating through this geometrically restricted landscape, accelerating at breakneck speeds and also finding a parking spot in whatever space happens available.

Big Red Light, Little Red Light

There is also another very important element to add into this driving chaos that many Americans completely ignore: the motorcycle! I can’t describe how many two-wheeled vehicles there are in France whizzing around on all sides of your car at any conceivable moment. They range from noisy dirt bikes to supersonic Japanese cycles that can fly past you like a bullet at any instant! Do you remember learning to check your blind spot in driver’s ed? Well to avoid killing motorcyclists and the occasional recreational bike rider, you need to spend about half your driving time constantly looking over both shoulders and checking your side-view mirrors because most motorcyclists here have an irresistible impulsion to pass any and every moving vehicle they encounter at all costs! After a while driving with so many two-wheeled vehicles around becomes second nature as you develop excellent peripheral vision and learn to leave some space on the side of the car for passing bikers, but in the beginning it’s quite a harrowing experience!

One final factor to take into account when driving in France is psychology. As a general rule, once those cultivated, suave Frenchmen (and women) get behind the wheel of a car they become completely crazy! Maybe it’s because the French tend to baby their cars or have major issues with pent up aggression, but I’m always amazed at the amount of violence that is unleashed when two drivers accidentally cut each other off or even brush one and other’s bumpers (always tons of yelling, insults and the occasional fist fight)! I once saw a group of pedestrians literally tackle a crazy motorist because some tourist had accidentally scraped his car! In all seriousness, I have considered taking martial arts courses just to defend myself in case I ever get in an auto accident over here, and, during my daily commute, I’m always very thankful that it’s illegal to own guns!

Might is Right

Wrong Way!

A One Way Street!

Although driving rules in France are actually very similar to the US, there are still some mysterious French road signs and a few odd laws that make no sense to the neophyte American driver. I find that the most difficult French driving rule to learn is the famous “priorité à droite” (the person on the right always has the priority). In France, for historical reasons, there are a lot of obscure side streets that connect to the main street in every which way. If the side street isn’t explicitly marked with a stop or yield sign, then the car leaving the side street is actually legally allowed to impose himself in front of oncoming traffic on the main street (because, technically speaking, the car coming out of the side street is on the right)! This means that if you’re zooming down the main street at 70 km/h (~45 mph) then you are required to slam on your brakes when grandma slowly pulls out from her farm road in front of your car!

Put on the Brakes - Priorité à Droit!

The Big Yellow Diamond!

When I drive down a main street in France, I’m constantly scanning on my right side to see if any vehicle is going to randomly assert its legal privileges to cut me off. Fortunately, the French have devised two intuitive signs to help us - one has a big black X which obviously means that there’s a “priorité à droite” ahead (so look out for grandma) and another sign that has a big yellow diamond meaning that the main road has priority until you see another big yellow diamond sign with a black slash through it! Unless, of course, grandma doesn’t know about the yellow diamond sign you saw 2 kms earlier… (it’s all so straightforward).

A few other oddities to note about French roads and rules are as follows:

• Almost all of the lines on French roads are white (even the middle line). If the middle line is solid white, it means no passing. And if it’s a dotted white, it means you can pass, but be careful of oncoming traffic unless, of course, the road is now a double lane, one-way road (which you may have no way of knowing until other drivers start honking and zooming by you)
• French traffic lights are on the same level as the stop line, generally on a pole to the right of the passenger window. You might ask how the first car manages to see when it’s green? Well, to avoid straining drivers’ necks, all French traffic lights are also equipped with mini, redundant traffic lights at the car window level (see my earlier photo).  This makes it easy for the lead driver as well as any motorcyclists to see the lights.
• Unless otherwise indicated, the speed limit is 50 km/h (~35 mph) in town and city centers, 70 km/h (~45 mph) on departmental (local) roads, 90 km/h (~55 mph) on the national roads and 130 km/h (~80 mph) on highways.  Needless to say, readjusting to the 55 mph highway speed limit back in the US can sometimes be difficult…

Watch Out for the Cops!

The Aliens are Coming!

So how do the French patrol all this chaos? As I mentioned earlier, with generally no available breakdown lanes, it can become difficult for police to pull over any bad drivers. In fact, I have never seen a French cop turn on their lights and actually pull over a motorist! The preferred police method is to setup a roadblock and perform random vehicle checks. Unlike in the US, French police can stop and search your vehicle without any justification. Road stops are frequently setup on rotaries, intersections or toll booths, and random vehicles are chosen to be “controlled”, where the police will pull you over and check to ensure that your car has valid insurance, was recently inspected, all of the required safety features exist (such as the famous orange triangle and reflecting vest), and that your license, registration/title are all in order.

Speaking of “car papers”, in France the car’s registration and title is actually the same piece of paper, called “la carte grise”, and it’s required by law to always carry this when driving. Always having to remember to take “la carte grise” can be really annoying, especially because it’s a wide, bulky rectangle that doesn’t easily slip into your pants pocket. And it’s doubly aggravating because you can’t just leave it in the car; if the car is stolen with “la carte grise” in the glove compartment, then it becomes somewhat easy for the thief to just sign the title, pretend that the car was just legally sold (instead of stolen) and legally re-register it.

You Must be a Moron to Miss this Sign!

Just Watching the Traffic

French traffic police also have dynamic road stops looking for a specific infractions such as not wearing a seatbelt, talking on the telephone or speeding. In fact, it’s quite common to see a French cop hiding in the bushes with specially equipped laser “radar” binoculars aimed at a fast section of the road. When a speeder is clocked, he then radios the car’s description and infraction to the waiting officers at an upcoming road checkpoint. The speeder is then pulled over and cited.

And, of course, there is the famous “vache à lait” (source of huge income) of the French road system, automatic speed camera radars. Permanently positioned in accident-prone locations, speed cameras take a photo of anyone driving too fast and then automatically send the scanned license plate information over a computer network for processing. A few days later, the owner of the car receives a ticket in the mail. Despite the fact that there are huge signs warning motorists of the automatic speed camera beforehand (to avoid any sudden braking), there are still tons of people who drive over the limit right in front of the radar!

Despite the fact that the French are ultra-aggressive, compared to my driving experiences in Boston or New York they’re actually not that bad.  In general, if you assert yourself just a bit, people will give you enough space to merge into traffic (unlike in Boston where you literally have to chisel through a wall of cars to change lanes).  And if you turn on your blinker way ahead of time and stick your hand out the window, you can also make it around the double-laned rotaries without being side-swiped.  And I must admit, as an American, it can still be quite a unique, thrilling experience darting around traffic with a stick shift in a vintage French car! 

Bonne chance et bonne route…

Links

“La Code de La Route” (Rules of the Road) according to Wikipedia.   I had a hard time finding a site that actually could list and explain French driving laws!

Driving in France PDF (US Embassy in Paris) - There are fourteen states that have signed some sort of strange accord with France to allow direct swapping of a US license for a French one.  Considering that a French license requires you to be at least 18 years of age and also to spend ~$2000 on drivers education classes as well as passing a very difficult written and road test, now I understand why all of the French exchange students I knew wanted to get their license in the US.  If you plan on living in France as an expat and are from one of the 14 lucky states, make sure you trade in your US license for a French one within the first year of your carte de séjour (otherwise you’ll have to take the French driving test!)…

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1. the main reason behind the dominance of manual transmissions in Europe is because they are simply more fuel efficient [↩]

June 10th, 2009 | Tags: American driving in France, American licenses in France, automatic radar, car papers, carte grise, code de la route, france blog, French aggressive driving, french blog, French motorcycles, French road rules, French road signals, French speed limits, French traffic lights, French traffic police, jumelles, manual transmission, panneau radars, panneau route prioritaire, priorité à droite, searching vehicles, sens interdit, sens unique, speed binoculars | Category: Administration and State, Civil Society, La France, Transportation | Comments (9)

Chapelle Saint-Jean - An Enchanted Grove

It may come as no surprise to hear that France is traditionally a Christian country.  In every corner of France you will see a testament to its historical, Catholic traditions.  Whether it is the huge cathedral completely surrounded by an urban center, the forgotten chapel high up in a hidden mountain village or a crumbling oratory by the side of a forgotten hiking path, the country is teeming with reminders of its Christian past.  Even the towering peaks of the French Alps are frequently marked with huge iron or wooden crosses!

Alpine Cross

Pull the Rope, Ring the Bell!

With Christian signs permeating the daily landscape and many public holidays corresponding to a religious celebration, it is somewhat ironic to see how little modern France really cares about actually living its Catholic culture.  Unlike the US where ~40% of Americans attend church weekly, only ~10%¹  of French Catholics regularly go to Sunday services, and I can attest from the occasional experience that most of the time mass here seems one step away from a retirement home.  Vocations for the priesthood are plummeting and many are now shipped in from neighboring Italy or even Africa.  The Church also has an image problem in France where it is frequently associated as a community of rich, bourgeois families and ex-nobility who are out of touch with working-class realities.  And in a more somber note, it has also been accused of Nazi collaboration during World War II.

Despite such a rich Catholic tradition, there are many reasons for declining participation in the religion.  To begin with, the Catholic church has a virtual monopoly on Christianity in France.  Although in bigger cities Protestant churches do exist, the vast majority of churches in France are Catholic.  Unlike in America where even the smallest towns will have 4-5 different churches and people tend to “shop around” until they find the community that best fits their spiritual needs, in France there is no incentive for the (usually elderly) priest to lighten up on the guilt, fire and brimstone of their sermons and reach out towards people’s real needs or modern issues.  As a result, many people who are searching simply do not feel “fed”, but rather driven away, and just give up on Christianity - after all, where else is there to go?  And the ones that have no religious tradition in their families would have no reason to attend in the first place…

The Real Faces of Notre Dame Cathedral

France also has a tradition of secular, scientific humanism and direct conflict with the Catholic Church.  During the French Revolution (1789) many churches, abbeys and other religious buildings were burned, sacred tombs were pillaged and priests were brutally executed.  Even the heads of the statues decorating the doors of Notre Dame Cathedral were chopped off, the result of an explosion of pent-up anger at the abuses of power, not only by the King and the nobles, but also the clergy.  Traditionally, high members of the clergy (bishops, etc.) were usually appointed directly from the noble classes and had vast amounts of wealth and power at their disposal.  The Church also levied a hefty tax on all peasants (know as “la dîme”)², and the local population was frequently exploited.

Saint Etienne du Mont - Church or Temple of Reason?

During the French Revolution, the feudal regime was brutally uprooted and transitioned towards a democratic government based on universal principles.  Religion was seen as an obstacle to scientific progress and many churches were reinaugurated as “Temples de la Raison” (Temples of Reason), the goal of which was to bring freedom and equality to all people.  Traditional Christian holidays were renamed and even the Gregorian calendar was replaced with one based on the seasons and 10 day weeks³.

After the frenzy of the revolution, the French government⁴ realized that despite their newfound freedoms, most of the country was still very traditional and strongly Catholic, so it was better for civil unrest, not to mention people’s consciousnesses, to make some sort of peaceful compromise with the Church.  The famous “Concordat of 1801″, agreed between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, returned much of the confiscated property to the Church and also reinstated Catholicism as the majority religion in France while maintaining religious freedom for other sects (Protestants, etc.).  However, it also established government oversight over Church affairs, including such things as nominating bishops and dictating the salary of clergy.  And if your pay now depended on the new French state, it would be wise not to protest too much!!

An Inspiring Heritage!

Fortunately, in modern times, religion is now (more or less) free from state interference in France, but the brutal separation between the church and state during the French Revolution has left scars even to this day.  For example, before you are allowed to be married in a French church, you must first be legally married in the eyes of the French state.  This is why with French weddings, in the morning there is always a legal wedding ceremony at the local town hall presided by the mayor and in the afternoon the traditional church wedding ceremony takes place (if the couple is religious or at least has been baptized…).

The almost sacred upholding of secular traditions of logical and scientific inquiry also can be seen from the French response to certain religious teachings.  For example, most French cannot understand why the Pope insists on discouraging the use of condoms to fight AIDS, despite all of the scientific evidence showing a high correlation between condom use and successful prevention and control of the epidemic. 

L'Abbaye de Sénanque

Another recent example is the controversy over allowing young muslim girls to wear headscarves in public school.  Because a public school is an extension of the French state, it was decided that wearing a headscarf in school was too much of a religious provocation against the pure secularism of the state.  And don’t get me started on the French reactions to what are perceived as ridiculous American debates concerning prayer in school, posting the 10 commandments in front of government buildings or whether evolution really happened!

Despite the diminishing participation in traditional Catholicism, France still has an incredible heritage of beautiful, inspiring religious sites.  I absolutely love discovering hidden chapels high on distant mountains and often imagine travelers following these ancient routes, struggling up a difficult valley and offering thanksgiving to the local oratory for a safe journey.  There are also countless places of religious pilgrimage, whether it is visiting well-known Lourdes, walking bits of the “chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle” (Way of St. James) through the Pyrenees Mountains or discovering sacred relics in the chapel of some canonized hermit’s cave.  Touring active monasteries is also invigorating as they are frequently located in gorgeous countryside with delicious cheese, wine or other specialties to sample or purchase.  Many also have a public vespers, an early evening mass where the monks frequently will sing or chant.  So don’t be afraid to explore those hidden places on the map and try to keep the faith!

Links

Those Spooky French Churches!

Sainte Geneviève - Although the Da Vinci Code talks about the imposing Saint Sulpice cathedral, one of the strangest, eeriest churches I’ve ever visited in Paris is “Saint Etienne du Mont” (see my photo earlier in this article).  Hidden behind the Pantheon, it is devoted to the patron saint of Paris, Saint Geneviève, who in the year 451  somehow played the central role encouraging the population to defend the city against Attila the Hun (who incidentally decided to head for Orléans at the last minute).  With its strange towers, ancient interior and worn floor you can literally feel the centuries weighing down on you!

Saint Gervais - There are actually still churches in France with an active, dynamic community, and if you want to participate in an inspiring religious experience where some of the faithful literally walk to the alter on their knees, try out high Sunday mass at St. Gervais in the Marais.  From the outside, this cathedral is dingy and almost unremarkable (in Paris there are cathedrals all over the place) but during the Sunday services the first few rows are full of the singing nuns and chanting priests of the “Fraternité de Jerusalem” (Communities of Jerusalem) - nothing but believers here!

Abbé Pierre -  Beloved by his countrymen and extremely popular (consistently higher than any French president), in 1949 this dynamic abbot started Emmaus, a foundation devoted to helping the poor and homeless.  Always outspoken and a supporter of government initiatives to help fight poverty, Abbé Pierre was also a controversial figure within the Catholic church, openly supporting the ordination of women, married priests and the use of contraceptives against AIDS.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04204a.htm - Here is the official take on the “Concordat of 1801″ from the online Catholic encyclopedia.  To summarize, Napoleon held all the cards - basically if the Church wanted its property back, they had to sign on the dotted line!

http://www.chemindecompostelle.com/ - This site has a lot of useful information about the St. James Way.  I plan on writing more details about this pilgrimage in a future post.

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1. some estimates place this number even lower! [↩]
2. ”la dîme” was a tax requiring 10% of the peasant’s agricultural earnings to be given to the Church [↩]
3. the traditional Sunday ”day of rest” was replaced by “Décaidi”, the tenth day [↩]
4. at this time France was “governed” by Napoleon [↩]

May 19th, 2009 | Tags: Abbé Pierre, Concordat of 1801, Da Vinci Code, décaidi, Emmaus, france blog, Fraternité de Jerusalem, french blog, French Catholic Church, French Catholic traditions, French Chapels, French hermits, French oratories, French religious pilgrimages, french revolution, French saints, headscarf in France, la dîme, lourdes, Napoleon, Pope Pius VII, Saint Etienne du Mont, Saint Gervais, Sainte Geneviève, temples de la raison, têtes de Notre Dame, Way of St. James | Category: Administration and State, Civil Society, Education, Facts and Figures, History, La France, Money and Taxes, Politics, Religion, Traditions | Comments Off