Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0135/01357.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 22KB | 481 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01357}
$Pretitle{416}
$Title{France
Cultural Information}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{French Embassy, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{French Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{french
day
france
legal
holiday
language
sports
de
century
first}
$Date{1991}
$Log{Castle in Southern France*0135701.scf
}
Country:     France
Book:        Fact Sheets on France
Author:      French Embassy, Washington DC
Affiliation: French Embassy, Washington DC
Date:        1991

Cultural Information

[See Castle in Southern France: Courtesy French Information Service, New York.]

The French Language

     French is the mother tongue or the official language of over 300 million
people throughout the world (264 million in 1975). It is an official language
in most international organizations and, as such, has been selected by more
than one third of the delegations to the United Nations and half of the
member countries of UNESCO. It is the only official language of the
International Court of Justice, the Universal Postal Union and the
International Diplomatic Academy.

Historical Survey

     French derives from Celtic and Latin. In the course of centuries, it
has been enriched by words from local dialects or of foreign origin. At the
turn of the 9th century it had become the spoken language of most Gauls
(Latin remained the written language of Europe still) but by the 13th
century literary and historical works were being written in French. With the
end of the 16th century, however, French was firmly established as the
language of all cultivated people. It was spoken in the royal courts and
by writers and artists in Russia, Germany, Italy, etc. In 1714, it became
the universal language of diplomacy, a role it was to retain until World War
I, when English came to share the position.

     The spread of the French language abroad began with William's conquest
of England in the 11th century; it remained the language of the English Court
and Parliament until the 15th century and was used in legal courts up to the
18th century. In later years missionaries and soldiers, writers and traders,
explorers and settlers took the language to the four corners of the earth.

The French-Speaking World Outside the French Republic

     French is the official language of:

     In Africa - Algeria (with Arabic), Benin, Burundi (with Kirundi),
Cameroon (with English), Central African Republic, Congo, Djibouti, Gabon,
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar (with Malagasy), Mali, Mauritania (with
Arabic), Mauritius (with English), Morocco (with Arabic), Niger, Rwanda
(with Kinyarwanda), Senegal, Seychelles (with English), Tchad, Togo, Tunisia
(with Arabic), Zaire (with six local tongues).

     In the Americas - Canada (with English), Louisiana (with English), Haiti.

     In Asia and the South Pacific - Cambodia (with Khmer), Laos (with
Laotian), Lebanon (with Arabic), Pondicherry (with Tamil), Vietnam, Vanuatu
(with English).

     In Europe - Andorra (with Catalan), Belgium (with Flemish), Luxembourg,
Monaco and Switzerland (with German and Italian).

     It is also spoken in the Caribbean islands of Dominica, Grenada,
Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, in some parts of New England,
California, Idaho and Oregon, in the Italian province of Aosta and in the
Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey.

Main Francophone Organizations

     The AGENCE DE COOPERATION CULTURELLE ET TECHNIQUE is an international
organization, created in 1970 and grouping 28 states. Its aim is to encourage
cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology. A conference
in which the ministers of culture of each member country participate is held
annually.

     The HAUT COMITE DE LA LANGUE FRANCAISE is a French public organization
established in 1966 to protect and promote the language.

     The ALLIANCE FRANCAISE is a private organization founded in 1883 to
promote French language and civilization. The Alliance does so through
conferences, symposiums, libraries and courses. There are approximately 600
centers throughout the world with more than 260,000 students.

French Cultural Centers, Institutes and Schools Abroad

     The French government maintains a world-wide network of 124 Institutes
and Cultural Centers (plus 38 branches) and 19 Documentation Centers in 61
countries. Some 140,000 people follow courses given in these establishments.

     In addition, French education is given to over 110,000 youngsters
throughout the world in 117 high schools belonging to the French government,
35 high schools partly owned by the French government and run either by local
or French associations, and 113 schools run by parents associations.

     Most of the staff in these establishments are sent out from France.
There are also thousands of French men and women teaching their language in
non-French-speaking schools in practically every country of the world.

French Newspapers and Magazines

     Well over 8,000 newspapers and periodicals were published in France in
1982. Between 800 and 850 more are printed in French in various foreign
countries.

December 1982

French Cuisine

History

     The French love for food is apparently nothing new. The Gauls
supposedly shocked the Romans by their hearty appetites. Their dishes were
anything but refined, consisting mainly of boiled meats and vegetables, their
national dish being whole wild boar stuffed with garlic and roasted on a
spit. Yet the Romans did enjoy such Gallic delicacies as snails and foie
gras.

     The first recognizable gourmet in the history of French cuisine was
the Emperor Charlemagne (742-814), whose court marked holidays with gargantuan
feasts of roasted animals and peacock pies. Incidentally, he was the first
to allow women to sit at the court dinner table. War, uncertain harvests and
poor transportation meant that food was far less abundant outside the palace
walls and it was not until the 12th century that markets became well stocked
in fresh fish, meat, bread, etc., together with rice and oriental spices
brought back by knights returning from the Crusades. The Middle Ages also
saw the publication of the first French cookbooks as well as a satire by the
monk Rabelais on ecclesiastical eating habits and medieval gluttony.

     In 1553 the first public eating houses were opened in Paris, serving
such specialties as minced dormouse and porpoise pie. In the same year,
Catherine de Medicis arrived in France from Florence, bringing with her
Italian cooks skilled in the preparation of "sophisticated" foods, including
ice cream, soon to become a French favorite.

     In 1669, during the reign of Louis XIV, coffee was introduced into
France and the first public cafes were opened. Madame de Maintenon, one of
the king's favorites, established a school for the orphaned daughters of
distinguished soldiers. Those who completed the course with distinction were
awarded a blue ribbon, the Cordon Bleu, which soon came to signify that the
wearer was an excellent cook.

     By the 18th century lavish and elegant banquets were a feature of
Paris society. Foreign foods and drinks were beginning to be introduced,
among them caviar and punch. The first real restaurants were opened and by
the end of the century there were over 500 throughout Paris.

     The years following the French Revolution marked the beginning of
a century of technical progress. In 1795 Francois Appert devised a method of
preserving food in jars, thus giving birth to the canning industry. Louis
Pasteur discovered "pasteurization" (1865), a process for preserving liquids,
particularly milk and wine. A few years later Charles Tellier invented the
refrigeration system (1868-1869).

     At the turn of the 20th century French cuisine was at its height of
perfection and extravagance. This lasted only until World War I when it was
no longer feasible for restaurants to mount the magnificent gastronomic
displays to which their prosperous clientele was accustomed.

     A feature of cooking in France today is Nouvelle Cuisine w