{"id":1123,"date":"2010-07-16T22:50:47","date_gmt":"2010-07-16T22:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=1123"},"modified":"2017-10-18T14:43:42","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T12:43:42","slug":"who-are-ze-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/who-are-ze-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Are Ze French?"},"content":{"rendered":"

L\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise<\/em> (A not-too-academic discussion)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pas d\u2019excuses! Mercredi <\/em>(Wednesday) was Bastille Day, which is sort of like Hichem\u2019s birthday because he\u2019s French, and hier <\/em>(yesterday) was mon anniversaire<\/em> (my birthday)! So we\u2019re all out of whack. D\u00e9sol\u00e9e<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While \u201cFrench politicians a bunch of whiny Islamophobic babies\u201d (lien<\/a>)<\/em> is probably not good journalism, it is an exciting topic. Vos commentaires <\/em>(your comments) have been tr\u00e8s int\u00e9ressants, et j\u2019aimerai continuer la discussion de mardi<\/em> (and I\u2019d like to continue Tuesday\u2019s discussion).<\/p>\n

Of course, the French Assembl\u00e9e nationale <\/em>(National Assembly) just passed a law qui interdit le port du voile int\u00e9gral<\/strong><\/em> (which bans the wearing of the full-face veil). Of course, the debate goes beyond this one law. L\u2019enjeu,<\/em><\/strong> an extremely important French word, means the issue, or what\u2019s at stake: literally, ce qui est en jeu <\/strong><\/em>(that which is in play). L\u2019enjeu <\/em>is the crux of the problem.<\/p>\n

The real enjeu <\/em>(issue) behind the recent French law banning the burqa and niqab is l\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise<\/em><\/strong>. The current debate is just une partie <\/em>(a part) d\u2019un d\u00e9bat bien plus grand <\/em>(of a much larger debate).<\/p>\n

Qu\u2019est-ce que l\u2019identit\u00e9?<\/em><\/strong> (What is identity?)<\/p>\n

Le dictionnaire <\/em>Merriam-Webster dit que le mot \u00ab\u00a0identit\u00e9\u00a0\u00bb <\/em>(says that the word \u00ab\u00a0identity\u00a0\u00bb) vient du latin <\/em>(comes from the Latin) \u00ab\u00a0idem et idem\u00a0\u00bb<\/em><\/strong> (same and same). \u00ab\u00a0Same and same\u00a0\u00bb is just the problem\u00a0: how do you define une identit\u00e9 nationale <\/em>when citizens are not idem et idem<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Qu\u2019est-ce que l\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise?<\/em><\/strong> (What is the French identity\u00a0?)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For me, l\u2019enjeu du probl\u00e8me de l\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise <\/em>(the enjeu <\/em>of the problem of the French identity) comes down to one word:\u00a0 le<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em>The. The French identity, only one, which must unir <\/em>(unite) 60 million people of diverse background and personal identit\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n

French identity includes three concepts clefs <\/em>(key concepts): la la\u00efcit\u00e9, la libert\u00e9 et l\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em>Secularism, liberty and equality are central to France\u2019s conception of itself. So if la la\u00efcit\u00e9 <\/em>(secularism) is in direct conflict with la libert\u00e9 et l\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9 <\/em>(liberty and equality), wherefore l\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise <\/em>? What is the French identity\u00a0? <\/strong>L\u2019Assembl\u00e9e nationale <\/em>has made its decision, in support of secularism and nominal equality.<\/p>\n

Whatever one\u2019s views, the real answer here is probably the creation of economic and educational opportunity. 2000 femmes <\/em>(women) are affected by the new legislation, and who knows how many of them are actually opprim\u00e9es <\/em>(oppressed) and in need of protection juridique <\/em>(judicial protection). Moi je dirais <\/em>(I would say): To tackle les probl\u00e8mes sociaux <\/em>(the social problems), focus on creating economic opportunities for all people. Removing barriers will promote economic and social growth, and might even help shape a stronger, more supple identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise<\/em>\u2014without compromising the core beliefs of the nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

L\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise (A not-too-academic discussion) Pas d\u2019excuses! Mercredi (Wednesday) was Bastille Day, which is sort of like Hichem\u2019s birthday because he\u2019s French, and hier (yesterday) was mon anniversaire (my birthday)! So we\u2019re all out of whack. D\u00e9sol\u00e9e.   While \u201cFrench politicians a bunch of whiny Islamophobic babies\u201d (lien) is probably not good journalism, it is…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":1125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8573,10132,10130,5608,10131,10133,8574,8579,10134,8575],"class_list":["post-1123","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-burqa","tag-egalite","tag-identite","tag-identity","tag-laicite","tag-liberte","tag-niqab","tag-secularism","tag-veil","tag-voile"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t