FRANCE: A PASSION FOR FREEDOM
by Pascal Jacquelin

Part III in a series...

I must confess I have serious doubts on whether we French people really understand our own motto "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité." As I explained in a previous article (France: a Passion for People) the notion of "fraternité" generally translates into an urge to meet others. As for Egalité (France's Education System: A passion for Culture), it is misused in such a way that it paradoxically reinforces inequalities in education. Now you'd think "liberté" was a pretty straightforward concept to grasp, but wait! In France, freedom refers to the ability we have to throw off the shackles of the law, do our own thing… and get away with it. Our (mis)interpretation of the law generally depends on our activity or social status at a given moment. Let me illustrate my point with the way we approach the Highway Code.

We won't walk the walk!

Let us start with French pedestrians. As pedestrians, we grant ourselves the right to cross streets diagonally defiantly staring at those evil motorists in their cars who have been inexplicably misled to believe that they own the road. We shy away from the ill-named pedestrian crossings and when, sadly, we have no other option but to use the crossings we generally wait for the "don't walk" sign to appear (in the admittedly confusing shape of a red man standing still). Whoever said the French can be swayed by a mere little bulb with a specific color? We turn each of our walks into protest marches. We are a free people and we won't be told!

We "caste" aside the law.

Now you can't just lump all motorists together. There are different "castes": the main three are truck drivers, taxi drivers, and car drivers (for a taxi cab is no ordinary car!).

We keep on trucking.

We drive trucks for professional reasons, so don't mess with us! We are entitled to block streets forever because we have to do our job! If you are in a smaller-sized car, that can only mean one thing; you're just driving around for fun so you can wait! We also like to scare motorists by tailgating them on the motorway, just to prove how easy it would be for us to crush them with our big trucks. What an exhilarating feeling it is to be the masters of the road! "Vive la liberté!"

We own the land.

When we drive taxis, we are professional users of the road acting for the good of the people, so there's no question that we own the road. And, of course, as official owners of the road, we can do whatever we please. For instance, we can stop at any moment to pick up or let out passengers without even having to indicate. And don't you dare criticize the way we drive! We took an exam, so we know better. Also we feel at liberty to refuse passengers as we sometimes don't feel like taking them where they want to go. We are free independent workers!

We defy death.

When we drive our cars, we tend to react differently depending on the size of our vehicle. As opposed to the US, where SUV drivers are getting a terrible reputation for reckless driving, in France, it's people with small powerful cars that seem to enjoy dicing with death (theirs and that of others.) If we are a man at the wheel of a Volkswagen and our age is between 18 and 30, we demonstrate our excellent driving skills by making a point of always exceeding the speed limit by at least 30 kilometers (20 miles). That achieves two very important aims: it proves our manhood and strengthens our sense of being alive.

We will not be limited!

As a rule, French car drivers refuse to stick to the speed limit. And that includes the police and gendarmes, who, as enforcers of the law, are, of course, above the law. The speed limit is just a sign on the side of the road for people who can't drive! Which, needless to say, is not our case! All those statistics about people getting killed on the road are a load of nonsense! We don't know anyone who ever died in a car accident, and if we do, it wasn't their fault anyway! Just as we know a lot of people who chain-smoke and who are still alive and kicking! (But don't get me started on smoking!)

We unite in disobedience.

We view parking as a way to get closer to our fellow-motorists. Using underground garages is out of the question; it costs money and we have to walk. And you know what we're like as pedestrians! So we park illegally. Double parking is fun because it fulfills our musical needs: what ineffable joy it is to be the one inspiring a concerto for tooting horns and screaming voices! But parking illegally is also an opportunity for us to satisfy our gregarious nature. We defiantly stick together in crime. If one of us decides to park on the side of the road where a sign indicates there is a risk cars may be towed away (yeah, right!), we all follow suit and pretty soon the whole street is sided with cars. That should deter the police from attempting anything. After all, they are "fonctionnaires" (civil servants) and naturally reluctant to take the onerous task of towing away so many cars. Anyway, if we get ticketed, we needn't worry. Policemen too have a passion for people. That is why it is so easy for us to find an acquaintance in the police force who will obligingly get us off the hook and have our parking ticket canceled.

Free as a (jail) bird.

In French there's a saying that goes "La liberté s'arrête là où commence celle des autres" (freedom ends where other people's freedom begins.) Well, it seems we, as a ground-breaking people, are good at pushing back the limits!

Feel free.

The other day, at dinner, my friend Carolyn expressed her surprise at the way I "dish" on my own people. My depiction of the French certainly has not been the most flattering so far but it is mostly tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be interpreted as a sociological study. My intention is to point out some of the areas in which visitors to France experience the strongest cultural clashes. Incidentally, if you have any interesting anecdotes on the subject, feel free to share them with me. Feel free, free, free!

About the Author

Pascal Jacquelin of Delta Training, has over 15 years' experience under his belt both as a translator and a trainer. At the age of 17 while pursuing his translation degree, he was quickly singled out for his exceptional linguistic abilities and had no difficulty finding a job as an English teacher and translator with a major language school in Paris. His eagerness to diversify his experience led him to move on to teaching young adults. After passing the prestigious Agrégation teaching diploma with flying colors (he came in 10th in France), he worked his way up as course organizer in a fast-expanding university outside Paris where he taught Translation, Business Negotiation and Public Speaking for five years.

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