L’Ecole de la République (The School of the Republic)

Although I love France and the French having lived there for over six years, there is a lot of truth in the following rant with some very relevant points. It explains a lot of things I initially found mystifying on first arriving in that beautiful country. If I were French I'd certainly find it uncomfortable reading. Perhaps I'd counter this with all the positive things about French culture too but the point of this article is to focus on why the French culture is ... as it is. I should do the same with the British culture - wouldn't that be a can of worms?

---------------

Edited extract L’Ecole de la République (The School of the Republic) by Pierre/ sott.net 2012

"....For those of you who are French, and you find what I say to be uncomfortable, keep in mind that it is always shocking to see yourself as others see you. The French constitute a very small percentage of the population of this planet and they would do well to get a more objective view of themselves that is backed up by good science, including the research of a number of eminent French academics. (Though I'm going to avoid quoting them here.)

Regarding the French education system, anyone who survives - much less succeeds - in this system can only do so as a consequence of an intense brainwashing process, because first it means you are willing to make a lot of sacrifices (friends, social life, rest, what you really like, who you really are ...) for top diplomas which, in France, bring social status. Oh, sure, maybe you liked mathematics or you had some ambition to be a doctor or lawyer or scientist, but most often the prime reason is because your parents were pushing you this way - you are not acceptable or lovable or approved if you do not succeed in this way.

It is basically a narcissistic system that caters to narcissistic families where the ambitions of the parents (and the society itself, to show itself as better and superior to others) completely disregard the wants and needs of children, of real human beings.

Creativity, emotional intelligence or independent thinking are not required skills. On the contrary, you'll have to demonstrate a lot of competitiveness, submission to authorities (schools and teachers), no emotion, individualism and very linear and cold thinking. And this process is long. You'll join the scientific A level classes when you're 16 and follow this path until you're 23, finally getting your postgraduate engineering diploma. For a minimum of seven years you'll be under permanent and intense stress, where you are expected to fail, look like a loser and disappoint your family. You'll also experience the stress of low marks, authoritative teachers, fierce rivalries, and an insane workload because that is how the French education system works.

Children in kindergarden

This system is one of the 'great' indirect legacies of the Revolution: l'École de la République. Even for those who do not pursue higher education in France (and are thus, 'low class'), there is compulsory schooling until age 16. So nobody can escape the programming that starts in kindergarten, at the age of two or three. Although kindergarten is not (technically) compulsory, it's strongly encouraged - it's part of the programming; nobody would ever think of NOT putting their child at school from two to three years old. You're expected to do it, otherwise it's considered suspicious. And that will last for most French until they are way past their 20s. Almost no home schooling, almost no special needs class. The children will have to go through the inflexible schooling mold.

Even at work or at home there won't be any break because the parents/colleagues/boss have gone through the same indoctrination, so they all push the same agenda, the French education agenda: competition, excellence, intellectualism, academic knowledge (even if wrong), no emotion, fear/hatred of others, hard sciences, being 'adult', individualism, reason, appearances, rhetoric, ambition...

All around the world, the French education system is depicted as a great achievement: free schooling, great teaching level, accessible to all... but what is not said (and probably not seen) is that the French education system is an enormous brainwashing - and worse, 'heartwashing' - machine.

A French class in the beginning of the XXth century

During the first years of their life, which are the most important in defining who the child will be, there's not much space for building real trust, bonding, confidence, love, or emotions. At around six to twelve months old the baby is left with the nanny while the parents go to work. Usually, the nanny, like the parents, has high expectations for the child: as soon as possible, he must be autonomous, able to walk, able to read and write, able to control his emotions and his tears. It's as if he's already treated like a mini-adult. In France the age of reason (l'âge de raison) is seven years old.

Then comes the kindergarten at the age of two or three. That is where you start to read, count, write and learn every weekday, from nine to five or later if your parents can't pick you up sooner. You start getting grades at six years old in primary school. The pattern continues through high school and college... more and more exams, more and more pressure, more and more workload, more and more fear of failing.

The Importance of Mathematics

In France you don't study the topics you like or the topics you're skilled for. Everything is about ranking and the ranking is made through mathematics. Note that mathematics is based heavily on the values promoted by the educational system: intellect, logic, reason...

If you're very good at math, you'll study math, go to the best schools, get the best diplomas and the best jobs. If you're less good at math, you'll study medicine or law, get a good diploma and a good job. If you're not good at math, you'll study art or sociology and you'll most probably end up jobless.

In preparatory school, one-to-one oral examination happen twice a week, after class.

If you want to meet the system's expectations, you'll have to go through several challenges: grades start at six, choice of the best high school at ten years, choice of the first foreign language at ten, choice of the second foreign language at twelve, first national exam at fourteen, choice of the best high school at fourteen, choice of the best optional classes (Latin and Greek) at sixteen, choice of the best A-level (scientific if possible) at sixteen, A-level exam part 1 at seventeen, A-level exam part 2 at eighteen, choice of the best university/preparatory school at eighteen, national concourse and national ranking at twenty, choice of the best school...

Academic results are so important in France that usually the nicest present teenagers get is not something for their birthday or Christmas but when they get their A-level exams.

Throughout all these years, teaching is fundamentally the same: it is based on negative reinforcement, unattainable goals, a 'never enough' attitude, competition and hierarchy, and overall evaluation based on how well you do in math!

Let me detail those aspects of the French education system:

Negative reinforcement

In France you start getting grades at six years old. The grades you get are low, and they keep getting lower. For example in preparatory school (right before Engineering school), every Saturday morning there is a four-hour math exam. The average grade is 6/20 (remember those preparatory classes only admit the very best students). If you're an exceptional student (who will enter the Polytechnique, the finest engineering school in France) you might get 10/20 or 11/20.

Never good enough/unattainable goals

The most common remarks a teacher writes on students' evaluation forms is "Can do better" or "should do better". A student is almost never praised for any accomplishment. Students that are academically less gifted (or not submissive enough) can be totally psychologically crushed by this system - which is the case for the majority of students. And even those who are gifted are damaged because they are convinced inside that nothing they do will ever be good enough, their only value in life is how well they do in school; and they are always afraid that the other students might take their place in the hierarchy, (must be suspicious of them, hate them, plot against them) and so on. If you know anything about classical conditioning as researched by Ivan Pavlov, you will have some idea of what kind of human beings the French become as a result of this medieval, barbaric system.

The park of Normale Sup, Paris

The selection rate is so high that success is almost impossible. For example, in philosophy, the best school (normale sup ULM) admits 40 students a year while thousands of philosophy students are trying to get in. The failure rate from 1st to 2nd year of medicine is about 90%.

Competition and hierarchy

Competition starts from a very early age. The choice of foreign language and optional classes form part of the ranking. For example, when starting high school, the good students choose German as a first foreign language. Therefore, the good students are together in the same class. Allegedly the choice of this language is due to the fact that the sentence structures, the conjugation, the declinations require a - guess what? - mathematical mind.

The French education factory produces tens of thousands of Master's, PhD, and post doc graduates, much more than what the economy can accommodate. This imbalance leads to some huge over-qualifications and disappointment. It's not unusual to see a PhD in sociology or philosophy selling burgers at McDonald's.

There are many examples but I think you are starting to get the point. French society, particularly through its educational system, breeds competition, results and 'reason' within generations of children. It leads to neurotic adults ruled by fears, hatred and jealousy, who are unable to express their emotions.

What seems to be seriously missing amongst the French, particularly French men, is emotions (expressed in a healthy way) - trust, sharing, love, creativity, happiness, hope, any sense of self... all the most fundamental values that were sacrificed on the altar of the school of the Republic.

That's a very sad story indeed. And I am only talking here from my own limited experience, reading and observations. In a sense, I was very lucky because at least I was relatively good at math. When it's not the case, you'll be quickly put on a dead-end road no matter what your skills, talents and dreams are. The same is true if you're not servile enough. The school of the Republic wants good, obedient, rational individuals.

Some of the traits that I have noticed in myself and my countrymen in general as a result of this system (and I can only notice these things because I have spent a great deal of time abroad in other cultures) are the following:

Arguing / discussing
 

A French family meal as depicted in the movie Esprit de famille

This is a national sport. There are hours of talk shows on the radio and on the TV pitching experts, intellectuals, researchers and politicians who will argue endlessly. The very same thing happens during most family meals or meetings among friends. I was very surprised to learn that people from other cultures do NOT argue during meals, but rather discuss things in a pleasant way. They don't feel jealous or threatened by each other and therefore are not required to constantly engage in rhetorical one-upmanship as the French do.

The goal of arguing/discussing is not really to reach the truth but to show off intellectual skills and knowledge through rhetoric,the use of complex words, complex sentences, rare cultural references, etc. What really matters is not the truth, but to be right - to win the argument by marshaling the most quotes and opinions from so-called experts. Indeed, in France, intelligence - or rather the ability to use the intellect as a weapon - is the highest value, higher than truth, honesty or empathy.

So those discussions are more about being right than finding truth, more about a struggle for power than a collective search for solutions, more about appearances and status (rank) than sharing information.

It's a subtle way to define hierarchy, particularly between people who have just met. Throw in a mix of remarks, abstruse words, intonation, rhetorical techniques, and quotes, and after a while most people participating in the discussion will clearly see the hierarchy and where they stand in it, though most of the time there won't be any direct confrontation, struggle, or competition. Everything is covert.

Intellectualism

That's the really big thing in France. Logic, rationalism, intelligence (as in the ability to parrot back facts, figures, quotes). It's what defines an individual's status (rank - position in the highly hierarchical system of French society), it's what determines the degrees he'll get, the job he'll get, the life he'll live.

Intellectualism is the most coveted quality for French people, unfortunately to reach this intellectual excellence, emotions, creativity, and feelings will have to be sacrificed along the way. In that sense, I can't help but wonder what this kind of 'intellect' is. What value can pure intellect have when it is devoid of all emotion, or when the only emotions expressed are fear and hatred of others? The fear of truth itself? Rabelais said that, "science without conscience is the soul's perdition." Isn't it the same for "reason without proper emotion?" (And there it is: my French nature comes to the fore!)

Arrogance

French people think they are smarter, subtler and more knowledgeable than all other peoples on the planet. In a twisted way, it's true to some extent. From their point of view, the highest and only worthwhile value is what they consider to be the 'rational intellect' (can it really be rational when it does not honor or aspire to truth?). Since they've sacrificed so much (their childhood, their emotions, their confidence, real love and friendship) to improve their vaunted rationality, they consider themselves to be superior. In some cases they might indeed be intellectually brilliant; problem is, the intellect is only one factor in a healthy mind and in the other fields (creativity, sensitivity, empathy, self-confidence, courage) the French rate extremely poorly.

Appearances and hypocrisy
 

Chanel fashion show (autumn-winter 09/10)

Did you ever wonder why France is considered the world leader in fashion, cosmetics and perfumes? That's because France is the world's temple of surface appearances. There is this famous saying amongst the French elite circles: "we are not happy but we look like we are".

Indeed, French people are not happy. Our country has the highest consumption of tranquilizers and anti-depressants in the world and one of the highest suicide rates. It's as if the French lack of happiness, hope, love, community and trust was traded for a poor substitute: appearances. In general, the French dress up nicely (in what they consider to be fashionable), they talk nicely, they are polite, they follow the etiquette, and all the while, never speak the truth and conspire against almost everyone they meet.

But in France you experience 'haute couture' appearances: elaborate, coded, subtle. Most French people wouldn't admit that they give much importance to appearances, and the phenomenon is indeed less straightforward than in other countries. That is certainly why the French reject the "bling-bling" tendencies of their President. Wealth and status (ideas, clothes, readings, music, hairstyle, cars, houses...) are exhibited in a discreet way: enough to be noticed but not enough to be ostentatious or vulgar.

French people are extremely polite, following rigid rules of etiquette that allow them to be rude according to other cultural values, all the while convinced of their extreme correctness. This extreme politeness is also a way to stay away from others by sticking to very rigid communication codes and therefore not sharing anything personal or emotional. It also contributes to the projection of a positive appearance (at least to other French people who "know the code", though appearing rude and uncivilized to other cultures).

Jacques Chirac doing the "baise-main" to Laura Bush

Behind this appearance of politeness and sweet words lies an almost bottomless hypocrisy. Since they are unable to express their emotions (feeling belittled, inadequate, stupid and shameful all their lives), they feel threatened by nearly everyone and therefore hatred and anger keep on building up. The French are too ruled by fear to be frank and open like Americans, for example, who will express their disagreement in a straightforward way; instead, the French are passive aggressive, tend to nitpick, send messages between the lines and belittle by projecting intellectualism in their conversations and relations with others.

This obsessive tendency to intellectualize could even be considered part of the French structure of appearances. What better way to hide emotions, to hide who you really are, to hide your terror or your expectation of being superseded, abandoned and considered worthless, than wallowing in endless and superficial intellectualism?

Loneliness

The result of all this is the tragic fact that most French people spend their lives alone. Even when surrounded with family, friends, peers, colleagues, they are alone, because they are usually unable to connect emotionally, to bond, to really share their doubts, their weaknesses, their emotions, who they are with anyone - even their spouses. Years of programming have made these areas taboo. Sure, they spend endless hours discussing things, but never leave their comfort/intimacy zone. Intellectual discussions, cultural references, political arguments, logical reasoning... but nothing personal, nothing intimate.

Inside Paris subway

The French don't speak (with 'strangers' - that's the way they put it and that's the way they're taught when they are kids) in public, they don't speak in the subway, they don't speak in queue lines. Some neighbors have been living for decades on the same floors without exchanging a single word. That is inexpressibly pathetic.

All those traits seem to come from a common root: fear/hatred/jealousy and all of this inculcated from childhood by a true system of 'culture and education'.

Most French lacked adequate support, care, confidence, trust, bonding and love during their childhood, which prevented them from expressing their emotions in a healthy way: if you want to be loved by your parents, your teachers, or even your friends, you have to be smart, intellectual, rational, logical, better than you are, strong... not much space for emotions, indeed!

This kind of childhood leads to individuals ruled by fear (because they've not experienced confidence and trust) and hatred (because they lacked proper love and nurturing) and jealousy (because of not being loved for who you are and because of the ever present atmosphere of competition).

This fear is everywhere: fear of change, of uncertainty, of losing, of being wrong, of losing face, fear/hatred of others and of oneself.

 

Eviction of a foreigner by the French police

Racism, which is rampant in France (although every French person will tell you he's not racist), is only one of the numerous manifestations of this fear/hate complex. But it goes much deeper: The French fear/hate their neighbors, their colleagues, strangers, because deep inside they hate themselves. How could it be different when their parents, their family and teachers didn't give much in the way of genuine unconditional love and kept telling them throughout their childhood that no matter what they did, they were not good enough?

So these are some of the most noticeable traits of French people, but how can you see them if you're French and your only frame of reference is the French culture you grew up in or if you're a foreigner and haven't been in France long enough? As I said earlier, I've spent time abroad, I speak and read English and have a scientific mind, so I've had plenty of opportunity and motivation to observe, collect data, make hypotheses, and draw conclusions. The good thing about the French is that they are in a good position to use their superior 'rational' abilities to discover the truth about themselves and to formulate a plan to begin dealing with it. But you have to see yourself as others see you and come to an understanding that you aren't the center of the universe before you can even begin that process.

Now, as you already know, I paid a heavy price for being inculcated into this system and so do millions of other French people. Every year 160,000 French people try to commit suicide, which is the second leading cause of death for people between 16 and 24; more than 10% of the population use antidepressants - that is the highest consumption rate per capita in the whole world! [...]