Le respect

Because I haven't attended French schools myself and parents are not typically invited to be on school grounds during the school day, there are many everyday classroom protocols that I only know about through my children.  For example, when middle school students enter a classroom, they must stand by their desks and wait until the teacher tells them to sit down.  Likewise, if an administrator such as the principal enters the classroom, even unexpectedly, all of the students must instantly scramble onto their feet to stand beside their desks in a sign of respect for him or her.  And, when raising their hand in response to a teacher's question, students raise their index finger, as if gently pointing up to the ceiling (no frantic U.S. style hand waving here!).

These are markers of le respect that are specific to a culture.  Curiously though, they imply strong deference to authority, in a society where many other social conventions seem to be intended to create social exchanges on a more equal footing.  I've noted earlier how the French offer greetings and farewells in stores, and this is in part I think to create a setting of mutual respect between the seller and the consumer for the potential economic exchange that may take place.  Once, when I was so focused on making sure I got my order right in French at the fanciest bakery in town, I forgot to say bonjour.  The bakery clerk repeated his bonjour to me three times, waiting for me to return it before he would help me with my order.  And there is what I sometimes think of as the kiss-fest that occurs whenever we go to football practice or a game.  I easily faire les bises with at least 20 people, parents, coaches, players, siblings of players, grandparents of players, etc.  It doesn't matter what the person's social or coaching rank is, we make these exchanges as a way to imply a kind of respect for each other as persons, where we acknowledge each other's humanity for just a moment even if we go on to sit or chat with someone else.  Finally, there are the opportunities for the French public to respectfully disagree with their political and economic leaders, by striking and bringing the country to a standstill, if for a moment.  This week the air traffic controllers and local train line staffs took their turn in the South of France.  (I also wrote about the strikes of last October in Les manifestations, Oct. 2012.)

Unfortunately, in some social arenas, authority figures do sometimes use their positions to demand respect from their followers but don't always offer considération (respect) in return.  We see this in politics often, even in democratic societies.  For example, we have the government shut-down in the U.S. brought about by politically powerful people who can't seem to make compromises for the good of everyone (striking is not a privilege for the government, but for its people!), and in France, we have the amazingly sexist behavior of some French MPs (members of parliament) towards their female colleagues ("France's sexist National Assembly", France24blogs, 10/10/2013), and the unfortunate comments by a presidential cabinet member in regards to the Roma population in France (Roms: le Mrap va déposer plainte contre Valls devant le CJR, La Provence, 11 Oct. 2013).  In the educational setting, the rules about respect seem to vary a bit more widely.  In U.S. schools, students are expected to act politely to their teachers and administrators, but standing up in the presence of teachers or shaking their hands is not required, not anymore anyway.  Teachers and administrators themselves must abide carefully by rules governing appropriate personal or physical contact and are expected to be mutually respectful.  In French public schools, the model seems to be be much more authoritarian and the flow of respect is largely from the students towards their teachers.  I hear a lot about verbal berating of students--students are often told what they are doing wrong and very little of what they are doing well--and this week at my sons' school, a teacher reportedly hit a student violently for misbehaving.  Yet, the school year began with the national announcement of a new secular code of conduct for all French students ("School year begins in France with string of reforms," France 24, 4 Sept. 2013).  Codes of conduct are pretty common in U.S. educational institutions, and a few months ago, I reiterated a feminist's call for a broad social code of conduct in everyday life (see La politesse March 2013). Yet, I gather from the cartoon below from a page in my French daily calendar that the question of mutual respect is still a bit of a joke at French schools.  Maybe the new code of conduct should address everyone at school, students and adults alike?

In the Ethics class, on Politeness, a student says to the teacher,
"One stands up when the students enter the classroom!"

Une élection présidentielle

One of the guarantees of democracy is the right to convene freely.  During the past few U.S. presidential elections, we've convened with neighbors on election night, watching voting returns come in on the television and via the Internet while munching on snacks, and then celebrating or commiserating together as we listened to victory and concession speeches.  Last night, Allen and I had the good fortune to experience a very similar evening, but with French friends and much better food and wine, as we awaited the outcome of une élection présidentielle (a presidential election).  On t.v., we watched the final moments of the most recent French presidential election cycle culminate in a victory for François Hollande, and then listened to Sarkozy's concession speech, followed by the new president's victory speech as it was televised from a small town in central France.

Notably for a Socialist Party candidate, the new president was driven in a small car to his speech site.  While this choice of transportation will have to change as presidential security becomes important, it does mirror in some ways the simpler and more practical electoral process in France, as we've observed it:

• For starters, presidents are elected every five years, and the campaign cycle itself is much shorter.  The presidential candidates must declare themselves by attaining 500 signatures from French mairies (mayors) and other elected officials, just a few months before the vote.  Le premier tour (the first round, or the primary) occurred on April 22, two weeks ago, with the final vote yesterday (May 6) between the top two candidates, because no one got a majority the first time around.  The brevity of the process is capped by the quick ascension of the new president, in just three weeks or so. 

• The campaigning is strictly controlled, both during the primary period and up to the final election; each primary candidate had the same amount of airtime on television, and there were rules about the sizes, colors, and images on the campaign posters.  This means there was a lot less waste and visual clutter on the streets, and fewer television commercials.  Last-minute campaigning had to end on Friday, a full day before election day.  

• One acrimonious presidential debate took place on national television in the last week, just one.  And throughout, personal details, about the candidates' families and social lives seemed largely irrelevant.  (That Hollande is unmarried and cohabits with someone is a non-issue here.)  

• The stringent campaign rules and the quiet day before the election (no sign-waving on the streets!) is matched by a relatively quiet voting day, on a Sunday, rather than on a weekday, so very few people have to take the day off from work.  The other major difference here is that the French directly vote their president in (no electoral college like in the U.S.); that may also account for the higher turnout as each person's vote feels more directly connected to the eventual outcome.  Otherwise, the actual voting looked similar; in Aix, voting sites were located around town, at the hotel de ville (city hall), and a school, and the French voters stood in lines calmly to take their turn at the voting booth.  Just outside the door it looked like pollsters were speaking with voters as they entered or exited the bureau de vote. 

• The final results are guarded until the last moments of voting; we do something similar in the U.S. where official results are not announced until the west coast has finished its voting, but we do endure hours of journalists' and experts' projections of the results.  In France, not a word was stated of the results until the clock struck 20h, (8 pm).  At that moment, the photo here shows what we saw on the television.  (I found out this morning that the news of Hollande's victory was leaked early on the Internet by a foreign press; within France though this is strictly interdict). 

Because the outcome was closer than many sondages (polls) had predicted in the past weeks, there are many happy and many dissatisfied voters around France today.  In 'bourgeoise' Aix-en-Provence, (and in other nearby towns except for Marseille and Avignon), more voters chose Sarkozy than the ultimate winner, and in the earlier round, a woman from a far Right party, Marine Le Pen, fared better here than in other parts of the country, but did not advance to the final round.  Some in France are worried that the new socialist president will exacerbate the economic problems within the EU, while others are relieved to have a leader whose platform is national unity and social inclusiveness.  I think that ultimately what the French want is what any democratic citizen wants, the protection of one's democratic rights and the rights that go with being a member of a particular society.  For the French that means that they expect Hollande to maintain a strong French presence in Europe and to protect long-valued democratic rights such as the right to convene and speak freely, among others.  There is also the matter of protecting those uniquely French privileges that include extensive holidays, such as the five such fériés (holidays) this month alone!  (May 1: Labor Day, May 8: WWII Victory Day, May 17: Ascension Day, May 27 and 28: Pentecost or Whit Sunday and Monday).  The second of these comes tomorrow just as Hollande himself needs a chance to catch his breath and to consider which national priorities will come first.  For the sake of national unity, I am quite sure that cutting holidays will not be among them.