Qui sont les Français en 2011? Size of living space.

The typical  French dwelling measures 91 square meters with 3 or 4 rooms. This figure has increased by almost 10 square meters since 1984. Of the 28 million French homes, 84% are primary residences.  In the total figure of dwellings, detached houses are the majority of real estate with 57.2%. 57.9% of French households owned their home in 2008.

Qui sont les Français en 2011? Jobs.

On average, a French employee would work 39,20 fours a week. Managers stay in the work place  for another 6 hours a week.
In 2009, 25,6 million people were employed, 82,7% work full time, 17,3% part-time. 12,6% hold time limited contract jobs (CDD: Contrat Durée Déterminé, agency work, apprenticeship).
One in 5 employed people (5,2 million) is a civil servant according to a 2008 survey. In Paris and its suburban, there are 84 civil servants for every 1000 people.

1er mai.

Today is another special day! Firstly, it is  la Fête du Travail (Labour Day). This is regardless the day it falls on a Bank Holiday, sadly this year a Sunday to most French people's great annoyance! But more importantly it is le 1er mai (le premier mai, May 1st) and la Fête du Muguet (lily of the valley); I am sure Princess Kate would be happy to hear this!
Today, people buy lily of the valley if they don't grow it and offer it to wish each other lots of happiness. There are small market stalls in popular places to grab your lily of the valley sprig if you are not already lucky enough to have a garden! Lily of the valley, like le ramoneur (chimney sweeper), le fer à cheval (horse shoe) and le trèfle à quatre feuilles (4 leaf clover) are un porte bonheur (they bring you luck), or you could say "ils portent bonheur".

Joli moi de mai

Ô joli mois de mai, tu ouvres une à une

De tes doigts délicats, les roses du jardin

Et tu déposes en pluie la rosée du matin,

Offerte par la nuit à un rayon de lune.

Tu murmures aux buissons la chanson du Zéphyr

Jetant à la volée des fleurs sur les chemins.

Tu fais valser les cœurs, joyeux lutins

Au rythme des passions et des éclats de rire.

Sur les calendriers avec tes saints de glace,

Des affres de l’hiver, il reste encore la trace

Entre soleil et pluie, nuages et éclaircies.

Les oisillons s’emplument et le vent les emporte,

Adieu mauvais temps et les intempéries

L’été s’annonce enfin, il tape à la porte.

Alphonse Blaise.

So some French people will be marching in cities to celebrate trade unions and workers' rights and others will be exchanging lily of the valley!

Beaucoup de bonheur à tous!

Qui sont les Français en 2011? Births.

In 2010, 828 000 babies were born in France. This was some sort of a record after 2006 and 2008 which were already very good years. Since 2005, French women have become "birth champions" with an average of 2,01 children per child bearing age woman. Far more babies are born nowadays comparing to 10 years ago. Women become mothers later and later.The average age to give birth is now 30,1. It is worth mentionning that comparing to 20 years, twice as many women become mothers after their 40th birthday.The birth rate in France, in 2009, was 12,8 childbirths per 1000 people.

Joyeuses Pâques!

I will take a short break from the survey to wish everybody de "Joyeuses Pâques".  Fairly typically, the French are divided even in the most "trivial" topics. Some are adament that we should wish "une Joyeuse Pâques", others prefer the plural "de Joyeuses Pâques!" The confusion is due to the similarity of la Paque (the jewish festival to celebrate the exodus from Egypt)) and Pâques (Easter). The added  "s" at the end suggests the plural so people tend to add an "s" to Joyeuse (Happy) too. So, I am not entering this dangerous zone of conflict, I usually say Joyeuses Fêtes de Pâques , hoping for the best!
I will swiftly move on ...
To tell the story ofthe Easter bells, we will need to remember that France is in majority Roman-Catholic. Every town, village or area in a city will have its church with its bell(s) which ring(s) throughout the day (sometimes hourly, sometimes quarter hourly!) to mark time to lunch, time for mass etc... On the Thursday before Easter, all church bells in France become silent to remember Jesus' death.

Kids are told: "Les cloches sont à Rome pour voir le Pape" (The bells are in Rome to visit the Pope!)

Few towns or villages (especially in the east of France) still try to keep the tradition to replace the bells with groups of young boys who would march in the streets several times a day to remind everybody it is time to wake up, go to work, have luch, go home, go to bed etc...(They would be paid back after Easter with eggs (in the old days), chocolates or pocket money nowadays).

Easter morning, the bells "come back" and ring out  to celebrate the Resurrection. In some villages, people kiss and embrace one another when they hear the bells ring. It is actually quite odd how people are used to hear their bells daily even at night, and how odd it feels not hear them for 3 days. After such a  long silence, the sound of the bells is truly joyful and marks a new happy beginning.

It is also a happy time for children who wake up and find the chocolate treats dropped by the bells, hidden in the gardens and fields. Those can be chocolate eggs but also chocolate fish, rabbits, chickens and bells.... No card board boxes in sight! A lot of these treats are wrapped in film or coloured foil.
Le lapin de Pâques (the easter bunny) also fits in all this, somehow, especially in non catholic families.

Finally, I need to give a mention to l'arbre de Pâques, not as popular as the Christmas tree, the Easter tree is usually some branches from the garden, decorated with all sorts of painted eggs and decorations. It sort of shows that beautiful bright things can come from dead ones and rightly symbolises Easter and life after death.




Find out more about Easter using the links below et... Joyeuse(s) Pâques à tous!

Some really fancy Easter chocolates.
Chocolates and other treats.
Les nouveautés en chocolat.

Qui sont les Français de 2011? Mobile phone.

64,3 million mobile phones are in circulation en France. 79% of the population owns one.

168 billion text messages had been exchanged  in France by the end of 2010.

The Internet continues to infiltrate French homes with19,7 million contracts. Around 55% of households  use the Internet at home.

Qui sont les Français de 2011? Family life.

Amongst the 17,5 million families in France (7,7 million couples),44%  have children. This number decreases year after year.
The typical French family has changed: 3,9 million families have one child against 3,5 million who have 2.
The number of childless couples is increasing and represents 42% of families. There are 7,3 million couples without children at home.
The nombre of single parent families is increasing  (2,4 million). 85% ofsingle parent families are women who bring up their children alone.