Cultural Icons

We have a few of these in our region. Places and events that are regarded as particularly French in their style and organisation. Well they would be - being in France. I'd assume you could say that about most countries  - how they present or offer a 'something' with a certain quality that is undeniably 'them' - contemporary as well as historical. In other words, those instantly recognisable 'must-sees', that over the last couple of decades have become very accessible, thanks to the ever expanding travel industry. Not forgetting the 'momento trade' of affordable 'nicknacks' to take back home, perhaps stuffed into a back pack or carefully buffered under layers of clothing in cases. It's big business.

There is an ongoing debate over here - TV, papers, magazines -  regarding the level of foreign ownership that has been buying up iconic France, or to be more precise, the acquisition of many of the iconic French traditions by foreign money. The suggestion from some quarters is that this trend of overseas ownership is relegating French culture to second league status. There are also concerns about the 'proper' use of French. A recent proposal which would allow French universities to teach some courses in English, has stirred up considerable feeling about the negative influence of that language, along with the  'invasion of Americanisms'. French culture is certainly changing. 

These days most of the major fashion houses are in the hands of American, Spanish, Asian and Swiss investors. Lists of the world's top fifty restaurants include perhaps six French restaurants.  The city of Tokyo has apparently more three star michelin restaurants than Paris. Companies renowned for their Frenchness are now owned by foreign corporations, pension funds and wealthy investors. And the role-call of acquisitions is growing by the month.  

As for wine, out of the thirty-seven vineyard/chateaux in the Bordeaux region that were sold last year, twenty three were bought with Chinese money. Several of France's major sports clubs are now foreign owned - Qatar and a Russian billionaire are involved. There's also an estimation that in Paris a quarter of the tobacco shops are Chinese owned.  One senses real alarm from some of the articles and discussions as to changes brought about by these economic and demographic forces.

Two key questions being asked are whether international business activity is pushing all of us to the point of cultural homogenization, where every city will look just like any other. Secondly, how does France preserve its unique cultural heritage while simultaneously embracing change and evolving? It isn't of course just a question for France.

How does all this relate to us here in Cravant? Well at the moment not hugely, although in some instances, wine producing families are finding it difficult to hand on the business to the next generation. There isn't always the interest. There has been one horror story about a foreign buyer of a nearby domaine. But keeping it in perspective, that's the only one we know about. I suppose the best example is the classic supermarket v local market, in terms of buying seasonally, rather than expecting to buy what should be seasonal fruit and vegetables, at any time. We were with friends last night for dinner and they were saying that up to about ten years ago, local produce was grown seasonally and so sold seasonally. Since the arrival of the supermarkets, their buying and selling policies have begun to have an effect in terms of both cost for the average household and availability. Increasingly, 'seasonal' produce has become all-year-round. In terms of the current debate, I imagine this is the sort of detail which traditonalists would view as an example of cultural decay.