CLTR 1501 Notes PDF

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CRN#: 34534

Professor Alice Sedar

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Wednesday, Feb 20: Yellow Vest Movement + Land and French “Terroirs” + Mondovino + Discussion in Class Cristophe Guilluy– Social geography expert CEVIPOF (Sciences Po institute): Center for the Study of French Political Life Erwan Le Noan– Political Sciences professor J.C. Daumas– historian of French consumption Agriculture Jonathan Fenby– British historian & journalist Yellow Vests movement is called this way because French law dictates that anyone who has a car must have a yellow vest in their trunk in case they have any car problems (so they can be spotted easily in the road)  Movement is retaliation to spikes on diesel tax & other taxes  Conflict= method of resolution for French  Wide support  May be manipulated by outside sources Christophe Guilluy  “Discover common people as discovering an Amazonian tribe”  France is an egalitarian society but ruled by Elitist codes from the 17th century Themes of the National Debate: 1. Taxes: tax policies and its relation to public social services 2. The segregation of government in big cities and other cities a. How should we reform the government to be closer to the people? 3. Citizenship 4. Environment a. Diesel tax was supposed to be an environmental policy CEVIPOF findings… (order by level of trust)  People trust in (1) Hospitals (2) small companies (3) the army (4) police (5) school  Least trust in (1) unions (2) banks (3) media-social media (4) political parties Agriculture  France was EU leader in agriculture production & profit, o 5th worldwide in wheat o 3rd in milk worldwide  22% of population works in agribusiness o 2nd in agribusiness, after the US  400-450 types of cheeses 1

CRN#: 34534

Professor Alice Sedar

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Land= central to French identity  Contradiction: why then only 4% of pop. live off the land? o Number of farmers falling, remaining are over 50 yrs. old  5 different sections that explain the contradiction: 1. 4 main historical reasons to understand why land is central to FR identity I. Ambiguous relationship with money: land was & is more noble than commerce (money) II. Everybody had right to own property after Declaration  Land/property = the real wealth (now real estate) III. Alliance of the bourgeoisie and elites to fight back factory workers call for redistribution of land (Marxism) IV. Paysans key to identity: rewriting history (by changing school curriculums) and decided unique ancestors of French were Les Gaulois whom fit the peasant type (commoners, farmers, sensual) a. Why? to foster grandeur, national pride & unity discourse 2. French nostalgia for a rural state of mind 3. Relationship between politics and the rural world 4. Reasons why FR agriculture was so far behind German & British 5. Crisis in French agriculture today “Mondovino” film by Jonathan Nossiter (left for next class)

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