• General information of France• History• Cultural perceptions• Language & religions• Food & wine• French art & music • Lifestyle

Outline

• Area : 674,843 km² (543,965km² excluding overseas possession)

• Population : 65 million (19th largest)

• Capital & Largest City : Paris

Source : http://www.bonjourlafrance.com/france-map/map-of-france-departments-6.htm

French Republic - Map

•Official Language : French

•Religions : Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism

•Attracted 81.9 million foreign tourists in 2007

•Most popular tourist destination in the world

•Tourism is accountable for 6% of the country's income

• Invaded by the Gauls in 1000 B.C.• In 52 B.C., Caesar became the new rulers of France

Impacts on Culture & Tourism :• Urban civilized France• Roads connecting major cities• Architectural monuments became tourists attractions e.g. Pont du Gard aqueduct

Prehistoric & Early France

• In 5th century, Francs gave France her name

• Emperor Charlemagne restored order in 8th century

Impacts on culture :

• Enlightened culture created by Charlemagne

France in the Middle Ages

• Norman invasion in 885 led to creation of feudalism

• Feudal lords loved wars

Impacts on Tourism :

• The Bayeux tapestry tell the story of Norman conquest by England

• Hung in Museum of Bayeux

FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Hundred Years War• Rivalry with England (1337-1453)• A century to retake Paris.• Inspired counteroffensive against the English

Impacts on Culture :• Joan of Arc symbolizes French patriotism, became national

icon• Supreme model of a national heroine in politics, arts and literature.

• An era of refinement and humanism

• Bourbon Monarchy came to power

• Peak of the Bourbon Monarchy: Louis XIV

• Palace of Versailles was built

Impacts on Culture & Tourism :

• New techniques and artistic forms • Palace of Versailles, Château de Chenonceau, and Louvre are famous tourist attractions

Renaissance

The French Revolution

• The Rights of Man and the Citizen

• Red, white, and blue flag

• Power from aristocracy to bourgeoisie and people• Replacement of royalty and the rich.

Impact on Tourism :

• Eiffel Tower was built for centennial celebration• Most visited monument

The World Wars

• Attended WWI after Germany declared war• Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919• WWII started in 1939• Invasion of Normandy• War ended in 1945

Impact on tourism :• Normandy Invasion attracts millions of tourists

• No natural national identity, but a constructed one

• Originated from folk culture (rural country)

• High Culture dominated by academic & intellectual classes

• Mass Culture comes into picture as working-class emerge

From High Culture to Ordinary Culture

• Glories never faded

THOUGH Declined economic & political power

STILL Serious in culture protection & promotion

What “CULTURE” Means to Modern France

• Own culture• Family• Friends• Wealth• Time• Power distance

• Ethnocentrism----consider their civilization prior to the others

Impacts: • Strong cultural favor in

hotels and restaurants• Popularity of cultural

tourism

OWN CULTURE

• Very important at all levels of French society

• Inward-looking• Children are attached to

families • Strict family authority over

childrenImpacts:• Family-oriented service• Banquets are

popular(family gatherings)

FAMILY

• Outgoing and untrammeled• Enjoy meeting and chatting

with friends• Clear distinction between

friends and acquaintances• Expect Loyalty, sincerity and

same social backgroundImpacts:• Banquets, weddings, festival

celebrations and ceremonies • Cafes and clubs • Loyalty and sincerity to

customers

FRIENDS

• Conservative and low-key about wealth

• Invest money discreetly(property/cultural artifacts)

• Cultural artifacts represent respect and status

Impacts:• Quiet and elegant atmosphere• Cultural artifacts as decoration in

hotels and attractions

• Arrive a little late(half an hour)----acceptableImpact:

• More tolerant for customers’ late-coming

• Relatively loose time management

TIME

highly theoretical education andthe steep hierarchies

↓ High power distance

↓ French management style

POWER DISTANCE

• Division between spoken & written French (appropriateness varies accordingly with

conditions)

• Diversified regional languages (diverges widely from “Standard” French)

• Modern issue- resistance against English

Regional Languages in France

Over 400 regional languages

For tourists: Obstacles or appreciation?

Modern issue- resistance against English

• Catholicism as a state religion (Gothic Architecture, Chartres Cathedral, Notre-Dame Paris )

• Islam religion (Islamic restaurants flourishes)

Religion of France

Roman Catholicism

ChartresCathedral

Notre-DameParis

Islam in FranceRamadan

Muslim Symbol- hijab

• Refinement-----specific historical course

• Diversity-----Geographical and climatological

French gastronomy: History & Geography

of Passion

• Italian chef Marie de’ Medici(1573-1642) the beginning of the French tradition of fine cooking• The absolute monarchy of Louis XIV(1638-1715)--

eached new heights• French cook Beauvilliers--- opened the first restaurant in Paris.• Marie Antoine Careme and Auguste Escoffer--

popularized French culinary traditions internationally

Refinement-----specific historical course

• Brittany ( crustaceans,crepes,biscuits,ciders and cider liqueurs)

• The Pyrenees ( cured hams, lamb and chorizo sausage)• Alsace and the Northeast(choucroute, brioche,cheeses beer

and champagne)• Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon and The Mediterranean

coast (olive oil ,ratatouille,bouillabaisse and pasties)• Phone-Alps (Bresse chicken,andouillettes, clafoutis cake and

Beaujolais )• Southwest ( foie gras,cassoulet, truffles wild mushrooms and

goat cheese

Diversity-----Geographical & climatological

Diversity-----Geographical and climatological

Great Chefs , Famous Restaurants and Regional Cooking

• Food and Resturant Guides The Michelin Red Guide to France GaultMillau Guide France

• Great chefs and famous restaurants----Paul Bocuse and Alain Ducasse

• Reginal cooking

Regional cooking

• Truffile • FoieGras • Caviar • Cheese and Chocolate• Bread and Pastries

• Balanced diet healthy,simple and authentic structured strictly

• Hamburgers v.s. Baguettes American chains and globolization developing French versions of fast food

• The marriage of food and wine

• The southern wine route

• Others:Water,Juices and Beer

Beverage: Wines and Spirits

The of food and winemarriage

The southern wine route

• The eighth art

• Large contribution of food to tourism

• High level of service in hospitality of food and beverage

Impacts on hospitality & tourism

French Art & Music

The Cardplayers, by Paul Cézanne (1892).

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, a Gothic style architecture.

― Visual e.g. Paintings

― Plastic e.g. architecture

French Art

• The Lascaux cave paintings• Estimated to be 16,000 years old

Impact on Tourism :• A tourist hot spot

French Art – Paintings

• Edgar Degas (1834-1917) An impressionist painter and sculptor• Claude Oscar Monet (1840-1926) An leading impressionist painter• Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) An leading impressionist painter• Yves Tanguy (1900-1955) A surrealist painter

Impact on Tourism :• Valuable paintings are exhibited in French museums.• Thousands of tourists visit French museums for them.

French Art - Paintings

• Musée du Louvre• Largest national museum

• Musée d'Orsay• extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces

Impact on Tourism :• Official estimates a 9-million people will visit the museum in 2010.

French Art – Museums

• Influenced by Roman, Gothic and Italian architecture• Finest architecture creations

Impacts on Hospitality industry :• Main attraction for tourists, e.g. Eiffel Tower• Tourist’s accommodation

French Art - Architecture

Impacts on Hospitality Industry :• Style and decoration of hotel buildings.

• e.g. The Castille Paris Hotel – traditional architecture , priceless artifacts ,exotic furniture

• e.g. The Artus Hotel – traditional decoration preferred

French Art - Architecture

• Centre for European music.• Famous classical field – opera.• First opera : Akébar roi du Mogol (1646)• Most popular : Carman by Georges Bizet.• Well-known theatre – e.g. Palais Garnier Paris

Impact on Tourism :• Most theatres are now become tourist attractions

French Art - Music

French Lifestyle

• Life fulfilling• Focus of quality of life instead of value• Food, friends, fun• Simple & lazy• prefer slower pace of life• lots of strike

Characteristic of FRENCH

• Inconvenience to tourists Shop closed so early ,on Sundays &all public

holidays Strikes handicap the transportation, business

activities

Impact

• Football Most populaire sport

Zinedine Zidane , Thierry Henry

French national teams

Paris Saint-Germain

Sports

• TENNIS• second most popular in France• France holds the tennis Grand Slam tournament

ROLAND GARROS French open( mid May –early June)

• Formula 1• FLA FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP • highest class of Auto-racing sanctioned by the Grand Prix de France

Car –racing

Buster the tourism and the hotel industry• travelling there to support their favourite team• Enjoy once a year high quality match• Use as a grimaceeg Formula1,the Monaco stop held at end of

may French Open at PARIS ( mid of May to early

June)• Tense hotel booking

Impact

• important industry and cultural export since 17th century

• modern “haute couture" originated in Paris in the 1860s

• world's top designers and fashion houses

• Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton

• The Paris FASHION WEEK takes place twice a year• People like dressing up

Fashion

• Helps to buster tourism• Develop its image as shopping paradise

( origins of many brands)• Attract millions of tourists to PARIS for

shopping• Eg Champs lyses

• During fashion weeks, hotels fully booked

IMPACT

PARIS• Capital of France• Cultural melting point• Night life • Busy , fast pace• distant human relationship DODO,Metro,BOULET ( sleeping,Subway,Working)

)

CITY LIFE

AVIGNON,STRASBOURG

Less population More friendlyrelaxed,slower paceFresh air More open space

RURAL LIFE

different lifestyle vacation to rural area, escape of busy city life

• It help to buster the tourism of the area

• flourishing of B&B ( Bed and Breakfast ) Eg, in Marseille

impact

References

• Ross Steele (1995),"The French Way", Passport Books,Contemporary Publishing Company

• Ross Steele (2002), "When in France, do as the French do", McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc

• "Hotels&Motels in France,industry profile"(December 2008) Datamonitor

• http://cn.franceguide.com/

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