The French and the strike!

The strike in France, a cultural phenomenon?

In the name of French values

Since the Revolution, the French have passionately defended the values ​​of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. It is also in the name of these three beautiful values ​​that some allow themselves to hinder the rights to work, to travel, even to express themselves...

Commentators say that the conflict will end with a winner and a loser because compromise is impossible and each party must go all the way, that is, to the point of making the other give in, if it doesn't want to lose face. Public opinion thinks that the world has changed, that it is necessary to evolve and that it is essential to reform the country. The same opinion thinks that the resistance of some can help save our social system. But who is “Opinion”? What does “Reform” mean? What will be the outcome of the conflict? What are the issues ?

Abroad, we wonder...

“These Gauls are crazy,” said the Romans and we still say abroad when looking at the French. And yet we no longer speak of “our ancestors the Gauls” because many French people have others. So is there a cultural basis for the French anti-establishment mindset?

Since the Revolution, the French have passionately defended the values ​​of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. It is also in the name of these three beautiful values ​​that some allow themselves to hinder the rights to work, to travel, and even to express themselves.

Seen from abroad, it's quite incomprehensible! How can we explain this paradox to our Anglo-Saxon clients? How can I tell them to cancel our meeting on June 18?

- “Ah well,” they answer us, “are you celebrating General de Gaulle’s appeal?”

- “But no, there will be a strike and the country will be blocked”…

Faced with their amazement (it is April 6), we are running out of arguments. They probably imagine that we invented this strange pretext to postpone our meeting. We then feel obliged to show them the strike calendar to convince them of our good faith.

- “But how do you do it?”

- “We are getting through this thanks to French ingenuity!””

No more joking, how can we explain this phenomenon?

Commentators say that this conflict will end with a winner and a loser because compromise is impossible and each party must go all the way, that is, to make the other give in, if it doesn't want to lose face. Public opinion thinks that the world has changed, that it is necessary to evolve and that it is essential to reform the country. The same opinion thinks that the resistance of some can help save our social system. But who is “Opinion”? What does “Reform” mean? What will be the outcome of the conflict? What are the issues ?

The Cultural Profile to understand the French?

We sought an explanation with the French cultural profile and retained three dimensions: resolution of disagreements, theoretical reasoning, implicit communication.

1. Resolving Disagreements

The first dimension deals with how to resolve disagreements: trying to find a compromise in a “win-win” logic or seeking to impose what one considers to be the best solution at the cost of a possible conflict. In France, we are wary of compromises which we rarely find satisfactory. It is believed that conflict resolution often ends with a winner and a loser.

2. Reasoning

The second dimension addresses the way of reasoning. If we remember that France is the country of Descartes, we understand that a beautiful idea defended by well-structured logical reasoning has more value in the eyes of the French than a succession of concrete and “so-called” realistic facts. . The French's ability to dissociate the principle from its application allows them, with thought, to rise above reality.

We therefore fight for our ideas, until the end if necessary. We defend what we believe to be the best solution, even if it is unrealistic, and this at the cost of possible conflict. We would also risk being discredited if we did not do so; it becomes a question of principle and honor. The one who wins is the one who is the most convincing. Do not try to convince the French with factual, vulgar observations, with realities that no one wants to face. Make them dream with the defense of Human Rights, the greatness of France, freedom of expression, fraternity...yes, the fraternity of a few who agree to sacrifice themselves to defend the interests of the weakest!

3. Communication

Added to this is implicit communication which can lead to confusion, with some not always understanding the intentions of others. Behind the word “Reform” for example, there are multiple meanings. We will find students, railway workers, retirees, lawyers, civil servants, rioters, etc. in the street. But what are they all looking for?

But what do the French want?

The French and privileges

Charles de Gaulle said: “Every Frenchman wants to benefit from one or more privileges. It’s his way of asserting his passion for equality.” And he added: “The desire for privilege and the taste for equality, dominant and contradictory passions of the French of all times…”

Have the French changed?

the French are comfortable with paradoxes and unpredictability. They are capable of improvising, of finding solutions, of calling on the D system. They have developed an art of living and an ingenuity to try to maintain a sort of balance between opposites.

Even if they don't all have the same ancestors, they quickly adhere to this state of mind which is not only anti-establishment - it wouldn't work if that were the case - but which is also idealistic. So appeal to their sensitivity, their honor, their pride, their courage, their panache... Give them hope!

For André Siegfried, it is in the name of an idea that we can ask anything of the French, whereas in the United States, it is in the name of efficiency and in Germany in the name of discipline.

To conclude and answer the question from the strangers who questioned us “but how do you do it?” ", let's remember that the French have a form of creativity, that they are comfortable with paradoxes and unpredictability. They are capable of improvising, of finding solutions, of calling on system D. The French have developed an art of living and an ingenuity to try to maintain a sort of balance between opposites, a system which “always straightens us out.” in time and prevents us from falling completely into the ditch” (André Siegfried).

It remains to be seen whether the French will still be able to manage this instability and land on their feet!