On the eve of Bastille Day in France today, KP.RU spoke with Anastasia Bourgeois, who has lived in France since 2015.
Photo: personal archive
On the eve of Bastille Day in France today, KP.RU spoke to Anastasia Bourgeois, who has lived in France since 2015. Anastasia once worked as a journalist for five years at Komsomolskaya Pravda, studied French history at the department of history from Moscow State University, then moved to France and opened his own language school. In a frank interview, she told in which state the Fifth Republic now celebrates its main national holiday.
What does Bastille Day mean to the French?
– In fact, the historical significance of the holiday for ordinary French people has long been lost. This is just a day off when you can relax, go out for a barbecue, watch fireworks. No ideology.
In addition, France is now experiencing a certain identity crisis. Flying the French flag could call you a nationalist. There is a growing feeling that it is a shame to be French.
This was not the case 10 years ago. Unfortunately, national pride self-destructs. This is connected, first of all, with a large influx of immigrants, because this has nothing to do with their history.
– Do the French themselves know their history well?
– If you look at the French history course, there will be a large part devoted to colonization. France seems to be constantly apologizing: for Africa, for the Vichy regime during World War II. Instead of talking about where France excelled, the focus is on the episodes where it got it wrong. If we talk about July 14, then schools already have a holiday at this time, and therefore they do not talk much about the meaning of this date with children.
– Is it possible that the country has a “Make France Great Again” movement along the lines of the Trump campaign?
– Here it is perceived quite negatively. Take the same Eric Zemmour (publicist, French presidential candidate in 2022. – Ed.). When he said “Stop embarrassing France. This is a beautiful country with a great history!” they called him a fascist for this. The very idea of the greatness of France is not held in high esteem. Like, how can we be great when we have colonization and General Pétain and everything else?
– In which state is France approaching the holidays this year, after massive protests against pension reform, pogroms due to the murder of an immigrant child by police?
– The French in general after the pandemic are in a state of “what else will happen to us?”. As for the pension reform, opinions differ, but everyone agrees that it was carried out ugly and, to put it mildly, undemocratic. As for the latest riots, mainly involving underage children of immigrants, the French are surprised that their anger was not only directed against the police, but was also a challenge to the state. These young people who live in France and have been educated here attack the town halls shouting that France is their enemy.
– To what extent are recent events dividing French society?
– The division in society is quite strong. I notice it even within the family. But listening to the stories of my French husband’s grandparents, I see that it was the same in the 1960s, when the whole spectrum gathered at the same family table, from communists to Gaullists. Different political opinions are a phenomenon inherent in the history of France, but before the question of right or left opinions was more of an economic question, and now it has entered the social and even ethnic plane.
In recent years what the French call the camp de bien (“field of goodness”) has appeared. Before you could be left or right, but nobody considered you for this universal evil. And the phenomenon, when there are some ideas of good and everything else is bad, is quite new. This departure from the political to the moral plane really divides society, and such a division is much more dangerous.
– Does France understand where your country is headed?
– It is difficult to talk about a common vector, because the French villages or habitats of the bourgeoisie and the conditional Saint-Denis (a criminal suburb of Paris. – Ed.) Are two different countries with different social and national composition.
Many local politicians and scientists have been talking about a referendum for a long time. French philosopher Michel Onfret suggested in a recent introduction: “Let’s talk! Ask me what my taxes should go to, what wars France should fight. But there is no dialogue, only the elections are considered a form of dialogue with the people.
President Macron in this case is not a unifying factor. He acts as a third force between the right and the left, claiming to unite everyone, but only brings even more discord: those on the right become even more right, and those on the left become even more left.
– And what do the French think of Macron?
– Macron was chosen as the lesser evil. I have very few acquaintances who sincerely voted for him, rather they voted against Le Pen. And we come back to the categories of good and evil, which have no place in political discussion.
– What do ordinary French people think about Russians? Has the attitude towards us changed after the start of the NWO?
– The French communicate absolutely adequately, I do not see any deterioration. On the contrary, they often called me and my friends and asked if everything was in order and if they offended us.
Yes, there is some Russophobia. Banks blocked the accounts of Russians, even those who have lived here for a long time. Opening a new account with a Russian passport is also quite difficult. But here it is not so much about the French as about the policy of the state and the EU.
– And what do the French in general know about Russia and the Russians?
– If we are talking about the perception of the people, then Russia is associated primarily with literature. There is great respect for Russian culture and Russians as bearers of this culture.
There is also a stereotype about poor people living under a dictatorship. When I say that the infrastructure in Moscow is better than in Paris and that the Internet is in the metro, they are surprised.
There is also an opposite opinion – there are many money bags among Russians who do not count money. The French are used to the fact that Galeries Lafayette (a Paris shopping center with luxury brands. – Ed.) is full of rich people from Russia.
Another popular cliché is the beauty of Russian women. But, thank God, the idea that they come here solely in search of a French husband is a thing of the past.
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Bastille Day is celebrated in France on July 14, a prison fortress that served as a symbol of absolute monarchy and arbitrariness of power. This day marks the beginning of the revolution and its values: liberty, equality and fraternity, on which the French Republic is based. On this day, a traditional military parade is held in Paris with the participation of the president, festive celebrations and ceremonies are organized throughout the country.
