France Versus the World

First broadcast April 2007

The French maintain that they - their culture, their social model and their foreign policy - are exceptional. But for how much longer?

In this four-part series, Lucy Ash takes a forensic look at the position France occupies on the world stage, how it defines citizenship and the way globalisation is threatening to undermine its cultural heritage.

Part four: Facing the Future

In the last programme of the series, Lucy Ash tries to understand why so many French are fearful of globalisation and what that means for the future of France.

For many, the young included, globalisation is a threat and profit is a dirty word. The French are deeply suspicious of what they refer to as the Anglo-Saxon free market system and they believe France can do things differently.

And yet France is one of the most avid consumers of McDonald's burgers in Europe. Many of the most successful global companies are also French.

Is France trapped in the past, and in dire need of reform? Has the time come to fall in line with other 'globalised' economies?

A growing number of French people think so and, out of frustration, are migrating to the UK and other countries to be part of free-market economic systems in the hope of finding better opportunities to earn more.

Series Producer: John Murphy

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