ZCommunications | An Ordinary Radical by Verena Stressing | ZNet Article
▻http://www.zcommunications.org/contents/192728
However, the biggest demonstration recently has been against gay marriage or marriage equality (marriage pour tous), an utterly ridiculous spectacle and public display of homophobia. To me, this was a symbol of the myth that the French are traditionally left. I once read somewhere that this myth was invented by the Parisian Bohème and was really only spread by the media until it became a globally accepted cliché. I can easily believe that. In reality, France is very much still an elitist country, where basically the entire political class is recruited from a handful of elite schools, and where the social class you come from is decisive for your career. I can see that every day at my work place. It is also an extremely hierarchical and still very sexist society, despite the fact that for example many more women work than, say, in Germany. To me, “liberté, égalite, fraternité” is really just a slogan at this point, the France of the majority is the #France of the catholic schools, the elite universities, the bourgeoisie and the conservative voting country side.