On France since 1870

This is an extraordinary textbook. While it does not focus closely on social history like most other modern French history textbooks, it crawls through French history from 1870 to 2007, dissecting political reforms, cultural movements, and definitions of French identity.

While the first half of the text is interesting, the second half is where Sowerwine is at his best. Unlike many other synthetic works, Sowerwine puts forth provocative arguments (especially on the relationship between France’s Vichy government, the Algerian War, and the National Front). In the final one-hundred pages (which I found were the most interesting), he examines the French state in how well it navigates through three “icebergs.”

The first iceberg is coming to terms with the past. How well can the French government accept the crimes that it committed during World War II with the creation of the Vichy regime and during the Algerian War? Ultimately, he concludes that the French government have not handled these two issues well and the French people continue to ignore them.

The second iceberg is based on the role of race and racism. In the 1950s and 1960s, many former colonial subjects came to France under the guest-worker program. There, they had families and have led to three or four generations of Frenchmen and women of North African descent. Frequently these people are called “beurs” based on the verlan of “arabe.” This is another iceberg that the French government has not handled well. Sowerwine goes so far to argue that it was the French government’s fault that tensions have risen since the 2005 riots due to Nicolas Sarkozy’s appropriation of language from the National Front.

Finally, France must navigate the iceberg of the global economy. While France has traditionally been a state opposed to liberalization (opting for the Gaullist concept of “dirigisme” instead), the French (beginning with Giscard but accelerating under Sarkozy) have begun to accept liberalism for France. Sowerwine’s conclusions on this are far more ambiguous due to the book being published after Sarkozy had only spent a short time in office.

While Sowerwine does think the French have been unsuccessful at navigating these waters, he is hopeful for the continued presence of France and French culture in the future of the world.

This was an enlightening read and I would recommend it for anyone who even has a marginal interest in modern France.