THE FRENCH PEOPLE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 145, 23 June 1930, Page 3

THE FRENCH PEOPLE

LIFE IN THE PROVINCES

HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS

In the final lecture of her short course on "Some Aspects of French Life," given, under the auspices of the Workers' Educational Association on Saturday night, Miss Una Castle, M.A. (Diploma Sorbonne), dealt with "Life in the French .Provinces." She pointed out that, although the life of Franco is centralised in Paris, nowhere can the diversity of French character be better studied than in the provinces, each of which has its own local traditions and historical associations. The characters of the provinces are as varied as their climate—Brittany damp yet temperate, Provence sunny and warm, with its cold "mistral" blowing in the Rhone Valley, Auvergne with its extremes of heat and cold, and Touraine with its sunbathed vineyards, thermal regions, extinct volcanoes, mountains and alpine snows. The Marseillais and Southern Frenchmen have *he happy exuberance of the Italian and Spanish people; the Norman has not yet forgotten his kinship with the Scandinavian Northmen—one_ sees many Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians in Rouen—and Denmark gives hospitality to Rouen schoolchildren on holiday. In Picardy and the northern provinces may be seen the wide cheek-bones and fair colouring of Flemish types; in Alsace the heavy-fea-tures anci substantial build of the GermanicFrench. In Touraine and along the Loire royalist tradition dies hard-i-aiid how could it do otherwise in that valley crowned with castles—jewels in a crown! REGIONALISM IN FOOD. Each province has its own interesting food specialties for which it is noted, while there are countless French cheeses, every one of which has its own flavour. Cider is the favourite beverage to accompany these delicacies. An amusing sight in the provincial towns is the milkman who goes from street to street with a tin whistle, followed by a small flock of goats which he1 milks, as required, on the doorstep.: The occupations to be seen in the French provinces are picturesque in thoir heterogenous nature. The little trades such as basket-making (Picardy), wig-making ■ (Poitiers), lace-making, the mcnding_ of broken china, pots and pans, and chairs, which can be seen anywhere in the provinces, and above all, marketgardening, at which the French are expert. Onions, garlic/ salads, asparagus, cauliflowers, peas, and beetroot are grown in almost all provinces by peasants on, small holdings of about 15 acres. . The methods of agriculture are often very primitive— one still sees slow-moving oxen in the morvan, and the scythe and sickle have not been replaced by machinery in many places. Not the least picturesque part of market-gardening is the farmer's wife, who comes to town on market-day to sell the vegetables, and cries her wares from her little donkey-cart. There has been a townward drift since the.war, but their policy in agriculture is still marked. - ' A RELIGIOUS ATMOSPHERE. Generally speaking, the atmosphere of many provincial towns is one of Catholic piety, continued Miss Castle, and in Poitiers, for example, the church bells ring vespers and matins, funerals and weddings at all hours of the day from cathedrals, churches, or the many convents and monasteries around the town. The narrow cobbled streets often resound'with the footsteps of young priests in training, as they walk in twos from the seminary to 'the church. Black is the prevailing shade of dress in Poitiers, so numerous are the religious "congregations." The town is rich in historic associations. Rabelais spent a good part of his youth there, and the Baptistere St. Jean, built in the fourth century, A.D., was used to baptise the first Christian converts of France. The Protestants are not numerous, but they attend religious service, conducted by their Hugenot pastor, at their "temple," as Protestant churches are called in France. There are more Protestants in Alsace, where there is more variety in creed, and Jews are also numerous. Catholicism, however, is the rule in the provinces. Almost everywere one may see at times the clash bf Church and State' in some form or other, and since the Church is often associated with anti-republicanism there is a frequent tendency among good Republicans to forsake the Church and substitute republicanism as a religion. PROVINCIAL TOWNS. Rouen is a very interesting town, with its busy port and beautiful cathedral and the old square, where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake. It has narrow cobbled streets with little gutters, and openair markets where mussels and cockels, lobsters and shrimps are sold. The curfew still rings there. Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, which lies at the foot of the Bourg Mountains, was one of the most picturesque towns visited, with its bilingual population, its beautiful old houses and storks' nests. Bordeaux is famous as the birthplace of Rosa Bonheur, the great animal painter, and many fine examples of her work are on exhibition there. It possesses a splendid art gallery and opera house, and also spacious parks. A special feature of these cathedral towns is the old houses which cluster round the cathedral, and efforts for their abolition have been made from time to time on account of their insanitary condition. The suggestion' always meets with strong opposition in art circles, however, because these medieval dwellings are necessary to keep the artistic unity intact. Biarritz is very gay, with its glorious sea front on the Bay of Biscay, its casino and pretty' Basque dwellings, its oxen-carts tinkling with bells, and on the heights above the town a magnificent view of the Pyrenees. Avignon and Nimes are interesting because of their remains of ancient Roman buildings, Le Bourget has its aeroplanes within coo-ec of Paris, and Deauville is noted for its fashionable beach parade and summer fashions. CHARMS OF BRITTANY. Miss Castle described the many picturesque places she visited during a cycling tour through Brittany, which has numerous shrines and calvaries each with- distinct characteristics. Pilgrimages are continually being made to the chapel or shrine of a patron saint, and these processions or pardons are an integral part of Breton life. They are secular as_ well as religious, because their daily work is bound up with their religious belief, and some of

the pardons celebrated are specially curious. The most interesting art treasures' of Brittany are the quaint statues ia stone or wood of sajnts—patron saints'of' cattle and birds and those who are supposed, to cure headaches, madness, dog* bites,,and fear. The Breton, women hay» a mild and patient expression, and they possess dignity, charm, and originality. Many have the air of saints of the middl*' ages, and their full, black dresses, brightly coloured aprons, and white caps lend quaintness and charm to a wedding scene or a festival. In spite-,6f.a.modern tendency the national costumes of both men and women may still be seen in the ancient parts of Brittany. Like other Celtic races, the Bretons have a flower for, their national emblem—the gorse—and one sees it on their national pottery. It is a useful plant for fires and horse fodder. Side ,by side with the forest anywhere in Brittany may be seen the Lande—a heath or moor covered with gorse, heather, thyme, foxgloves, bracken fern, and aromatic weeds which are found on poor land. Peat bogs exist as in Ireland, to which country Brittany bears much resemblance, in traditions: The women in the fishing villages gather seaweed to burn as soil-fer-tiliser or to sell to factories manufacturing iodine. In the coastal regions; they sit at home making lace and fine crochet whila the men-folk are away in their fishing grounds round Iceland. Brittany is a country of mariners, and in the late war ;th» endurance of Breton sailors was well proved. Hardly a village, even the tiniest,- i» without a war memorial showing the long list of those who died for France. Brittany, especially by the sea, is densely populated, and has given her sons most gener* ously in war. They are a sturdy breed of! men, accustomed to hardships, arid in tha" less populated districts of France ' they have been transplanted to work the land. The little churches in the Breton fishing villages bear touching names, and tha white cottages have their front doors turned for shelter from the wild ocean winds,, As a rule the villages are very, poor, and the inhabitants live on fish and.collect seaweed. Yet the soil is worked to its very utmost and the crops, are protected by stone hedges, which, together with the old. stone windmills now out of use, are,a picturesque feature of the landscape.-Th« little black and white cows give rich milk, if less abundantly than in more favoured regions, and if the people are poor in material things;.they?-are rich spiritually, for nowhere does religious fervour run so Miss Castfe supplemented her lecture with a large number of fine lantern slides; and, she was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for her entertaining and informative short course. .. , '.