Returning home from 2 weeks in France I am reminded that France and the French are very different. What do I mean? The French have, unlike many western societies, managed to retain key elements of their way of life, and doing so in the face of huge pressures to change and (sic) modernize!

1. Unlike most western countries the French have prioritised space and time for individuals and families, and critically have not given in to the profit motive of multinational companies, who, I venture to suggest would have the entire world eating the same food, watching the same films, drinking the same beer and wearing the same clothes.  Shops shut at midday Saturday and reopen on Monday. Saturday afternoon and Sunday are sacrosanct!
2. Many shops are locally owned. They are often highly individualistic and like to “talk to their customers”. The same applies to restaurants and bars. The fast food model has not overtaken the French love of good food. Wherever you go, there is high quality food on offer, with staff and proprietors who just love to talk!
3. This leads onto the next major point – that the French have not been dominated by the multinationals and their all ever present and obvious profit maximizing motive!
4. People still live in towns! Here in Ireland town centres full of shops and services intermingled with residential properties, apartments etc, have been gutted. Apartments above stores are universally empty above struggling or closed shops. In France village and town centres are thriving. We noted the attention to buildings being maintained, often in a highly artistic manner. Wonderful street displays of art, shrubs and flowers. Villages look and feel like they have life!
5. And talking about towns and villages, free parking is very common. Plus 30 Kilometre speed limits are everywhere and mostly observed (well to within 15% maybe). Keeping us all safe.
6. Speaking of safety, cyclists are demonstrably respected. Well France IS the home of the Tour de France. But as cyclists on this and many previous occasions felt that many many car and truck drivers are also cyclists themselves and have empathy. Furthermore many roads have marked cycle lanes. In some places cars are relegated to one central lane with two marked cycle lanes, which may be used by cars to pass each other. The number of roards with cycle lanes is clearly not universal, but just compared with say last year, the change is obvious.
7. Finally the French retire early. The official legal retirement age is currently being phased to reach 64 years by 2028. Depending on their birth year workers can retire between 62 years and 9 months and 64, provided they have enough contributions. This is in contrast to other countries that are progressively raising the retirement age. The French believe in an active retitirement, and who can object to that!

It’s fair to say, that this year we were in Brittany, which is a bit like a larger version of West Cork, but we visited larger towns and cities and observed the very same themes.