REPORT ON FRENCH NATIONAL STORIES

1. Do they use the Periods ? Do they know them ?Students don’t usually use periods but events as chronological marks.I found once or twice the ancient times, the Middle Ages, Renaissance.

2. What event/Period is considered as the beginning of the national history ?Students don’t say clearly which event or which period is at the origin of their country. They just tell what they know.Some of them are more precise : 3 say the history of France begins with the Gauls, one with Neandertal men, one with the Francs.

3. What characters are mentionned ? Do they speak about people ? individuals ?Many individual characters are mentionned.Kings of France : Clovis 3 times ; Louis XIV 3 times, Louis XVI 3 times, François Ier 1 time ; Emperors :; Napoléon 7 times ; ; Charlemagne 6 timesAntic characters : César 3 times, Vercingétorix 2 , Hannibal 1Medieval characters : Joan of Arc twiceRevolution characters : Robespierre 3 times, Lumières philosphersWW1, WW2 : Hitler 2, De Gaulle résistance movement 1Many presidents

What they say about them   : Napoléon was a mathematics genious, made a coup d’etat, conquered a lot of lands, exiled in Ste Helene IslandLouis XIV : Sun king, Louis XVI had his head cut

4. What events are mentionned ? (usually, often, never…)French Revol often : Bastille, DDHC, L16 beheaded mostly1GM : very few détails 2GM débarquement, nazisMA : seigneurs, paysans, chevaliers, croisades (not often)

Very few :, g d’Algérie, révolution industrielle, cinéma, coupe foot, Phocée fonde Massalia, Clovis, droit de vote des femmesHors sujet : tsunami au Japon, Hiroshima, guerre d’indép américaine

Symbols : devise, flag, national day,

5. What is their point of view ?

Rather a political and military point of view

6. The narrative :- Often non linear narrative- Chronological narrative