MCF Week 7 Term 1 Rural change in France

1. MCF Week 7 Term 1Rural change in France David Lees

2. Lecture plan • Introduction: the history of the paysan • Rural change and the ‘modernisation thesis’ • The paysans strike back? Ruralism and regionalism in modern France

3. Introduction • Paysans have always played important role in French society • Shock troops of the revolutionary armies in eighteenth century; also fought for counter-revolutionaries (e.g. the Vendéeuprising) • Distinction between the pays légal and the pays réel

4. Declining Rural Population • First World War claimed the lives of 1.3 million French people, many of them farmers • Population did not return to pre-war levels until 1950 Monument aux morts, Savaignac, Aveyron

5. Rural Change and modernisation • During the three decades following the Liberation, the French population increased from 40.5 to 52.6 million • Average life expectancy rose from 62 to 69 for men and from 67 to 77 for women • The standard of living rose from a baseline of 100 in 1939 to 320

6. From sickle to combine harvester

7. Changing methods, increasing productivity • In 1800, it had taken 1 hour with a sickle to harvest one hundred square metres of corn. • In 1850, the same area could be harvested with a scythe in fifteen minutes. • In 1900, with a reaper, it would take 2 minutes • In 1920, with a mechanical reaper, 40 seconds • And in 1945, with a combine harvester, a mere 35 seconds, including the threshing which had previously been carried out separately.

8. The Paysans Fight Back? Ruralism and regionalism in Modern France • Pierre Poujadeand his movement protect the interests of paysans • Union de Défense des Commerçants et Artisanswin 52 seats in January 1956 legislative elections • Poujade branded a fascist and reactionary, but helps to rekindle interest in rural France

9. International Exhibition, 1937

10. Produits de terroir, Normandy

11. José Bové