The Americanization of France

Searching for Happiness after the Algerian War

By (author) Barnett Singer

Not available to order

Publication date:

18 April 2013

Length of book:

292 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442221666

This engaging, knowledgeable book traces the American path France has followed since resolving its searing Algerian conflict in 1962. Barnett Singer convincingly demolishes two pervasive clichés about modern France: first, that the country never has been fit to fight wars, including wars on terror; and second, that the French have always been and remain overwhelmingly anti-American. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources, Barnett Singer clearly demonstrates that a serious and organized France fought strongly until its own divisions, international pressures, and the actions of de Gaulle ended the conflict with tragic consequences. The outcome led to an important sea change, clearing the way for France to embrace American culture, especially rock 'n' roll, and more generally, an American-style emphasis on personal happiness. The author argues that today’s France, wounded by the loss of traditions and stability, is increasingly pro-American, clinging to trends from across the Atlantic as to a lifeline.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Algerian Challenge in the Last Serious France
Chapter 3: De Gaulle, the Algerian Denouement, and the End of an Era
Chapter 4: From French Chanteurs to American Yé-Yé
Chapter 5: Other Aspects of the “Happiness Revolution” in the 1960s and Beyond
Chapter 6: Today’s Americanized France
Chapter 7: Conclusion

Countering the notion that France has been and remains intractably anti-American, Singer instead argues that France began a transformation in the 1950s in which it shifted its focus from colonial concern with Algeria toward American-style celebration of personal happiness and an embrace of American culture and values, even suggesting that this embrace of America has proceeded 'too unabashedly in contemporary France.' He brings a biographical approach to the subject, examining key figures that illustrate the turn of soldiers from sober military values to seeking American-style materialism, the development of French rock and roll, and the contemporary 'full anchoring' of Americanization in France.