There is a commonality here or a way in which this seeming contradiction makes sense: for the French, esp the intellectual and creative classes, there is absolutely nothing more important than being proudly, vehemently, publicly anti-bourgeois. This pose has been frozen in place since 1789 and works almost like a Commandment for the Frenchman who wants a successful career as a thinker/artist: it doesn't matter if it's Communism, Satanism, Islamism, Sadism (of which they're very proud) etc, all that matters is that it "Épater la bourgeoisie", which helps to signal that you're not a middle-class square but an edgy rebellious free-thinking radical.
And even if this seems juvenile to the rest of us, a phase most of us grow out of, it is an essential element of French identity. The Revolution is a sacred event for them that they're very proud of and always hoping to re-create, esp if it's other people in other places who have to suffer and die for them to preen as grand historical actors.
Incredible. Takes my breath away.
There is a commonality here or a way in which this seeming contradiction makes sense: for the French, esp the intellectual and creative classes, there is absolutely nothing more important than being proudly, vehemently, publicly anti-bourgeois. This pose has been frozen in place since 1789 and works almost like a Commandment for the Frenchman who wants a successful career as a thinker/artist: it doesn't matter if it's Communism, Satanism, Islamism, Sadism (of which they're very proud) etc, all that matters is that it "Épater la bourgeoisie", which helps to signal that you're not a middle-class square but an edgy rebellious free-thinking radical.
And even if this seems juvenile to the rest of us, a phase most of us grow out of, it is an essential element of French identity. The Revolution is a sacred event for them that they're very proud of and always hoping to re-create, esp if it's other people in other places who have to suffer and die for them to preen as grand historical actors.
They just can't help it, it's in the blood.