From the Renaissance onward, specific cultural and language policies have been imposed on the French territory at the expense of regional dialects. These policies were reinforced throughout the entire Ancien Régime and aggravated in the colonial empire era until the 20th century, when they eventually began to crumble due to the decolonization and uprising national and regional demands. Today, France finds itself in an era of strong individuality and communitarianism, responsible for a profusion of cultural identities at the heart of the European community, whose boundaries continue to blur. The year 2014 saw the Front National come out on top of French parties in the European Election, a political progression that continues to be confirmed in local elections. This rise of the far-right, populist party, is a clear symptom of the unrest taking over French society. And we can only hope that the national expression of solidarity following this
year’s terrorist attacks against the magazine Charlie Hebdo and inside a kosher supermarket will not be too soon forgotten.

By looking into relevant texts that will explain what being French has meant for five centuries, we will be able to better understand the multiple references made to the cultural and national identity in publications in the fields of history and political science. We will then complete our course by studying works which have nurtured the intellectual views on the social and identity fracture in the past years.