Sud de France 3.3: The Forgetting Machine

I was in Villeneuvette again to photograph the ruins of the town’s once prosperous textile factory. (See Sud de France 2.2 for my first visit here.) For over four hundred years Villeneuvette fabrics were known throughout the world and the town was a Royal Manufacturer for the King. 

It was a prosperous hard working place so much so that the words “Honor through Work” are etched over the entrance to the town. But the town died because of wars and cheaper products made in other countries. The mills and factories are now empty shells and the town is struggling to rebuild itself on the strength as a crafts and art center.

Wandering around the ruins reminded me of a conversation I had a few days ago with some British friends over dinner. We were talking about the recent protests against raising the retirement age and one of them, Liam, said the cause of the problems were, 

“There’s a real difference between Northern and Southern Europeans is that the south is just lazy. Just look at where all the economic trouble is Greece, France, Italy, Spain.”

I was surprised to hear this because Liam seemed to be selectively forgetting that just a week ago his own British government announced Draconian reforms to cut its deficit. More severe reforms than the French passed. Ones so severe that had they been passed in France it would have really blown the country apart. 

What was going on I think is what I call the “The Forgetting Machine.” That wonderful mechanism in our brains that selectively edits reality to fit our personal world views. Liam was stereotyping the people he lives amongst in such a smooth and natural way he doesn’t even realize that he’s doing it, he simply holds his “truths” to be self-evident.

The “laziness” of the Southerners discounts the fact that just a few years ago the Spanish, Italian and Greek economies were rapidly growing and the envy of the Northern nations. Then came the economic recession and it turned the world upside down. But was the recession caused by Greek laziness or by Wall Street shenanigans? By the French retirement system or by banks reselling risky mortgages? Wasn’t the economic recession caused by the North and not the South?

The funny thing is that Liam is forgetting that what he is really talking about is the division between Europe's Protestant North and Catholic South. A divide that's hundreds of years old. He’s now in the laid back Catholic South and it's a bit uncomfortable for him. 

“The French are just not entrepreneurial" Liam says. " They prefer to spend time at home with their families than to work a little longer to make more.”

I was surprised to hear that putting family before work was a bad thing. 

In response I pointed out t him that we were sitting in a new restaurant in the heart of Clermont run by a couple of young French guys. (The food here is wonderful, a modern reworking of traditional French dishes done with the lightest of touches. For example, for dessert I had a crème brûlée with just the hint of fresh ginger and a small side dish of granulated coffee sorbert.)
So weren't these two young Fenchmen entrepreneurial?  

I'd say that what the French may lack is not an entrepreneurial spirit but the ruthless competitiveness of the North (and of the US.)

But Liam is right when he says that the French put their personal lives ahead of their work lives.  I have yet to meet a French person who works two jobs. They do work long hours but when they are not working, they are NOT working. 

If enjoying life is a crime then I think that the Southern Europeans are guilty as charged.

There's also an irony here. Liam within a few kilometers of Villeneuvette and its stone buildings. These  stand as a silent reminder that even in the sunny, soft, Sud de France an awful lot of people have worked very, very hard to earn their daily baguette. 

Photos and text © 2010 Steve Meltzer