Francité
Francité (French: "French-ness") is a term used in Gylias to refer to a French identity. Francité encompasses multiple aspects, ranging from the community of ethnically French Gylians to French influences on Gylian culture and society; Francophile and Francising tendencies in broader Gylian society; and the network of organisations that promote French culture in Gylias, the most influential being OMFLG and the ACFEN.
Francité is notable because it is conceived as a cultural project and intellectual framework that emphasises customs and qualities that are distinctively French, and encourages their promotion and adoption among Gylians regardless of ethnic origins. As such, it is unique within Tyran as mechanism of French perpetuation based on inclusionism and adoption rather than ethnicity.
Terms
The most common terms used to refer to the concept are francité and francitude — French words which denote the state of being French. The former is more commonly used than the latter.
Another jocular term is le gallité ("Gallicism"), a homophone pun on l'égalité ("equality").
History
Background
French Gylians have been present in Gylian territory since the Liúşai League, originating from Acrea and the Venetian Principality, their numbers also bolstered by Gauls from Megelan. Their contributions to Gylian culture began to stand out during the Xevdenite era, including the first classical composers, Gabrielle and Yolande de Polastron.
A French identity was consolidated during the Gylian ascendancy, and the rise of French as a lingua franca and the impact of French radicalism added to the community's reputation.
Alscia
The French community thrived in the province of Alscia, benefiting significantly from the freedoms afforded by the Cacertian Empire and the sweeping modernisation of the "hurried province".
French was made one of the provincial languages, in recognition of its existing lingua franca role among Gylians, and became a popular educated and upper class sociolect. Alscian culture absorbed a notable French influence, particularly of notions of elegance, contributing to the growing perception of the French as refined. The province's richest industrialist, Arlette Gaubert, was French, and the French were well-represented among the provincial upper class. Significant French voices in popular culture included the writer Colette and comédienne Cécile Sorel.
Historian Lere Sineşe states that the Alscian experience was pivotal for the French community, allowing it to transition from perpetuation through birth to perpetuation through adoption and Francisation.
Free Territories
Several significant developments in the Free Territories laid the foundation for francité. The radicalisation of Gylians and emergence of Gylian political movements emphasised the contributions of French thinkers to leftist ideologies, such as anarchism, socialism, and communism.
The use of French as a lingua franca in the Free Territories, alongside English, helped disseminate Francophile sentiments among the broader Gylian public. French Gylians increased in visibility. Their existing reputation for refinement drew admiration in a time of war and rationing. Cultural influence was manifested especially through Art Deco, crucial in the development of the gauchic movement.
Gylias
Francité developed after the end of the Liberation War. Historians largely credit three figures as its founders: Françoise Chatelain, Renée Gaulloise, and Éliane La Gylienne. They spearheaded the francité movement and established the OMFLG and ACFEN, which became the most powerful organisations among the French community.
The main impetus for the OMFLG was the codification of official bilingualism in the Constitution of Gylias. The OMFLG engaged in activism to promote the French language and ensure it was not displaced by English, activities for which Françoise drew inspiration from Phaedra Metaxa's championing of Hellene culture.
The OMFLG–ACFEN quickly developed from these roots into a larger movement and project, which was instrumental in defining the French identity in Gylias.
The movement, and the network of organisations it spawned, redefined the idea of "French". It was transformed from a simple ethnic identity into a quality that anyone could take part in if they wished, and adapt it to their own needs.
Françoise, Renée and Éliane shrewdly capitalised on existing Francophilia: they cultivated elegant and tongue-in-cheek images that endeared them to the public, used clothing to reflect the French identity, and re-conceptualised French identity by embodying positive French stereotypes such as romanticism, sophistication, and stylishness.
Comparisons have been made between the success of the francité movement and the Anarchofuturist Association of Alscia. Much like the AAFA convinced the Alscian public it was important to not allow the far-right to seize control of futurism, the OMFLG–ACFEN has succeeded in convincing Gylians that they have a collective stake in ensuring a French influence is preserved in Gylian culture.
Manifestations
Identity
As concieved by francité, "French" is an identity not based on ethnicity, but rather on a state of mind that can manifest in many ways, from appearance to personal cultivation. Francité is thus comparable to a mild form of cultural nationalism with a performative aspect, encouraging French Gylians (regardless of background) to embody traits conceived as "French".
Francité is comparable to hétaïres in the sense that both cultivate images and lifestyles meant to be simultaneously "classical" and contemporary, nostalgic and modern. The ideal of embodying a kind of French grandeur made accessible to anyone integrates francité easily into the Gylian norm of socialised luxury.
Linguistics
The most prominent expression of francité is the continued use of French as a daily language in Gylias. The OMFLG's activism has been crucial in preserving equity between French and English in the public sphere, and promotion of French by playing up the perceived sophistication of the language. By participating in the Gylian languages reform of 1958–1959, francité activists concentrated on preserving the language's aesthetic while accepting the political aims of the reforms.
French words and suffixes such as -iste and -ienne are commonly used by Gylians to denote persons, regardless of language. The long scale is used for large numbers, resulting in a million being followed by a milliard.
Due to francité, French names have gained popularity in Gylias outside of the French Gylian community: the 2020 census found that the latter constitutes 4,5% of the population, but French names are used by up to 12% of all Gylians.
The names "René" and "Renée" are common among French and Francophile Gylians as adults, reflecting the francité principle that French is something one becomes rather than being born into.
Popular culture
Surveys show a majority of Gylians identify "equal prominence of French and English" as important for a healthy popular culture.
Various artistic movements and genres, ranging from Art Deco to nouvelle vague, gained acceptance at least in part due to their identification with French notions of sophistication. Gauchic has such a strong influence that it was jokingly dubbed "the artistic arm of francité". Francophone pop culture figures such as France Gall, Brigitte Nyman, Amanda Leloup, Louise Bourgoin, and Élise Dubois have based their careers on equal parts embodying French identity and commenting on it or playing with it. The Neo-Gylian Sound scene of the 1990s–2000s produced a "sister scene" of Francophone pop that included Air, Coralie Coudray, Charlotte Birkin, and Émilie Simon.
Marie-Agnès Delaunay, the founder of the Magdel Group, gained fame on her TV channel 5 by infusing her "wicked" persona with "playful French seductiveness".
One literary device to have emerged from francité is light-hearted swipes at English's prominence internationally and its "coarser" character compared to French, seen in series such as Le recueil des faits improbables de Ryōko Yakushiji and Les Enfants Terrificques.
Politics
Francité has found resonance throughout Gylian political culture. Its elements have been used by various political movements, ranging from conservatism to manifest a commitment to "urbane pragmatism and benign nostalgia", to leftists that emphasise French contributions to radical politics and revolution.
Organisations
Civic organisations
Political groups
- Rassemblement Française (part of the IRAM)