Despite a nasty 2025 there are nonetheless so many causes to like France

Even France’s greatest pals would concede that 2025 has not been a classic 12 months for the nation.

Speaking shortly after the Louvre heist, French cultural commentator Stéphane Bern mourned that: “We’re the laughing inventory of the world.”

And sure, some issues have gone fallacious (the nationwide deficit is hovering, the parliamentary disaster continues and who is aware of whether or not France may have a 2026 Budget, to call however just a few) – however let’s consider the positives.

From the foolish to the intense, listed below are 15 causes to like this fabulous, sophisticated, exasperating and bizarre nation.

Deep dedication to the ‘pont’

France is a rustic that believes that point spent at leisure is extra essential than these hours unavoidably slaving for a wage, and nowhere is that this extra obvious than the love of the ‘pont‘.

This is actually a means of maximising day off work by intelligent use of public holidays. Every 12 months, French newspapers run articles advising their readers on strategic use of annual go away to get the utmost time attainable away from work and doing essential issues like consuming, ingesting and spending time with family members. 

Is ‘faire le pont’ essential in 🇫🇷 tradition, you ask?

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— Emma Pearson (@emmapearson.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 10:08 AM

And public holidays

Former prime minister François Bayrou (December 2024-September 2025) determined that one method to sort out that price range deficit was to scrap two of the nation’s 11 nationwide public holidays.

Fury adopted, 84 p.c of the general public mentioned they had been in opposition to the thought and Bayrou was toppled a month later. Do not mess with French holidays.

It jails its dodgy politicians

The greatest state of affairs can be for France to not have any corrupt or embezzling politicians. Second greatest, nonetheless, is bringing these politicians earlier than the courts and sentencing them for his or her crimes, with out concern or favour of their elevated positions.

This 12 months noticed far-right chief Marine Le Pen convicted of embezzlement and banned from standing for election for 5 years, after which former president Nicolas Sarkozy jailed after being discovered responsible of a conspiracy to simply accept marketing campaign funding from Moamer Kadhafi’s Libyan regime.

Some French folks anxious this might give their nation a nasty picture overseas – nevertheless it actually simply exhibits that France nonetheless has that cornerstone of a functioning democracy; an impartial judiciary. (OK, Sarkozy was out in 21 days and is now flogging his jail ‘diaries’ – nobody mentioned France was good).

Gisèle Peliot

Coming to public consideration in essentially the most horrific means attainable after her husband was charged with drugging her and invited dozens of strangers to their dwelling to rape her, Gisèle grew to become a feminist icon due to her quiet dignity and her rallying cry ‘the disgrace should change sides’.

The case sparked a nationwide soul-searching in France, plus some concrete modifications – in October 2025 France coded into its rape legal guidelines for the primary time the notion of consent.

Gisèle confirmed the identical dignity and willpower when she was compelled to once more face one among her rapists in court docket after the person appealed in opposition to his sentence. The court docket as a substitute determined to enhance his jail time period.

Cleaning abilities

Twenty years in the past, Paris’ River Seine was filthy, polluted and bordered by two highways. These days, the river banks are pedestrianised areas that in the summertime rework into among the capital’s most vibrant occasion spots and this 12 months swimming opened as much as the general public for the primary time in 100 years.

Seine swimming adopted a large clean-up operation which many mentioned can be unattainable. It confirmed that, regardless of the nation’s issues, some issues do nonetheless work and bold initiatives are nonetheless attainable.

The soccer window contest

Kids are kicking a soccer on the window of the bin room in an house block. Do you a) put up an indication and ban it or b) create a global sporting occasion?

The mayor of 1 Paris suburb selected choice b – now ‘La lucarne d’Évry’ is a sporting problem that has been undertaken by Lionel Messi and the celebrities of Paris-Saint-Germain, plus a whole bunch of French youngsters and has expanded to grow to be a nationwide annual tour.

It’s an instance of the humour, ambition and enjoyable that lurks throughout the French soul – and the surprisingly wide-ranging energy of native mayors. 

Protest evolution

Look, everyone knows about French strikes (and we have had just a few this 12 months) however France additionally likes to typically ring the modifications with its protesting – 2018/19 noticed the ‘yellow vests’ and 2025 noticed Bloquons Tout – a motion whose acknowledged intention was quite simple, to dam all the pieces.

September’s ‘block all the pieces’ day did not fairly carry the complete nation to a standstill, nevertheless it did see fairly widespread disruption. Polling afterwards discovered the motion was 5 occasions extra fashionable with most of the people than President Emmanuel Macron.

Insults 

French folks, particularly politicians, love a bitchy and stylish put-down of a rival. There’s an entire department of humour dedicated to fashionable insults, and a movie about it which claims that the custom was honed on the court docket of Louis XIV.

It stays fashionable right this moment – the information that 30-year-old far-right chief Jordan Bardella had printed his second e-book was greeted by one occasion colleague with the stinging ‘Congratulations, Jordan has now written extra books than he has learn’. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo reacted to the information that her hated political rival Rachida Dati has been appointed Culture Minister by sending her “condolences to the tradition sector”.

Meanwhile when François Bayrou was toppled, there have been ‘pots de départs‘ (leaving drinks) organised in communes throughout France to have fun his departure.

Apéro

Divided, fractured, break up, argumentative – these are all phrases that could possibly be fairly fairly used to explain the fashionable political panorama.

But there’s one factor that (nearly) everybody agrees on – a September ballot discovered that 82 p.c of individuals in France agree that the ritual of apéro (pre-dinner drinks with gentle snacks) is ‘an important a part of the nationwide heritage’. Santé !

Smelly cheese

It’s a little bit of a cliché to say good foods and drinks in an inventory of causes to love France, however nonetheless true. In reality (in keeping with some frankly doubtful sounding scientific analysis), France takes the crown for the world’s smelliest cheese.

It’s not simply cheese – France has each UNESCO-ranked gastronomy and actually wonderful produce, making each journey round France a delight as you pattern the native specialities.

Most of those producers of cheese, charcuterie, sweets, drinks, pastries and many others do not make some huge cash however however stay deeply dedicated to sustaining native merchandise and conventional strategies.

If that does not float your boat, there’s at all times the various and bizarre flavours of Brets crisps, together with Pastis flavour!

Public courtesy

Some would say that garroting is just too good for individuals who have their telephones on speaker in public locations, or play music/movies with out headphones.

France would not fairly go that far, nevertheless it did this 12 months positive a person €150 for making a telephone name on speaker in a prepare station. It additionally strictly enforces the quiet rule in TGV trains, and they’re all the higher for it.

‘Cock and balls’ man

The 2024 Olympics confirmed that France actually can pull off a sporting occasion with panache. Cycling followers knew this already in fact, because the world’s biggest cycle race loops across the nation every summer time.

But what number of world sports activities occasions have an individual whose job is purely to change ‘cock and balls’ graffiti and switch it into TV-camera prepared cartoon bunnies and owls. Step ahead Tour de France.

Pastry wars

One a part of France stays deeply dedicated to waging warfare on its neighbours by way of the medium of chocolate pastries. Yes, I’m in fact referring to the chocolatine v ache au chocolat battle between south-west France and the remainder of the nation.

I can not consider a extra charming assertion of native delight than Ici on dit chocolatine (Here, we are saying chocolatine) and now you can get T-shirts, tote baggage, badges and even bathe gel bearing this slogan. 

Taxation coverage counts as an excellent night time out

While it may be a deeply foolish nation, France additionally retains its severe aspect. The French economist Gabriel Zucman has grow to be one thing of a family title this 12 months, along with his ‘Zucman tax’ that proposes a flat two per cent tax on the complete web price of the tremendous wealthy.

His tax did not make it by way of the French parliament, however he has launched into a talking tour of France and has been promoting out venues, with folks eager to spend their evenings listening to debates on tax equity.

The SNCF chime

If you will have ever taken a French prepare you’ll realize it, and if you recognize it you actually need to hearken to the membership remix of the well-known four-note jingle.

. . . and it might at all times be worse

The issues that France is battling are shared by a lot of its neighbours – a fractured public discourse, on-line disinformation and hatred, the rise of the far proper, a stagnating financial system. But typically it is price taking a glimpse exterior of the hexagon to remind ourselves that issues might at all times be worse. 

What do you like about fashionable France? Share your views within the feedback part under