France

Name and Surname: Raky KONE

Age: 21

Country: France

Nationality: French

City: Toulouse

CURRENT EVENTS:

1. Which is the form of government ruling in your country?

Presidential Republic with a semi-presidential system.

2. Do you believe corruption exists in your country? How much do you think it influences political life and your private life?

Of course I think it exists, as everywhere. I just think it is less evident than elsewhere, so that it doesn’t directly influence our everyday life or the political life.

3. Do you consider yourself European? [For non-European people: could you explain why you chose Europe?]

I consider myself French, and of course France is part of the European Continent and Union. That’s why I am supposed to consider myself a European citizen… Actually I can’t really see why I should do that, because being a European citizen would just be the same as being a world citizen. In effect, as a jurist I see citizenship as sharing common culture and language, but Europeans DO NOT share them. So, for me being European is just the consequence of political agreements among European countries, leading to some economical or political advantages. But I don’t feel European.

CULTURE:

1. Which is your national language? Do dialects exist in your country? If they do, are they used/known by young people?

French is my national language. Some dialects still exist in France but are not really spoken anymore. Recently movements arose in order to promote them, through their reintroduction as taught subjects in schools or used for signage and public trasportation in cities as a part of their cultural heritage. However they’re not spoken anymore.

2. Who do you believe to be the cultural icon of your Country?

I don’t know.

3. Are you able to name a person that you consider symbolic for European culture? [For non-European people: do you perceive the existence of a “European culture”?]

The Beatles ?