A lively and informative short volume that shows that France is not a faded glory but rather a place that has defined and shaped the key issues of our contemporary world, such as democracy and universal human rights, the emergence of a culture of consumerist spectacle, the tensions between nationalism and contemporary multiculturalism, and the role of religion in the modern state.

Introduction; Chapter 1: The French Revolution, Politics and the Modern Nation; Chapter 2: French and the Civilizing Mission; Chapter 3: Paris and Magnetic Appeal; Chapter 4: France Stirs up the Melting Pot; Chapter 5: France Hurtles into the Future; References; Further reading; Index