Italy seen from France or the complexity of family relations

Abstract

This article examines French–Italian relations focusing in particular on economic exchanges and French perceptions of Italy as revealed in parliamentary debates and in the French press. The analysis suggests that in the eyes of the French, Italy is a two-faced Janus, rich in both defects and positive qualities. Except perhaps for the shrewdest observers, it is difficult for the French to come to terms with all the subtleties and complexities of the real Italy.

Keywords:

• Berlusconi
• energy
• kissing cousins
• terrorism

Notes

Notes

1. These data, as well as a rich bibliography on the subject, can be found at the Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur la Culture des Echanges (CIRCE), Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle–Paris III, available online at: http://circe.univ-paris3.fr

2. The figures provided by Anagrafe degli Italiani all’estero (AIRE) refer to 2007 and are available online at: http://www.italiaestera.net

3. These data are approximate because they refer to Italians whose names appear on voter registration lists abroad, and therefore do not take into account under-age residents who, if included, would increase the numbers reported by about 15%.

4. Figures provided to the Assemblée nationale by Thierry Mariani.

5. The other European countries in which there is more than one Italian Chamber of Commerce are Spain, Greece and Turkey. In the rest of the world, only the US, Brazil and Australia host a higher number (five) while Argentina and Canada host four. Data provided by the Associazione delle Camere di Commercio italiane all’estero (Assocameraestero), available online at: http://www.assocamerestero.it.

6. According to the Institut national de statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), in 2007 Italy ranked third in terms of French imports (36.1 billion euros), behind Germany (56.8 billion) and Spain (37.7 billion). Italy was, instead, the second largest importer of French goods, for a total value of 38.3 billion euros, behind Germany (74.4 billion) but ahead of Belgium (37.1 billion) (http://www.insee.fr). From the Italian point of view, France is solidly established as Italy's second trading partner, behind Germany. According to the Istituto italiano di statistica (ISTAT), in 2007, 10.9% of Italian exports went to France (as opposed to 12.3% to Germany) while French exports to Italy accounted for 8.9% of all Italian imports (Germany accounted for 16.1%) (http://www.istat.it).

7. According to the International Energy Agency (2007, 27), in 2005, Italy ranked second in the world as net importer of electric energy and accounted for 8.17% of the total world energy exchange, while France was the number one exporter. It should also be noted that most of the electrical energy Italy imports from Switzerland is produced in France (see Office fédéral de l’énergie (OFEN) at http://www.bfe.admin.ch).

8. The same imbalance characterises Italian DFI to France. It represents 4.1% of all DFI to France, which puts Italy in eighth place among French sources of DFI. However, it represents 8.7% of all Italian DFI which makes France the third most popular destination of Italian DFI behind the Netherlands and Spain (Agence française pour le développement des entreprises, 2008).

9. The data are from the Association Française du Conseil des Communes et des Régions d’Europe (AFCCRE), available online at: http://www.afccre.org/fr/article.asp?id=109

10. Data published by the Ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes, available online at: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/

11. Legendre 2003. It should be pointed out that in French schools students must study two foreign languages while the study of a third is optional. The percentages reported concern the totality of choices. Still with reference to 2002, Italian ranked fourth as a first choice but with a minuscule percentage (0.06%), and fourth as a second choice (7.01%). Among the students who opted for a third language, however, 49.3% chose Italian.

12. According to Edison, the wholesale price in 2002 was 58 euros per megawatt hour in Italy, compared with 23.4 euros in France (Prosperetti 2003, 8).

13. During the previous legislature, the Cesare Battisti case was mentioned twice. On one occasion (11 July 2002), there was public criticism of the amnesty of 1981, which, according to Jean Leonetti (UMP), ‘released some dangerous terrorists belonging to the Red Brigades (loud screams of disapproval coming from MPs of the Socialist group)’.

14. Ouest-France alone, a newspaper published in Brittany, for example, distributes more copies than Le Figaro and Le Monde combined. Le Parisien, in the Île-de-France, is the newspaper with the second largest circulation, and Sud-Ouest, in the Bordeaux region, sells as many copies as Le Monde. The data come from the OJD–Association pour le contrôle et la diffusion des médias, available online at: http://www.ojd.com/engine/

15. The Englaro case concerned a court battle between supporters and opponents of euthanasia. Following a car accident in 1992, Ms Eluana Englaro was on artificial life support for 17 years before her father's request to have her feeding tube removed and allow her to die was accepted by a court.

16. French President Sarkozy has defined the traditional French strict separation of church and state which makes bringing religion into public affairs a major taboo as ‘negative secularism’ and has advocated the recognition of the contribution of faith to French culture, history and society, a position he has defined as ‘positive secularism’ (Beita 2008).