Concern with money, and then more money, in order to buy the conveniences and luxuries of modern life, has brought great changes to the lives of most Frenchmen. More people are working than ever before in France. In the cities, the traditional leisurely midday meal is disappointing. Offices, shops, and factories are discovering the great efficiency of a short lunch hour in company lunchrooms. In almost all lines of work, emphasis now falls on ever£­increasing output. Thus the “typical” Frenchman produces more, earns more, and buys more consumer goods than his counterpart of only a generation ago. He gains in creature comforts and ease of life. What he loses to some extent is his sense of personal uniqueness, or individuality.

Some day that France has been Americanized. This is because the United States is a world symbol of the technological society and its consumer products. The so£­called Americanization of France has its critics. They fear that “assembly£­line life” will lead to the disappearance of the pleasures of the more graceful and leisurely (but less productive) old French style. What will happen, they ask, to taste, elegance, and the cultivation of the good things in life—to enjoy in the smell of a freshly£­picked apple, a stroll by the river, or just happy hours of conversation in a local cafe?