France, for such a large and spread out country, one which beguiles with its size and lack of population density, has quite the monoculture. Of course, there are regional variations, particularly at the extremities, but there are more things that tie l’Hexagone together than not. There’s the language, which has become overwhelmingly dominant to an extent that even English hasn’t in Great Britain. There’s the architecture, with that of the Second Empire and Third Republic still the norm in towns and cities across the country. And there is the politics, still a highly centralised affair across the country.
Beyond all this, however, there is a shared gastronomic culture, with restaurants having the same copy-and-paste menu across France. Above all, though, there is the croissant. Forget the pain au chocolat vs…
