The Atlantic | June 1958 | Is France Being Americanized? | Emmanuel 
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Is France Being Americanized?
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ical, as centuries in their fifties start to be. Vastly prejudiced essayists&8212;they are the best in any case&8212;began to analyze the concept of "Americanization." It turned out to be a very unpleasant monster, hardly recognizable for anyone who had lived a normal and decent life in the U.S.A. Americanization, #
thout noticing the imperceptible process, the French would become neo-Americans. For the sake of our national pride, we accepted a minor reservation: Americanization, though inescapable, would proceed more slowly in France than in Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, England, and generally all Western European countries. #
Returning travelers used to say ironically, five or six years ago: "Zurich is quite Americanized" or "Essen is a Middle-Western city." But, thank God, there were no snack bars in France, for "snacks would be the beginning of the end." Now there #
For such people, to whom American methods are well known and who admire the way American specialists are integrated into political life, Americanization means first of all simplification. Young technicians&8212;future engineers or civil servants&8212;travel a good deal nowadays. For the last ten years, #
During the dark days of Budapest, the bulk of French public opinion woke up to that unity of purpose. Since then, anti-Americanism has quieted down, though it still exists potentially&8212;as a symbol of ultranationalism. Whether the last American loan had political implications, #
 Copyright © 1958 by Pierre Emmanuel. All rights reserved. The Atlantic Monthly ; June 1958; Is France Being Americanized?; Volume 201, No. 6; page 35.
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