A traditional greet with a kiss on the cheek, it’s dominant influence in Roman Catholicism, and of course the striking Eiffel tower are just a few of France’s bright attractions and are the reasons that led me to choose it as my focus this semester. Greeting with a kiss on the cheek and the Catholic Religion are common characteristics with my own Mexican Culture. Some of the few interactions I’ve had with French culture is by eating their great tasting macarons and crepes. Unfortunately, I’ve never visited France, but I can say that I would love to soon. I don’t have any connection with people from French, but I have met people from France where I work and am fascinated by their French American accents. I am willing to familiarize myself with the French culture and am excited to see how it is different
...or like my very own.
Many of those who have immigrated from France were defined as middle-class, talented, and in search for economic opportunities. Religious persecution was another motive for a smaller part of the French population. The French were known to be hard workers. When they came to the U.S. they were eager to integrate and were able to because of their economic success. Southern Louisiana, unlike other parts of the United States, is very French influenced due mostly because of the influence of French-Canadian immigration. Most of the French population that immigrated was from Normandy and Britany, they settled in New France known today as Canada. French who happened to be deported mostly settled in Northern New England, of those who were not deported, settled in Southern Louisiana (Kittler, Sucher,
& Nahikian-Nelms, 2017). According to a French world population review, we can expect to see it grow an additional 9 million within the next 40 years (France Population 2019).
In 2013, more than 8 million have listed as having French ancestry in the United States, but less than 25 percent descend from immigrants that came directly from France. As of 2005, more than 2.1 million from French Canadian descendants have been recorded living in the United States. Franco-Americans lag compared to other ethnic groups economically, but increasingly have held more white-collar jobs since the 1950s (Kittler, Sucher, & Nahikian-Nelms, 2017). Of the few French ancestry population to have settled in Louisiana most settled toward the South, bayous, and the Mississippi. They were described as self-sufficient, reserved, and became mostly farmers, fisherman, and herders (Kittler, Sucher, & Nahikian-Nelms, 2017).
