French people

The French (French: Français) are a nation and ethnic group who are identified with the country of France. This connection may be legal, historical, or cultural. Descending from peoples of Celtic (Gauls) origin, later mixing with Romance (Romans) and Germanic (Franks) origin, and having experienced a high rate of inward migration since the middle of the 19th century, modern French society can be considered a melting pot. France was still a patchwork of local customs and regional differences in the late 19th century, and besides the common speaking of the French language, the definition of some unified French culture is a complex issue. Some French have equated their nationality with citizenship, regardless of ethnicity or country of residence.

Successive waves of immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries were rapidly assimilated into French culture. Seeing itself as an inclusive nation with universal values, France has always valued and strongly advocated assimilation where immigrants were expected to adhere to French traditional values and cultural norms. However, despite the success of such assimilation, the French Government abandoned it in the mid-1980s encouraging immigrants to retain their distinctive cultures and traditions and requiring from them a mere integration. This "integrationist" policy has recently been called into question, for example, following the 2005 French riots in some troubled and impoverished immigrant suburbs.

Fifty Million Frenchmen (film)

Fifty Million Frenchmen is a 1931 American Pre-Code musical comedy film photographed entirely in Technicolor. The film was produced and released by Warner Brothers, and was based on Cole Porter's 1929 Broadway musical Fifty Million Frenchmen.

The movie was originally intended to be released, in the United States, late in 1930, but was shelved due to public apathy towards musicals. Despite waiting a number of months, the public proved obstinate and the Warner Bros. reluctantly released the film in February 1931 after removing all the music. The film was released outside the United States as a full musical comedy in 1931.

Plot

Set in Paris, the story concerns the exploits of wealthy Jack Forbes (William Gaxton), who bets his friend Michael Cummings (John Halliday) that he can woo and win Looloo Carroll (Claudia Dell) without using any of his money or connections. Cummings hires Simon and Peter (Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson), a pair of erstwhile detectives, to make sure that Forbes doesn't win his bet.