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EYE ON EUROPE |
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Hooked on the irrational:
France loves the occult
of TheColumnists.com
BORDEAUX
As France turns slowly toward the Anglo-Saxon model under its new political leadership, I am watching with skepticism. The shift is likely to be half-hearted. The French people, true to their roots, can be counted on to keep one foot in the irrational.
One outlet for this fascination is the strange world of the occult, and they aren’t giving it up now--President Sarkozy or not. Clairvoyance, palmistry, the crystal ball and astrology have never been so popular.
Incidentally, to be labeled “irrational” in France is no insult. The Enlightenment and Cartesian principles of logic and reason may have been born here but this is a wonderfully multi-layered society. The French are happy to live several lives at once.
They seek solace in part because, according to cross-cultural studies, they are not very good at living with uncertainty. They need to know what’s coming over the horizon, however doubtful the source.
What prompted me to look at the state of fortune-telling in France was a flyer I received in my mailbox a few days ago. It almost promised me success, money and true love within 21 days, absolutely free. A careful reading revealed the qualifiers. This was an alleged story about one of their happy customers, not about me.
The “celebrated clairvoyant sisters,” Lise and Rose, wanted to tell me how to get rich and fall in love. Their mailshots are intended to lure vulnerable people into future marketing campaigns that will never stop. Round Two of the consultation costs a few euros, Round Three a few more, and so on.
It is hard to escape the spookiness here. A cover story in “Le Point,” one of the French newsmagazines, a few years ago during the summer silly season invited readers to “Take a Plunge into the Irrational.” It still applies. The authors described how relaxing it can be to stop trying to figure everything out and accept difficult problems as unexplainable.
I think they may be on to something. Indeed,
visiting one of these strange futurologists might even be interesting,
but then do I want to find out what some old lady in a star-studded
housecoat and turban knows about the inner me? She might convince
me to change my life--which I happen to like quite a lot as is,
actually.
I wouldn’t be alone. Political leaders have taken the irrational
plunge and apparently enjoyed it. The late President François
Mitterrand had regular consultations with his favorite seer.
Former President Jacques Chirac reportedly consulted his horoscope
every morning. Charles de Gaulle referred favorably in one of
his press conferences to the predictions of Madame Soleil, the
leading French astrologer of his time.
A survey a few years ago indicated that 52 percent of European Union citizens believe that astrology is credible science. The citizenry of the 13 new members, mostly East Europeans, come in at 64 percent. This compares to 31 percent in the United States. Worse, in France 81 percent of the people believe that science will never explain everything.
The worrisome side to this is that people who fall for pseudoscientific advice may ultimately have trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality, setting aside their critical thinking capacity, if any.
But living here, it is hard to avoid the temptation to take a first-hand look at the professional ball-gazers, however shaky it might leave me. The closer I looked at this subject the more I was starting to crumble.
Reliable numbers for the universe of the occult are elusive because freelance psychics have proliferated on the internet, approximately doubling their numbers in France from about 50,000 (twice the current number of priests) to an estimated 100,000.
“Twenty years ago, people in villages hesitated to go see their local clairvoyant,” Josiane, the manager of France Voyance, told me. “People would notice and talk. Now it can be done in total privacy.” She said the 14 clairvoyants in her company now do nearly all their consultation by telephone or internet.
I finally gave in. To test the waters, I rang up one of the local clairvoyants in Bordeaux to find out what I’m all about. She was a woman in her 60s, working out of her home. No crystal ball was needed. She said she had a stack of cards in front of her.
“I have the gift,” she told me reassuringly as I took a deep breath and lobbed a few semi-fictitious questions at her.
What I got for my 45 euros was part common sense, part lyrics to some popular song, part poppycock, delivered in a breathy, cracked voice from afar:
-- “Untie the knot within you.”
-- “Never stop dreaming -- be true to your desires.”
-- “Keep calm. Give yourself more liberty. Keep moving.”
-- “There is another woman. Resolve this conflict. She might
be your daughter. The cards are not specific.”
I had the feeling she had used some of this material before. As for the “other woman” reference, she probably gambled that everyone has some love interest in the closet somewhere, and if not, the “daughter” option gave her the out she needed.
At the end, upping the voltage a bit, she turned weird. “You are bound up like a mummy. You are suffocating. You are out of harmony with your space. Go back to America.”
Wait--I’m not doing that, I thought to myself. I spent four years fighting the bureaucracy to get settled here.
I asked her how she was going to help me fix me. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I am telepathic.”
Now I AM worried.
©2007 by Michael Johnson. The cartoon
is from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd.
E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. This column first posted
Aug. 6, 2007.
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