Liberté, Égalité...and fuck off!

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According to a poll conducted by the Charities Aid Foun-dation in 2024, Indonesia ranked No. 1 in the World Giving Index, while France settled at No. 100.

Beyond the political and economic struggles of both countries, one thing is clear: not everything is about fraternity, after all.

This survey gathered responses from over 145,000 people in more than 142 countries.

Surprisingly, a country as poor and needy as Indonesia topped the ranking. The index measures the following areas:

• Helped a stranger

• Donated money

• Volunteered time

Now, what surprises us more? That Indonesia leads the index or that France ranks at No. 100? Yes, before you point out that other countries like Italy, Japan, and Poland scored lower, let me explain why France is the focus of this article.

Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité—besides being a deep and beautiful declaration of intent for a society as grand as France—is also a slogan. In fact, it’s THE SLOGAN, the ultimate tagline for a nation’s global brand.

We won’t dwell on the fact that France, despite this statistic, was the most visited country in the world in 2024, with nearly 90 million tourists. What interests us here is what lies beneath the surface—the part we rarely see: how people truly are.

We all know that France isn’t too fond of tourists, and in some ways, that’s understandable. All those visitors crowding your beautiful country make it nearly impossible to rent an apartment at a decent price, and they drive everyday costs through the roof. But let’s not get into that—there will be time to talk about tourism and its impact on locals.

What we’re curious about here is why the French seem to struggle to help one another. What’s happening internally? And what has become of Fraternité?

Some argue that racial, religious, and political conflicts have unraveled a society that once swore to love itself forever after hanging the head of its oppressor at the end of the Revolution.

But what happened in between? Why has that beautiful slogan lost its meaning? Should we replace Fraternité with Fuck-off-it-té? Does France need a rebranding, or does it need societal change led by its politicians to steer this great nation back on course?

Image credit: Unsplash

If France were a brand—a real brand—I’d tell the client to change their slogan immediately. Their vision and mission have been undermined by their own product. But since France isn’t a brand, but rather a collective of people choosing to live together, I’d tell its citizens not to change the product, but to believe in it.

This article doesn’t propose any solutions or offer advice, but it does highlight how poorly this slogan has aged.

Hopefully, once France resolves its internal issues, it can shine again, reclaiming its brand and once more becoming the envy of progressive nations—especially one built on fraternity, because liberty and equality it still has in abundance.

Link to the poll: https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/inside-giving/wgi/wgi_2024_report.pdf