Word: frenchness
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...comic strips such as Superman and Archie from taking over France. These days, though, it's Asterix who is the all-conquering, global-marketing hero: more than 325 million Asterix books have sold in 107 different languages around the world, proving the universal and lasting appeal of the plucky French character and his lumbering best friend...
...attributes Asterix's enduring appeal to people's love of the underdog sticking it to the system. "It's David against Goliath," he tells TIME. "Everyone can identify with the image of retribution against things that are bigger than us." For some, the stories have also come to symbolize French anxiety over globalization; the character of Asterix is used as a poster boy for independent-minded people everywhere in the struggle against the hegemonic power of the day, be it Roman imperialists or Anglo-Saxon capitalists. (See pictures of kids' books coming to life...
...Gallic village), the idea that tiny, embattled France needs to defend itself against the encroaching cultural influences of the U.S., or the English language, or both. Usually used pejoratively, the terms indicate an inward, backward-looking way of seeing the world. The sentiment is also tied up with the French obsession with its cultural exception, the various rules and regulations designed to protect the French way of life from outside forces: French singers must sing in French, English words are banned from advertising, half of all TV shows on air must be European, and so on. It's no surprise...
Like his rodent rival, Mickey Mouse, and those other critters from Disneyland, Asterix now boasts a theme park outside Paris. Over the past decade, three live-action Asterix movies have hammered Hollywood films in French cinemas; the most recent one, Asterix at the Olympic Games, was one of the top-grossing movies of 2008. And while the U.S. has remained largely immune to the Gaul's charms, his celebrity has been recognized by at least one venerable American publication: Asterix made the cover of a 1991 TIME magazine special edition on "the new France." (Read "Can Asterix Conquer Europe...
...much as some of its citizens may continue to romanticize France's place in the world, the Asterix syndrome no longer really applies to France, if it ever did. The world's fifth biggest economy is as globalized as any other country. French businesses such as oil giant Total, retailer Carrefour and carmaker Renault are fixtures in the FORTUNE Global 500. President Nicolas Sarkozy (nicknamed l'Américain) openly admires American entrepreneurialism. Last year, his government announced plans to make youngsters bilingual in French and English by the time they finish school. Frenchmen head two bastions of globalization...