business
French Influences
and Contributions
DID
YOU
KNOW?
When you hear French, what comes
to mind?
3.
French fries that originated in Bel-
gium, language, culture, food, ro-
mance, perfumes, music, fashion,
Champagne, architecture…? This
article explores a few of the many
French contributions to our lifestyle,
business, and culture. For example,
did you know?
1. Pierre Charles L’Enfant, a
Frenchman who fought in the
War of Independence, became a
city planner for George Wash-
ington and designed Washing-
ton, D.C. from scratch. The de-
sign included wide boulevards,
public squares, and easy views
of inspiring buildings from
great distances. The Thomas Jef-
ferson building in Washington,
D.C. has a striking resemblance
to Palais Garnier, also known as
the Paris Opera House.
2. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de
Lafayette, or General Lafay-
ette, was a key figure in the
War of Independence. Many
US counties, cities, streets, and
44 iF Magazine | April 2017
4.
5.
6.
squares are named after him.
Louisiana was named af-
ter King Louis of France and
the French-based white flag
sprinkled with gold fleurs-de-
lis is one of the six flags over
Texas, which was lifted by
French nobleman René-Rob-
ert Cavalier, who attempted to
establish a colony on the Texas
coast around 1685 – 1690. See
http://austin.blog.statesman.
com/2015/06/23/a-brief-his-
tory-of-the-six-flags-over-tex-
as-including-the-confederate-
flag/ for more information.
The Statue of Liberty was
designed by Frédéric Auguste
Bartholdi with the help of Gus-
tave Eiffel. Millions of people
visit the Statue of Liberty an-
nually. And, France in turn is a
popular vacation destination for
Americans.
The
French
popularized
“tough love” as a parenting
style.
Economics: French econo-
mist Thomas Piketty’s wrote
“Capital in the 21st Century,”
that reached the New York
Times bestseller list and gave
him world fame – especially in
the US for his views on how
the rich get richer and the poor
were getting poorer.
7. Technology:
Founded by
Conrad and Marcel Schlum-
berger, Schlumberger be-
came the world’s leading
provider of technology for res-
ervoir characterization, drill-
ing, production, and processing
to the oil and gas industry. For
more information, see www.slb.
com/about.aspx. Schlumberger
has numerous technology cen-
ters in the Houston area.
8. English
words
from
French: A few examples are
entrepreneur, faux pas, raison
d’être, sabotage, debris, à la carte,
café, bon appétit, restaurant,
omelette, menu, chic, couture,
silhouette, fiancé, déjà vu, en
route, boutique, cliché, bouquet,
souvenir, R.S.V.P and joie de
vivre.
9. Foods with French influ-
ence: Cajun and French cui-
sine, croissants, baguette, French
Roast coffee, many rich sauces,