ABSTRACT
In France, a democratic Republic of approximately 65 million inhabitants, the label “Generation X” is not as widely known, understood, and used, except perhaps in the marketing and advertising industries, as it is in the United States. This is especially true in cultural manifestations regardless of the modes of expression. For instance, although the French novelists, filmmakers, actors, singers, and musicians listed in this chapter all technically belong to the same “Generation X” (born between 1958 and 1981), it would be impossible to gather all these artists under a same “school” or movement. If some of them share certain interests, styles, and themes, others greatly differ in their approaches and public. There is, however, an important historic and cultural event that is usually accepted in France as the separating point between the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X: the French strikes and violent riots of May 1968. 2 Regardless of their tastes, interests, and venues, the French Generation Xers all grew up, were educated, and observed a society irremediably marked by the events of May '68.
