...This broad recognition of a collective sense of falling has occurred under the harsh light of a country exposing its own contradictions and self-deceptions. There is agreement these days that a national rigidity and an aversion to risk have stunted France's development.

Nicolas Baverez, a Paris lawyer, was a largely unknown classical historian until last year when his first book, a treatise titled "The Decline of France," surprised the publishing industry by becoming a bestseller.

A year later, it is still selling strong in paperback, as are several other books with similar titles like "France in Free Fall" or "French Arrogance."

Baverez says France is struggling with "its sense of itself."

"There is a huge gap between the elite and aging political class and the society it represents, a huge gap between the rhetorical exertion of power and the real means of military and economic power," he said in an interview in his office.

But for Baverez, this sensation of falling is most strongly felt in the economy.

"The French economy is static relative to those around it, especially Spain and Ireland and the UK," he said. "The GDP in these countries is growing, unemployment is steadily diminishing. But France is stuck at the same levels."

Danielle Brunon, who lives in Paris, is an observer of French culture. Half American and half French, she founded a firm that helps French businesses interpret and gain access to American markets.

"The French are stuck, and there is a collective discussion about this on a lot of levels," she said. "The French are aware that they need to find a new energy. They take satisfaction in believing that the American model is wrong, or at least flawed, and that their new energy may be to define themselves against America."

If that new energy is in play, it was not evident in the basement of a building along the Champs Elysees, with its grand fin de sicle architecture, where a McDonald's franchise packs them in every day at lunchtime...