We French do love to Demonstrate Reading Answers

Oct 31, 2025

We French do love to Demonstrate Reading Answers consists of 14 questions and forms part of the evaluation framework for the IELTS General Reading test. Candidates have a time limit of 20 minutes to complete the We French do love to Demonstrate Reading Answers. This portion of the IELTS reading evaluation includes various types of questions, including Do the following statements agree with the information given, and Choose the headings and write the correct letter.

We French do love to Demonstrate Reading Answers provides a thorough examination of the passage, which highlights France’s deep divide over the proposed Work Bill, reflecting tensions between job security and unemployment reform. As protests erupt nationwide, the debate mirrors a nation torn between tradition and economic modernization. For further practice with similar reading evaluations, candidates can check the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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We French do love to Demonstrate Reading Answers

(A)Josiane Bertrand has a small family business — a neighbourhood charcuterie selling sausage, poached pigs’ trotters, pate and jellied pig snouts. Her ham, she says, is the best in Paris and her queue of customers is long. Despite the ceaseless rain outside — among all its other woes, France is now flooding — it’s a convivial crowd waiting to be served, and the animated conversation is all about strikes.

(B)If the opinion pages of Le Monde are to be believed, the charcuterie queue is a pretty accurate reflection of the mood of the country. Split, roughly half and half, between those for the Work Bill and those against. Philippe’s 28. He’s landed what most French would regard as a dream job. He’s a fonctionnaire — a tenured civil servant. The average employee of the French state in almost any form of public service is set for life — with solid pay and conditions, fixed working hours, a good pension, generous holidays. So, what many young French people aspire to is not to change the world — exciting though that may be — with self-employment difficult and taxes punitive, they dream of becoming steadily employed bureaucrats.

(C)Philippe knows he’s lucky. And he’s against any change. “I’m happy,” he says. “I know exactly where I am and where I’ll be in 40 years’ time, with a good pension.” Eleonore, who has four children, two of them dancing around the shop as they wait, is in her early 40s. As a secondary school teacher she also got a job for life and generous state benefits. But, unlike Philippe, she’s all for change. “It can’t go on like this. For every person like me, there are 20 or more with no hope at all,” she says.

(D)A quarter of all French people under 25, many of them well-qualified, have no work. A large number of those are from immigrant families, making their chances of employment even slimmer. These are the kind of people who voted Francois Hollande into the presidency in 2012, with his pledge to end the country’s employment troubles.

(E)Now he’s made a new move, putting his own political life on the line — he’s not running for re-election next spring unless he cuts unemployment. A bold move for a president with an approval rating of only 14% in a country riven by industrial disputes. Along with his prime minister, Manuel Valls, and Pierre Gattaz — known as “boss of bosses”, president of Medef, the largest federation of employers in France — Hollande stands against the combined power of the country’s two biggest unions.

(F)The proposed Work Bill runs to over 500 pages. It aims to simplify and liberalise the French Work Code which, at 3,689 pages, is a vast labyrinth beset with perils for employers. The unions won’t even consider negotiations until the bill is removed from parliament. The president and his allies aren’t giving a word of it. “Good law, good for France,” says Hollande. The result? Total stalemate. An ongoing siege. Just after one o’clock on the glass-lined terrace of a popular restaurant on the Boulevard Montparnasse, and everyone is going quiet. The traffic disappears from the street. Cordons of riot police move in, three columns deep, flanked by armoured vans. There’s a whirr of helicopters overhead.

(G)In the distance, a gathering roar and blare — the procession’s deafening. The riot police take up positions. Frederique, the waiter, temporarily locks the front doors as the pounding sound grows. From the outside, hundreds of protesters passing down the boulevard, some marching, others ambling, a few dancing to music booming from the accompanying floats. Looking out, the lunchers comment on the eating demonstrators, the demonstrators wave cheerily at the lunchers. There’s a kind of resigned amusement. And the eating demonstrators too, some resigned, munching on sausages, wave back as they sing, “We French do love to demonstrate…”

(H)Then it all subsides, passes on, the noise, the marches, the balloons and pounding music, leaving a trailing wake of litter. Frederique unlocks the doors. The conversation also got a point to the personal. Similar reforms have already been implemented in Italy and Spain. German unemployment, at 5%, is less than half that of France, which according to some commentators now stands alone as the last bastion of 20th-century-style socialism in Europe.

QUESTIONS 1-8

WHICH PARAGRAPH CONTAINS WHAT INFORMATION?

CHOOSE THE HEADINGS AND WRITE THE CORRECT LETTER, A-H, IN BOXES 1-8 ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET.

1. A bold promise

Answer: E

Supporting statement: “He’s not running for re-election next spring unless he cuts unemployment. A bold move for a president with an approval rating of only 14%…”

Keywords: not running for re-election, cuts unemployment, bold move

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 1–2

Explanation: Hollande makes a bold promise by stating he will only run again if he successfully reduces unemployment.

2. Similar reforms in other countries

Answer: H

Supporting statement: “Similar reforms have already been implemented in Italy and Spain.”

Keywords: similar reforms, Italy, Spain

Keyword Location: Paragraph H, line 2

Explanation: This line indicates that reforms like France’s proposed changes have already occurred in other countries such as Italy and Spain.

3. A refusal to change the law

Answer: F

Supporting statement: “The unions won’t even consider negotiations until the bill is removed from parliament. The president and his allies aren’t giving a word of it.”

Keywords: won’t consider negotiations, not giving a word, bill

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, lines 3–4

Explanation: Both sides refuse to compromise, showing a complete refusal to change or withdraw the proposed law.

4. Unemployment rate statistics

Answer: D

Supporting statement: “A quarter of all French people under 25, many of them well-qualified, have no work.”

Keywords: quarter, under 25, no work

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 1

Explanation: The passage provides clear unemployment statistics for young people in France.

5. The dream of young French people

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “What many young French people aspire to is not to change the world… they dream of becoming steadily employed bureaucrats.”

Keywords: young French people, dream, bureaucrats

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 7–9

Explanation: It shows that the dream of young French citizens is to become government employees with secure jobs.

6. Different opinions

Answer: B

Supporting statement: “Split, roughly half and half, between those for the Work Bill and those against.”

Keywords: half and half, for, against, Work Bill

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 2–3

Explanation: The crowd represents divided opinions on the Work Bill, reflecting differing viewpoints within society.

7. Best ham in all Paris

Answer: A

Supporting statement: “Her ham, she says, is the best in Paris and her queue of customers is long.”

Keywords: best ham, Paris, queue

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, line 2

Explanation: Josiane Bertrand’s charcuterie is noted for having the best ham in all of Paris, attracting many customers.

8. The demonstration itself

Answer: G

Supporting statement: “Hundreds of protesters passing down the boulevard… others ambling, a few dancing to music booming from the accompanying floats.”

Keywords: protesters, marching, music, floats

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 3–5

Explanation: This vividly describes the demonstration in progress, showing the atmosphere and activities of the event.

QUESTIONS 9-14

DO THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AGREE WITH THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN READING PASSAGE 1?

IN BOXES 9-14 ON YOUR ANSWER SHEET, WRITE

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

9. Most french would say that Philippe has a very good job.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “He’s landed what most French would regard as a dream job. He’s a fonctionnaire — a tenured civil servant.”

Keywords: most French, dream job, fonctionnaire

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 3

Explanation: The passage clearly states that Philippe’s job as a civil servant is considered ideal by most French people, confirming that he has a very good job.

10. Eleonore and Philippe have same views on the situation.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “Philippe… is against any change… Eleonore… she’s all for change.”

Keywords: against change, for change

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 1–3

Explanation: Philippe wants no change, while Eleonore supports reform, indicating that they hold opposite views about the situation.

11. 25% of all people in France have no job.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “A quarter of all French people under 25, many of them well-qualified, have no work.”

Keywords: quarter, under 25, no work

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 1

Explanation: The passage mentions 25% unemployment only among people under 25, not the entire French population. Hence, the statement is incorrect.

12. Francois Hollande might not run for reelection next year.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “He’s not running for re-election next spring unless he cuts unemployment.”

Keywords: not running, re-election, unless, unemployment

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 1

Explanation: Hollande declared he would only run again if unemployment decreases, showing he might not contest the next election.

13. The French Work Code is concidered simplier than the proposed Work Bill.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “It aims to simplify and liberalise the French Work Code which, at 3,689 pages, is a vast labyrinth…”

Keywords: simplify, Work Code, 3,689 pages

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, line 1

Explanation: The Work Code is described as complex, while the new bill aims to simplify it. Therefore, the Work Code is not simpler than the proposed Work Bill.

14. The unemployment rate in Spain is less than in Italy.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The text compares unemployment between France and Germany but provides no comparison between Spain and Italy, making this information unavailable.

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