I think you're mixing cultural identity and historical identity. Sure the first one is built on top of the second but mostly it's a by-product of society. Peop

I think you're mixing cultural identity and historical identity. Sure the first one is built on top of the second but mostly it's a by-product of society. People mostly become what they're surrounded by not because they're expert in history. Yes, there's no question there's a French cultural identity (and one could argue the French from Europe and the French from North America are two different animals but it's a different matter), but that's not what the book is about. The book is putting in question the French "heritage". Not the fact French people think they're French.