text: Intermediate
  Benjamin Carle is 96.9% made in France, including even his underpants and socks. Unfortunately, six Ikea forks, a Chinese guitar and unsourced wall paint stopped him being declared a 100% economic patriot, but nobody is perfect.
  Carle, 26, decided, in 2013, to see if it was possible to live using only French-made products for ten months as part of a television documentary.
  He got the idea after the Minister for Economic Renewal, Arnaud Montebourg, asked the French people to buy French products to save the countrys industrial production sector.
  For the experiment, Carle had to give up his smartphone, television, refrigerator (all made in China); his glasses (Italian); his underpants (Moroccan); morning coffee (Guatemalan) and his favourite David Bowie music (British).
  Fortunately, his girlfriend, Anas, and cat, Loon, are both French.
  Politicians say all sorts of things. I wanted to see if it was possible to do what the minister was asking us to do, Carle said.
  He had just three rules: eat only food produced in France, remove any contact with foreign-made goods and do so on 1,800 a month (above the minimum wage of 1,430 to cover the extra expense of living in Paris).
  The journalist was shocked to find out, at the start of the experiment, that only 4.5% of the contents of his flat were made in France  and that the rest would have to go, including the lightbulbs (China) and green beans (Kenya).
  Left without a refrigerator (none are made in France), he was forced to chill his food on the window ledge.
  His foreign-made clothes, including his underwear, were replaced with more expensive alternatives: French-produced underpants (26), socks (9), polo shirt (75), espadrille sandals (26), but no jeans because none are produced in France.
  During the experiment, Carle hunted in supermarkets for 100% French-made products, learned to cook seasonal fruit and vegetables grown in France, proudly brushed his teeth with a toothbrush made in France and hand-washed his underwear until he found a French-made washing machine (which opened at the top and so would not fit under the kitchen counter).
  Going out with friends was a problem  no American films, no Belgian beer, no sushi or pizza. Staying home, with no sofa for the first few months and no television, meant listening to French singer Michel Sardou and reading French novels. French wine was, of course, allowed and French-Canadian singer Cline Dion, but not French bands such as Daft Punk, who sing in English.
  Unable to use his British-made bicycle or even a French car, because he discovered that the only affordable Peugeot, Renault and Citron models are mostly made overseas, he bought an orange Mobylette moped.
  The last things to go were the computer, replaced by a Qooq, a recipe tablet that connects  slowly  to the internet and the iPhone, which he swapped for an old Sagem mobile.
  Carle said his aim was to save the French economy. He admits the experiment was part serious and part jest. At one point, he asked a French language expert to check if he should use cool and other English words  he was advised to swap it for the nearest French equivalent: chouette.
  When he discovered that France makes no refrigerators (apart from wine coolers) or televisions, but makes aeroplane seats and windmills, he sighed and said: Great. Nothing that will fit into my apartment.
  At the end of the experiment, Carle took out a bank loan to buy new furniture and clothes. A special auditor declared him 96.9% made in France and Montebourg visited to present him with a medal.
  Carles conclusion: Its not entirely possible or even desirable to live 100% made in France, particularly in terms of new technology. But that wasnt the point.
  This wasnt about French nationalism or patriotism. It was trying to show that we should reflect about the way we buy and make different choices, and that applies in all countries. If we want to save jobs and industries, wherever we are, we might think about supporting them.
  A T-shirt is more expensive in France but I can be sure it has been produced by workers who are correctly paid and have good working conditions. I cannot be sure about a cheaper T-shirt produced in Asia or Morocco. People could do more as consumers.
  Carle says he hopes to continue supporting French industry and producers, but not 100%. It is a full-time job just finding the stuff, he said.