It's poverty that sucks. The rural exodus to the cities occurred later in France and Ireland than, for example, Britain, so the memories of "true" peasant life were able to be more easily documented. You perhaps know the TV series "Jean Chalosse" which describes modernity arriving for a shepherd in the Landes region of France [0].
The other side to this, is that most who left the countryside for the cities did not see a marked improvement in living standards, they simply swapped poverty in the countryside for poverty in the city.
Hacker Cinema
1 comment on Hacker News
It's poverty that sucks. The rural exodus to the cities occurred later in France and Ireland than, for example, Britain, so the memories of "true" peasant life were able to be more easily documented. You perhaps know the TV series "Jean Chalosse" which describes modernity arriving for a shepherd in the Landes region of France [0].
The other side to this, is that most who left the countryside for the cities did not see a marked improvement in living standards, they simply swapped poverty in the countryside for poverty in the city.
[0] https://madelen.ina.fr/serie/jean-chalosse-2720