 Since its dealings with the 1943 GATT free trade negotiations, France has fought for what it calls the "exception culturelle", meaning the right to subsidize or treat favorably domestic cultural production and to limit or control foreign cultural products (as seen in public funding for French cinema or the lower VAT accorded to books).The notion of an explicit "exception française" however has angered many of France's critics.The French are often perceived as taking a great pride in national identity and the positive achievements of France (the expression "chauvinism" is of French origin) and cultural issues are more integrated in the body of the politics than elsewhere (see "The Role of the State", below).