The place of psychoanalysis in French psychiatry

France is known as one of the countries where psychoanalysis still holds an important position in various fields, and specially in psychiatry. Is it a 'culture bound syndrome' of French society, or, more seriously, a particularity that could be useful in other contexts as well? Through consideration of the role psychoanalysis is playing in French psychiatry, this paper will try to review this particularity and its interactions with the organisation and values of psychiatry in France, both in the public services and in private practice.