The perception of the people includes the values, beliefs and attitudes people have about their political institutions and procedures. These values and beliefs determine the degree of legitimacy to which people attach to their political system, and give the government the right to exercise the power. .
In Britain, the political culture has high trust in the political institutions, and is non-ideological with very high consensus. It is a pragmatic culture, any change in the existing political institutions is slow, and there is a high respect for tradition in that if something is ever needed to be changed, the past will still be preserved. They prefer to "pour old wine into new bottles", which is keeping the past alive in the present and future. There is a belief within Britain that everyone is born with the same natural rights to life, liberty and property. And that these rights should not be violated under any circumstance. France on the other hand, has a history of conflict and militarism. People believe meaningful change comes only from violent upheaval, with proof coming from having their 16th constitution being worked on. There is a main underlying belief that the only true meaningful change comes from direct action. They are highly ideological, with many people on the ideological left and right extremes. The people of France believe in equality, and individualism, and are psychologically against organization. The French revolution of the 1780s still influences the French, and they have low trust in the political institutions, but high expectations that the government will get the job done. As we can see, Britain and France, have extremely different political cultures. Britain, is pragmatic, loves keeping traditions, and reduces class conflict, while France is highly ideological, has radical change thru direct action, and has high class differences.
Now we can see how much effect political culture has had on the nature of the political institutions and procedures of Britain and France.