Highlighting how international competition or internal crises have left France's economy and culture vulnerable.

In the late 1980s, the phrase was used to discuss the "deluge of sexy advertising" in France. A 1988 article titled "La France à poil" analyzed how French women and feminists responded—often with notable tolerance—to the use of nudity in marketing.

Critics often use the phrase to describe a "stripped-down" state, particularly regarding the loss of industrial sovereignty or the impact of high taxation.