/lit/ - Literature

Why are French people so engrossed with their own literature? I'm currently in a French university to study literature and it's unbelievable.
Most of them hasn't read a single Dickens, James or Joyce and yet read the complete works of some literally who like Bossuet, Fénelon or Vallès. I can understand that they would only study French author in class, but they don't read anything beside them, and sometimes Latin author. I've never seen such a pretentious country. Anytime you talk to them about any author that isn't French they won't be interested.