Public anti-clerical sentiment became stronger than ever before, but was now based in certain elements of the middle class and even the peasantry. The great masses of French people were peasants in the countryside or impoverished workers in the cities. They gained new rights and a new sense of possibilities. Although relieved of many of the old burdens, controls, and taxes, the peasantry was still highly traditional in its social and economic behavior. Many eagerly took on mortgages to buy as much land as possible for their children, so debt was an important factor in their calculations. The working class in the cities was a small element, and had been freed of many restrictions imposed by medieval guilds. However, France was very slow to industrialize, and much of the work remained drudgery without machinery or technology to help. France was still spit into localities, especially in terms of language, but now there was an emerging French nationalism that focused national pride in the Army and foreign affairs.