Learn Hardcore French: Dans notre pays, les gens défendent la liberté de parler et de vivre comme ils veulent. - In our country, people defend the freedom to speak and to live as they want.

Dans notre pays = in our country (literally: inside our country).
This is the natural choice.
En notre pays sounds very old-fashioned or literary today. You might see it in historical or religious style, but not in normal modern speech.
Au notre pays is simply incorrect. You can say:
- au pays (in the country / in one’s homeland – very generic)
- au pays de… (in the land of…) but when you add a possessive like notre, you use dans notre pays.

So: Dans notre pays is the normal modern way to say in our country with pays plus a possessive.

Why do we say les gens and not des gens or les personnes?

All three exist but aren’t used in the same way:

les gens = people in general, as a group.
Here it means people in our country in a general, collective sense. Very common.
des gens = some people (an unspecified number, less general).
Example: Il y a des gens qui pensent ça. – There are people who think that.
les personnes focuses more on individuals, especially when counting, or in formal/administrative style:
- trois personnes – three people
- les personnes présentes – the people present

In your sentence, we’re talking about people in general in our country, so les gens is the natural choice.

What exactly does défendent mean here, and why this form?

Défendent is:

the present tense
3rd person plural
of the verb défendre (to defend).

So les gens défendent = people defend or people stand up for.

Défendre can mean:

to physically defend: défendre quelqu’un – to defend someone
to defend/stand up for a principle or right: défendre la liberté – to defend freedom

The present tense here expresses a general truth or habitual action:

Les gens défendent la liberté… = People defend the freedom… (that’s what they do, as a general fact).

Why is it la liberté and not une liberté or just liberté without an article?

French almost always needs an article where English can omit one.

la liberté = freedom/liberty in general, as a concept.
The definite article la is used for abstract nouns in general statements:
- La liberté est importante. – Freedom is important.
- La vie est belle. – Life is beautiful.
une liberté would mean a particular freedom, one among others.
That is not the idea here; we’re talking about the general freedom to speak and live as you want.
Bare liberté without article is not natural here in French.

So la liberté is the correct generic expression.

Why is it la liberté de parler et de vivre and not la liberté à parler et à vivre?

With liberté and many other abstract nouns, French uses de + infinitive, not à + infinitive.

la liberté de faire quelque chose – the freedom to do something
l’envie de faire, la possibilité de faire, la décision de faire, etc.

Liberté à + infinitive is not correct in this sense.
So:

la liberté de parler et de vivre = the freedom to speak and to live

Why is de written only once in la liberté de parler et de vivre? Could we repeat it?

Both are grammatically correct:

la liberté de parler et de vivre
la liberté de parler et de vivre (with de understood for both verbs)

In French, when you have de + infinitive repeated with the same structure, you can:

keep de only before the first verb, and it applies to the second
or repeat de before each verb, if you want extra clarity or emphasis

In practice, la liberté de parler et de vivre (with de only once) is very natural and common.

What is the function of comme in comme ils veulent?

Here comme means as / how(ever).

comme ils veulent = as they want / how they want / however they want.

It introduces the manner in which they speak and live:

parler… comme ils veulent – speak how they want
vivre… comme ils veulent – live how they want

So it is not a comparison like comme un lion (like a lion), but rather manner: in the way that they want.

Why do we use ils in comme ils veulent? Could it be elles or on?

Ils refers back to les gens.

les gens is grammatically masculine plural in French, even though it includes men and women.
So the pronoun that replaces it is ils, not elles.

You cannot use elles unless the group is known to be entirely female.

On is a generic we / one / people. You could rephrase the whole sentence using on:

Dans notre pays, on défend la liberté de parler et de vivre comme on veut.

But you would not mix les gens and on in the same sentence referring to the same subject. In your version, ils is the correct pronoun.

What does veulent mean here, and why isn’t there another verb after it (like veulent vivre)?

Veulent is:

present tense
3rd person plural
of vouloir = to want.

Often you see vouloir followed by an infinitive:

Ils veulent partir. – They want to leave.
Ils veulent vivre ici. – They want to live here.

But here, veulent is used in a more absolute way, with comme:

comme ils veulent = the way they want (to) / however they want.

The verb that ils veulent applies to is understood from the context: speak and live in the way they want (to). French doesn’t need to repeat an infinitive here.

Why is veulent in the present tense and not something like a conditional (e.g. voudraient)?

The present tense in French is used, as in English, for:

general truths
habits
description of how things usually are

Here, the sentence describes what generally happens in this country: people (habitually, generally) defend the freedom to live and speak how they want.

If you said voudraient (conditional), it would mean would like to and change the meaning:

…comme ils voudraient = how they would like (to)
That suggests it’s not necessarily the reality, just a wish.

With veulent, it’s simple present: how they want (to).

Is pays masculine or feminine? How can I tell from the sentence?

Pays is masculine: un pays, le pays.

In your sentence you see:

dans notre pays
The possessive notre is used for both masculine and feminine singular nouns, so it doesn’t show gender.

But in general:

le pays, un pays, ce pays all show that it is masculine.

When you learn a noun like pays, it’s best to memorize it with its article: un pays (m.).

Could we replace la liberté de parler et de vivre with la liberté d’expression? Would it mean the same thing?

Not exactly.

la liberté d’expression = freedom of expression (freedom to express your opinions, especially in speech/writing).
It focuses on speaking, writing, publishing.
la liberté de parler et de vivre comme ils veulent is broader:
- parler comme ils veulent – speak how they want
- vivre comme ils veulent – live how they want (lifestyle, choices, etc.)

So la liberté d’expression covers only the speaking/expressing part, not the whole way of living. Your original sentence mentions both speaking and living, so it is more general than liberté d’expression alone.