Aux armes, étudiants!

French has a useful though over-used expression: You don't shoot at ambulances (On ne tire pas sur l' ambulance). Thus, I have so far avoided making the obvious points about France's latest episode  of student revolt. They are too easy and inevitably anglo-saxon.

But reporting for The Times on the protests against the Government's youth employment law, it has been interesting to see how hard it is for a nation to break out of the stereotype in which history has cast it. If Dominique de Villepin, the very elegant Prime Minister, had wanted to stage yet another remake of that antique hit, the Bastille Show, he could not have done better.

Like all good pantomimes, the cast sticks to the old gags. The villain as usual is the high-handed, tone-deaf ruler, in this case an appointed Prime Minister late of the Ecole Nationale de l'Administration, diplomatic service and seven years as President Chirac's chamberlain at the Elysée Palace.  In supporting roles to the villain are the CRS riot police -- the baton-happy brigade who starred in 1968 and are now under the command of Nicolas Sarkozy, Interior Minister and chief enforcer.

On the other side are le peuple, in this instance the young masses whose only recourse in the face of supposed tyranny is the barricades. In the role of chorus are the media, who are largely on the side of la jeunesse,  depicting their "struggle" uncritically and embracing the logic of the protestors. Morning radio headlines today spoke of .... la mobilisation des jeunes... une grande journée d'action... la jeunesse dans la rue... la lutte contre la précarité (the struggle against lack of job security).  True to its politically correct form, France Inter, the public service radio, invited the chief student leader for an admiring interview that spared him any real questions.

The plot this time is much less heady than the 1968 revolt against General de Gaulle, parents, boredom and the bourgeoisie. The trigger is something called the CPE (contrat de première embauche), a relatively minor but mishandled attempt by de Villepin to lighten the burden of the law on employers. The Prime Minister, an un-elected politician with a de Gaulle-like belief in his destiny, felt that the young would be grateful that he was encouraging bosses to hire them by making it easier for them to fire if necessary for the first two years. 

This was supposed to help soak up France's painful and long-standing unemployment rate of about one in four job seekers under 26 years old. The Villepin plan backfired because it was greeted by  students as a plot to exploit the young by consigning them to a permanent existence of précarité. Better to have no job than a job without a permanent contract, goes their argument. They have dubbed themselves "the Kleenex generation" because they see themselves as disposable compared with the fortunate lot enjoyed by their elders -- at least those in employment. 

The political left, largely responsible for the laws that helped create the chronic unemployment, has piled in with glee and the unions are thrilled with a cause that has given them a new lease of life after years of decline.

Public opinion, initially in favour of the scheme, has swung against it, which is not surprising given media sympathy for the students and the two-decade failure of politicians to explain economic reality.

So France appears headed towards the final act, in which the le pouvoir traditionally surrenders to la rue. Chirac has done so on two out of the three occasions when he has faced mass protest since 1986, first as prime minister and then president. 

We are not quite there yet but the scene is set. De Villepin, whose habit of destructive misjudjment once caused Bernadette Chirac to dub him Nero, has dug in for a fight to the political death, leaving no honourable exit. His Cabinet colleagues are standing by him but they are uneasy. Some are complaining privately about the rash streak that led him to rush through the employment law. De Villepin will no doubt be forced to surrender if the protests build over the next week but he will survive if they lose steam. In that event, he will have won his spurs as a presidential candidate in the eyes of the right who now prefer Sarkozy. But his credibility will still be diminished in the centre where next year's presidential run-off will be decided. 

I shall leave the conclusion to today's Express magazine, which is one of the few media voices to condemn the revolt against the de Villepin law. It blames the Prime Minister but also a generation of politicians who have created  "a general injustice in which baby-boomers and pensioners have accumulated incomes, security and real estate wealth while loading the country with colossal debt."
   
De Villepin's scheme is a condensed image of France, it said. "On one side there is a populace frightened of everything and on the other side its governors who are enclosed in their own bubble."

Comments

[Sarah]

Nice write-up, without much to add. I think it appalling that there is so little balance in reporting of the events, with a total ignoring of the views from the employers who are most in favour of the contract; the small and medium-sized companies who are restricted in expanding because of the cost of employment. Of course, if the media are not going to present both sides of the argument, it's hardly surprising that everyone jumps on the same bandwaggon. Puny, cowardly journalism. The French media should be ashamed of themselves. But then, I suppose it's all about circulation numbers and viewers, so they are pandering to the masses. Even The Sun couldn't do it better!

[Andrew Robertson]

Spot on commentary here - particularly about the feebleness of the French press. The whole episode, given that France still enjoys some of the highest living standards and social protection in the world, has a surreal operette feel to it. God help us if the left wing come to power in 2007.

[John Hornsby]

Many of the so-called "students" involved in throwing missiles at the police were all too obviously thugs from the suburbs at work again. Whether they were encouraged to participate or just came along for the lark has not been made clear by the media - not surprisingly: we don't want any more references to "riffraff" do we?

[john gregory Flinn]

After 'Les Lyceens' blocked my daughter's Lycee yesterday and disrupted traffic in the local town for an hour or so, Le Proviseur has closed it until monday. I believe other Lycees are doing the same.
I've tried to explain to her and others that if de Villepin falls they will get Sarkosy, and his reputation in many press quaters is far worse. I've seen the headline in one paper (I forget which), "Sarko is more dangerous than Le Pen because he may get elected"!
It looks as if the students are going to bring this about sooner rather than later.
Whatever happens the French voter can only go further to the right - every where else has been tried and failed. In 1979 the British voter gave Thatcher a decisive, and large majority pretty much for the same reasons - there was nowhere else to go! And it was'nt apparent from the polls at the time.

[Peter Athey]

You didn't go back far enough in history when casting your pantomime - although you did allude to some distant characters from the right epoch.

De Villepin has always been the patrician stalking horse that Caligua Chirac elected consul to counter Sarkozy who poses a very real threat to his own Imperial Power base.

Just as with Mitterand and his coterie of jesters elected to the second highest office, all Chirac's Prime Ministers have been bulwarks behind which he can shelter and from where he can snipe, but who are eminently expendable. Meanwhile, the mob battles it out on the other side of the moat - fighting for the scraps that the political aristocracy leave unconsumed on their banqueting table - while the Fonction Publique have the job of manning the battlements to make sure that the philistines can't get near the trough.

[Christopher Ackland]

Isn't it strange that it requires foreign jounalists to sum-up so clearly the situation with the "CPE"? It's a shame that the French medias are unable to examine the problem with such clarity, preferring to whip up once again their audience into a frenzy for "révolution"! Will the country be officially declared bankrupt before "le peuple" finally realise that reform of the social and labour system is necessary?

[Rémy]

Dear Sarah,
if you look for balance you shouldn't read french newspapers : most of them are editorializing newspapers. However if you look for a newspaper that suits your opinions, you may try le Figaro (figaro.fr), l'express (lexpress.fr) or le Point (lepoint.fr). This is obviously no great, brave english journalism, but please don't reduce the french media (shame on them) to Libé and L'huma.
You talk about small and medium-sized companies employers being in favour of the CPE, because they need lower cost of employment. I'm very surprised : the MEDEF's support has been, since the beginning of the conflict, at best reserved, for the reason that the CPE doesn't cut down the cost of employment but only offers new ways to dismiss an employee. What employers want - a complete reform of labour regulations - won't happen before the election of a new president, because such a reform needs a supported and united government and no electoral prospect.
Thus, I'm afraid politics in France will be very dull or very funny until may 2007, but it's not to be blamed on the french media.

[Peter Carrington]

As usual a very nicely drawn and beautifully accurate piece of writing Mr Bremner, congratulations. The CPE is indeed a ‘minor but mishandled’ piece of legislation that will almost certainly end up as a deservedly small footnote in the history books. Genuine labour law reform is still a long way off I fear, and things probably have to get worse for le people before anyone has enough courage and popular support to reverse the impact of the ‘two-decade failure of politicians to explain’ or deal with economic reality. But the day will come and the Canute like protests those who fear its arrival will eventually be drowned out by precisely that economic reality they so strenuously try to deny.

A footnote on the motives and aspirations of the students and the comparisons to 1968: I was an active participant in those heady days of the spring of 1968 and I suspect that as it is now it was then. A fair proportion of my fellow protesters were not students but disaffected young looking for trouble and the chance to fight authority. I don’t suppose 1 in 10 of us had a real idea of what we were doing or why but we loved the publicity and ‘respect’ we suddenly got. Most of us who left our London universities to ‘join our brothers and sisters in France in their great struggle’ were keener to meet French girls who spoke English like Francoise Hardy than we were to bring down the government of the day. Oh and yes, the CRS were hard men who scared the life out us!

[Yann Paccalin]

As French & Small Business manager growing fast(Cie based in the UK) I can see both arguments very clearly. But cheap jobs for the new generation is a NO GO area in FRANCE. How can U go back & loose so much without a fight, Especially seeing ur parent wealthy status & life day after day? They should have helped small businees & take off the massive taxe schemes, not selling the young for cheap money. Also, timimg was pretty bad in the same week CAC 40 is up to 30% in France this year again!!! (40 biggest Cie in France @ la bourse!!!)

This gouvernement is there only because lefty people didn't vote for the Election or split their vote to other lefty organisations. Chirac stand up against Le Pen for the second round. France avoid AUSTRIA Scenario & so be it!

[Jess]

The answer to the comment above ("Will France have to go bankrupt before the people realise that reform of the social system is necessary?")is, of course, 'yes, probably'. That's what it took in Britain. It wasn't until the lights were flickering every night and unburied bodies were piling up in the street – literally – that the British finally understood the socialist game was up. Sadly, things ain't that bad in France just yet. I'm expecting this particular pantomime to run for at least another decade... by which time things may just be bad enough to force some common sense.

[Robert Marchenoir]

Rémy: to understand the not-so-supportive attitude of the Medef towards the CPE, you have to take into account the fact that it represents mostly big business. Big business has the means to hire the best, and also to fire people with the help of expensive lawyers if they want to.

The CGPME, which represents small and medium-sized companies, supports the CPE.

But the French media mostly refer to the Medef when they report on the views of the business community. It helps cultivate the us-against-them attitude that makes for entertaining copy.

Big business is very globalized, and makes tidy profits. Small and medium-sized businesses, where most jobs are, are confined within French borders and not very profitable.

This gap is usually lost on most of the press.

[michael robertson]

Once the dust has setlled, and the "student protesters" return home, some might be further angered at the draconian €150 fine to be imposed for illegal downloads of music and video files from peer to peer networks such as Kazaa etc. Perhaps then they might be grateful for this "First employment contract" which could enable them to find jobs to earn the cash with which to repay the fines that some might incurred indulging in such downloads! Will further riots ensue, or am I being unfair?

[Christophe]

J'ai apprécié votre article intitulé: To weapons, The students. L'ensemble est très juste.

Vous avez raison parfaitement sur ce point:

"On one side there is a populace frightened of everything and on the other side its governors who are enclosed in their own bubble."

Chris.

[Lawrence Freeborn]

What I want to see is a little retribution from the 25% of 18-25's who are unemployed because of the selfishness of the rest. If they had any ambition of getting out of welfare dependency, they would be rampaging through campuses, newspaper headquarters and any other socialist hotbeds, standing up for themselves and doing battle with the oppressive majority.

[Clem]

to John Hornsby: students don't destroy but "casseurs" (breakers) do. They infiltrate student protests.
I've posted about it on my blog, here: http://francoamericanviews.blogspot.com/

To Rémy: indeed, French papers editorialize more than British/American ones. So what? The French press has a separate history, if I may remind you. And thank god the world press isn't completely homogeneous.

[Victor Tan]

It is easier for the British press as an outsider to make objective and impartial observations. It matters not whether the press is left or right leaning, the bias towards the jeunesse or the MEDEF ia a mere skirmish on the fringe. The real big picture is where France as a country is headed in the 21st century.

After the Second World War, only Charles de Gaulle can be considered a leader admired and respected by its people, largely due to the jubilations at the end of the War, and the liberation of their country from German occupation. From then on, French leaders have generally been feeble, and their people fed a diet of the good life and easy living. Yes, the social model with its generous benefits has given the people a good standard of living, and is generally still envied by others.

However, this much admired model cannot be sustained with the erosion of the working hours, coupled with the shorter working life of its workforce, resulting in uncompetitive products. This is further aggravated by the increased consumption of cheaper goods imported from developing countries, which are now the principal suppliers, from TVs, hi-fi and household goods to their garments and shoes.

The admission of the ten new countries from Eastern Europe into the EU has compounded the problem with the arrivals of the "Polish plumbers" competing with the locals for the black economy jobs. More seriously, the freedom of the French manufacturers to re-locate, to take advantage of the lower costs of land and labour will result in the inevitable loss of French jobs.

A country's wealth can only increase with increased production that they can sell abroad or the sale of services to foreigners in their country, in France, principally tourism, banking and insurance. I am certain that the politicians are fully aware of the predicament that France is in with its present and recent unrests. Sarkozy may have the right ideas and policies for reforms, but is he able to carry the people with him? By the looks of the events unfolding in Paris, he has his job cut out.

[Jupiter]

I sometimes feel isolated in my views about the situation in France and then I read the above posts and realize I'm not alone. The problems and the solutions are so glaringly evident that I despair and worry for France. It is truly a disturbing prospect, and the left seem to be rejoicing in the shipwreck ahead. Employment laws must be liberalized. People should be able to easily start their own businesses and thus employ others. The social
charge system has to be simplified and reduced in scale. The state has to withdraw from it's constant interference and it's expenses reduced.
I would not recommend any international business to set up in France unless some of these measures are in place. The people are capable but misled and frightened of shadows prompted by propaganda about 'abroad'. The fonction publique, socialist culture has seen to that and nobody seems to have spotted that 'speak leftist and sit pretty'- at the cost of the country and the young is the name of the game. To strike for employment! Nobody laughs at the stupidity of it all. And some of these young parrot their elders like sheep- to mix metaphors. I saw a twenty-something girl talking piously about the threat to her pension when that was on the agenda! What sort of mentality is that! She should be thinking positively!

[Snap]

Despite French media is biased, as media often is, you should not ignore that Le Monde has been invinting representatives of the students n favor of the CPE to a chat with the readers: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/chat/0,46-0@2-734511,55-750833,0.html
Also, it has been quite critical of the interventions of the left wing on that matter.

[Stef]

hey Charles !

I see the comments are moderated: do this mean you filter off everything that does not fit your point of view ? It can't be you had no feedback from the left side, can it ?

Well let's try :)

To be blunt, let me say you have a very poor understanding of the french politics and economy, although you obviously believe otherwise:

France is by far rich enough to support its standard of living for the century to come, as would many other countries, provided that we-the-people take the money where it is, that in the pocket of those big robbers.

Lesson: You can't be a millionaire if you did not steal your money and get it from the suffering of many other people.

Don't you know this simple thing ? That's what "real economy" is about. That's a Law of our Mighty Marketplace. That's a very old truth. How come you forgot that ?

French people did not forgot this simple thing. That's it, and there is no need to look for some irrational fear of change. We-"le peuple" just fight back when we're attacked. Why you-the-"anglo-saxon"-people don't do the same I wonder...

So if you're expecting a "common sense" labour law reform to happen within the next 100 years, I'm afraid you'll be disapointed and still waiting by the time of your death. Our common sense just goes the other way round.

Better consider Bangladesh: a country worthy of your respect, with decent rights for the workers (that is: none). It should definitely join the EU.

Now goodbye and happy blogging: I had a good laugh reading your post and its comments. More of this !

Stef

[emmanuel cheiron]

Anyway, we won against England in rugby....
So, i think u're a bit angry against France, as usual... English so called "faire play" doesn't exist!!!!

[Gary Munro]

Hi all, with others, I am running a blog covering all events as they unfold 24hrs a day.

http://www.libcom.org/blog/

An interesting take on proceedings, but I disagree with some of the comments above.

I myself do not crave the day when we are competing with China for the last grain of rice. I think France is moving towards isolationism, protectionism, and I don't blame them.

I don't want this country to enslave itself to competition either.

[John Hornsby]

To put Sarkozy on a par with Le Pen only "more dangerous because he might be elected" is ludicrous, indeed slanderous. Sarkozy is the one who reduced Tariq Ramadan to silence on the subject of the stoning of Muslim women. He also is a strong advocate of stimulating French industries by reducing their considerable charges. Sarkozy, as I see the situation, is the only possible next President of France.The majority of the electorate do not in any case appreciate the Socialists' soft line on urban violence or their lack of vision for the future.

[Victor Tan]

It is most interesting to read a piece in the Financial Times this morning quoting Daniel Cohn-Bendit, also known as Danny the Red in his students days, that the students protests in May 1968 reflected a "positive vision". He told the FT that the movement he incarnated was "offensive" in a fight for "more liberty". In contrast, today's protests are "defensive" and "negative", adding "The young people have a negative vision of the future. May 1968 was an offensive movement, with a positive vision of the future, but today's protests are all against things". "They are defensive, based on fear of insecurity and change". In those glorious days, students were anit-establishment because they reacted against the repressive moral standards of an older generation, they wanted to be free to express themselves, thus the beginning of the flower power generation.

Among those students leaders, Daniel Cohn-Bendit is now co-chairman of the Green group in the European Parliament; Peter Hain, is a government minister for Northern Ireland, having served in various ministerial posts in the Blair government; and Tariq Ali, a firebrand orator, is a writer and political commentator.

Those rebellious students have transformed themselves into the establishment and in public service mainly because of their positive outlook. The protests were a means to achieve their goals. I fear today's students lack such integrity.

[Samuel]

I was at a party this weekend (Paddy's Day) with French artists and intellectuals. It was hilarious. The usual buzzwords were uttered (libéralisme, globalisation, capitalisme, patronat, model anglo-saxon, etc.) and the usual buzzwords were received with the usual grave nodding of (somewhat inebriated) heads. So, I was thinking to myself, these are the people who are supposed to be creative and intelligent. The blind leading the blind. The ignorant feeding each other. Also, one notes a lot of aggressiveness and conceit on their part. I did make a kind of attempt to argue in favor of the CPE. But I gave it up. These people are convinced that they have the truth and will not brook dissent. In listening to them hold forth with their unilateral, non-democratic visions for France, I saw that George Orwell was perfectly right when he observed the natural affinity of intellectuals for tyrants.
On a more practical note, I think that things are still too good in France. It is now in Division 2 in the Economy Championship. Not until it has been relegated to Division 3 or 4, and young graduates are leaving by thousands (as used to be the case in Ireland) will they finally understand the sickness of Socialism. But it takes time for a national entrenched psyche to change, and like a previous post, I think we won't be seeing any real changes for least 15 to 20 years.

[Iris Hill]

Sorry this is happening in gay Pare'. As a child, I have always loved Paris. In American movies, Paris was untouchable. It was for lovers, romance. So it is hard & hurting to hear this is going on. French people are peaceable, they get along, & they are lovers. I love gay Parre'.

[john gregory Flinn]

Are we to understand from Victor Tan's post that Danny the Red, Peter Hain and Tariq Ali are to be applauded?
Part of today's problems stem from the sort of nonsense they peddle.
They masqerade the same views as Stef in the mantle of fashionable protest, for their own personal ambition.
Such leftist fashion persists, and embeds itself as "received wisdom" in the political establishment.It has to be uprooted.
To quote another post, "pffff" to them!

[Victor Tan]

I am appalled to hear a professor at a Paris protest today telling a CNN reporter that "It is the right of the French people to have job security, and it is the tradition" If this is being taught to the next generation, I do not see redemption for the French!

Japan is the second largest economy in the world today after the United States. The astronomical growth after the devastation of the Second World War is due entirely to the hard working ethics and strong tradition of its people, which continue today. I do not believe that there is a nation on earth that reveres it culture as rigidly as the Japanese.

Yet, in the 1990's, Japan like the rest of Asia was hit by the financial crisis. The country went into recession, which after a decade is still recovering in a fragile manner. Major Japanese banks collapsed and were bailed out by the government. Hugh international corporations, the likes of Nissan and Sony Corporation had to accept changes that no one in his wildest imagination thought possible. Nissan was close to collapse when their minority shareholder, Renault of France sent in their renowned Brazilian "cost-cutter", Carlos Ghosn to head the company who cut jobs that a Japanese CEO would find impossible to execute. Today, Nissan is in rude health, and has outgrown Renault in size. Sony appointed a Welshman, Sir Howard Stringer to head the company, the jury is still out on this.

Who says that culture and tradition cannot be compromised for the sake of survival? Today, the French are an insecure and frightened people, insecure because they fear job losses, frightened, because they are rudderless, governed by self-interested politicians whose diatribe rebound on them whenever they make half-hearted attempts at reforms. Wake up France, show the world that you can overcome your problems and be a great nation again.

[Robert Marchenoir]

On a French center-left blog yesterday, an opponent to the CPE wrote this rebuff, intended for those alarmed by young people leaving France in droves for England, the States, Hong-Kong, Vietnam, Dubaï (yes, really), whatever, provided they find someone ready to give them a job: "If they want to earn more, let them emigrate. That's fine by me."

This gentleman, of course, sees himself as belonging to the Left, and defending the interests of the People.

George Orwell, indeed.

So I'm not the least surprised to hear Victor Tan quoting a professor saying: "It is the right of the French people to have job security, and it is the tradition."

You see, this professor has probably a state job guaranteed for life. Nobody can sack him, even if his work is abysmally bad.

Far from saying "thank you" to his fellow citizens who pay for this privilege, he insists that the private sector should supply the same advantages to everybody else.

This crisis has at least the merit to make people such as these formulate openly the preposterous assumptions underlying the so-called French model, which usually are kept under the blanket.

Maybe, this time, more citizens will realize that the whole "model" is a fraud, working against the poor, the unemployed, the immigrants and the homeless.

[adel]

Once again, a deep lack of knowledge about France and the French leaps out from this blog. It is even close to French-bashing with its quietly contemptuous opinions. It is pleasing that the British should come to France to explain the superiority of their ideological, cultural and economic model.

Translated from French: Une fois encore la profonde méconnaissance de la France et des français éclate dans ce blog. C'est même proche du french bashing avec des opinions tranquillement méprisants.
Il est plaisant que des britanniques viennent expliquer en France que leur modèle idéologique, culturel et économique est supérieur...

[John Hornsby]

Behind this mini-revolution lie two causes: firstly, schools and universities have little autonomy so that reforms are passed over their heads. More fundamental is the problem of the universities: no selection at entry, leading to high dropout and inflated marks; lack of funding - it all has to come from the State; lack of cooperation with the business world. The inevitable result: no guarantee of a job commensuarate with his qualifications for a university graduate. The place to send one's child (if he can bear the cramming of the "classes prépas") is to one of the Grandes Ecoles. A classless society?

[Robert Marchenoir]

Adel: I'm French.

[Jonno Sly]

Personally if I was enjoying a great rail service, health service, unemployment scheme, pension scheme, employment rights, lower cost fine quality standard of living and above all more than 325 cheeses and handpicked wines to go with them, I'd say "Non" to liberal economics and its fruits: crumbling health and rail services, humiliating unemployment schemes etc. It's not that tricky to see why France does not want to embrace other people's concepts. Images of the NHS horrify the French; the latest drugs test scandal has compounded this.
We have Stepford Wife like memories; the Thatcher revolution hurt, we complained like hell and the turn around took time. The long term effects for profits and consumerism were great of course. As I write I am sitting on a beach in the South enjoying the quaint wonders of this "poor little country" stubbornly trying to hold on to something it calls its own. Bless it! For its weather is better and its booze is so cheap!

[Victor Tan]

Adel's attitude is so typical of the French negative complex. Comments on a country, be it positive or negative are part and parcel of the real world.

1. We live in a globalised world where events happening in other parts of the world affect the countries where we live. A classic example is energy, oil and gas. Disruptions in Middle East oil supplies can increase oil prices worldwide. Last December when Russia turned off the gas to Ukraine due to a dispute on price, there was a danger of a cut in the supplies to Europe, France included.

2. Who claims that the Anglo Saxon model is superior to the French model? It just works better today. Britain was the sick man of Europe in the 1970's crippled by contant strikes, until Margaret Thetcher confronted the unions, and brought structural changes. After some serious hardship to the working people, things began to work, and this brought greater prosperity to the British people.

3. What everyone knows is that things are not working in France, and structural changes have to take place, or France continues to decline. For some one being down, one can understand that he feels that others are France-bashing. This is not true. It gives me lots of pleasure to sing the praises of France, like the successful inaugural flight of the Airbus A380, and the successful completion of the Millau Viaduct. Both are great achievements.

4. Note the absence of British students supporting the protests in Paris. They sense the lost cause, and have moved on. British people enjoy better job security due to the vibrant economy than through legislation.

5. The Sunday Times reported yesterday that there are half a million Britsh people who have settled in France or own second homes there because it is a lovely country. They have rejuvinated abandoned villages, and have invested in loss making vineyards.

There is nothing wrong with France, you need credible leaders who can convince and lead you out of your predicament. Most of all, the people must be brave enough to accept changes, however painful it is.

[Sandrine]

Amen Victor !
;o)

[John Hornsby]

It is not true to say that the British health service is "crumbling" - it has improved considerably in the last five years thanks to greater investemnt and job creation, e.g. the larger number of nurses employed to do preliminary work and lighten the doctors' workload. The French system is very good but extremely wasteful - medical(?) treatment in spas is refunded; an ambulance service is provided free for outpatients often living fifty miles or more from the hospital and requiring daily visits over a period of time. The final question is once again: how long can it all last?

[Robert Marchenoir]

John Hornsby is right. Even the idea of reducing waste in public spending -- of which there is plenty -- is taboo in France.

Spending is good. Reducing expenditures is bad, even if they benefit nobody.

As a matter of fact, the very notion of auditing the way public money is used is deeply suspect. This, we are informed, is an accountant-lead approach.

And accountants are one of the lowliest forms of life around, just above paedophiles and SUV drivers.

[Mark Arneson]

France may have great rail serivce, health service, unemployment scheme, pension scheme, etc. A tax base is needed to support these services.

Its wine and cheeses take a back seat to no one. Unfortunately French booze and other products are not cheap outside of France. The good news for the rest of us is that we have other choices, wine from Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Australia, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, U.S., Canada, Brazil, etc.

It is a global world, price yourself out of the market and the tax base that supports the great French lifestyle will dry up.

[frenchs]

we're french and we see the news in france and we can say that the media don't aprouve the students point of view because when they show the move of the protestors in the streets, they show only where there were fight between the "casseurs" and the CRS.

And there are also a minority of movements for the CPE.

And please forgive us for our bad english ...

[Gary Munro]

Why are you all so excited about the idea of competing with china? Its a race to the bottom. He who gives up most wins.

You're all so arrogant that you can't see the day coming when we become the victims of neo-liberalism.

[luke brown]

much as i agree there has been a great deal of biais in the French press, but to state that this is due to pandering to the masses is rather unfair.

Yes, to an exterior eye, it seems that France's 'jeunesse' is demonstrating palpable selfishness in demanding the same rights as their parent's generation.

However, from a young person's point of view, it seems somewhat injust that it's almonst solely the young who are targetted by and suffer the interminable employment insecurity to help France's enfeebled economy.

When confronted with this kind of institutionalised contempt for their current and future status.

Libération (ignore L'Humanité, it's a commie rag) and Le Monde, while notorious for editorialising, do help the students express themselves by covering the movement. Would you prefer that the press makes the link between the pacifist student demonstrators and the violent 'casseurs'?; that would be easily and erroneously made.

Would you also prefer that the press observes from a distance, so as to more easily ignore the truth of the situation?

[Deirdre]

Perhaps Adel could give us her solution for long term French unemployment (average 10% for more than 2 decades and youth unemployment still running at about 25%). Is this a good thing? Would you like to spend the rest of your life unemployed Adel?

[Deirdre]

Finally a challenge to Jonno, who is so enthusiastic about the French rail system. Please try to take a train from Apt some time (a very nice large market town with a magnificent cathedral and a hospital). You'll get a big surprise when you get to the station---there are no trains, just helpful people who suggest that you try to get to Avignon by road. And my own experiences of the French health system were not something which I'd like to write up.

[marc millier]

sorry for my bad english.
I'm french. and on 2002 I voted to CHIRAC but I hadn't trust to him . but the second election round was very special for mr CHIRAC..LEpen..This election was very wrong for France. our gourvernement is completly blind about the french people probleme . did you reminber last year 90% of media and politics men and woeman said to vote ..OUI. in fact the results was 55 "non". There is also a big MALAISE politic.
I have lived for 20 years in banlieue and today all are quiet in south banleie .except in SAVIGNY SUR ORGE . RER station between police and casseurs.
excuse me again aboutmy english mistakes.

[Christophe]

Un peu de français ne fais pas de mal, ne serait-ce que pour prouver que la langue de Molière n'est pas encore morte.

Je traduirais fidèlement mes propos dans la langue de Shakespeare, après l'expression de mes idées.

Je ne suis pas concerné par le CPE (Nom de la nouvelle loi promulguée récemment)cependant je suis contre cette loi modifiant le droit du travail très protecteur en France.

La précarisation généralisée prétend être la seule réponse à la diminution du chômage. Bien qu'elle renforce l'ultra compétitivité.

L'erreur française est de penser que les modèles européens sont applicables en France, comme si nous étions incapable de trouver une solution ensemble. Nous sommes tous différents, économiquement, politiquement, historiquement...

De quel droit au 21ème siècle, peut-on encore penser qu'il n'existe qu'une seule solution appliquable: La précarisation ?

Je reprendrais une phrase de Albert Einstein, "Les problèmes importants auxquels nous sommes confrontés ne peuvent pas être résolus avec les habitudes de pensées qui ont été à l'origine de leur apparition"

Christophe.

English version :-)

A little French don't make evil, would be this only to prove that the language of Molière didn't die yet.

I translate my ideas:

I am not concerned with the CPE (Name of the new law promulgated recently)however I am against this law modifying the law the labour very protective in France.

The generalized precarisation (Instability) claims to be the only response to the reduction in unemployment, although it reinforces ultra competitiveness.

The French error is to think that the European models are applicable in France, as if we were unable to find a solution together. We all are different, economically, politically, historically...

Which right to the 21st century, can we think that there is only one applicable solution: The precarisation ?

I would take again a sentence of Albert Einstein, "the important problems with which we are confronted cannot be solved with the practices of thoughts which were at the origin of their appearance".

Christophe.
French and proud to be it.