http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...icolas-sarkozy

Quote:

Sarkozy is taking a risk. France's strikers love little more than putting leaders in their place Departing from the traditional right-bank demonstrations' parcours, République to Nation by way of Bastille, French trade unions opted yesterday for a long and energetic stroll through Paris's left bank, from Montparnasse to Bastille. The glorious weather might have conferred a benevolent ambiance to the outing, but every single one of the estimated 200,000 demonstrators in Paris (and 3.5 million throughout France) meant business. Either Nicolas Sarkozy's government backs down on its pension reform, or the people's discontent will grow louder. The game of cat and mouse the street and the French government have been playing in the last few weeks is becoming increasingly tense. Instead of negotiating with trade unions, especially those representing the five million civil servants in the country, Sarkozy, as so often before, has treated workers' grievances with scorn. Having made a personal trademark of forcing his way through crises, he is, however, taking a huge gamble. The French street loves nothing more than to regularly remind the power in place that they, alone, are the true rulers. This week might be the week that they will choose to flex their muscles. The different processions, displaying red balloons, black flags and blue vuvuzelas, had their usual witty slogans, either chanted or sprayed in red ink on Haussmannian buildings, such as "Let's strike until we retire". I saw the designer Jean-Paul Gaultier walking alongside the demonstrators, not quite in the street but looking on from the pavement with a bright smile. Was he already sketching in his head a future demonstrator chic? We heard the Internationale and were discreetly passed on little leaflets calling for a muscular battle with the riot police at the end of the demonstration. It read: "Bloquons l'économie." ("Let's block the economy.") It is of course ironic that this rapport de force should focus on the reform of pensions. Indeed, a recent poll suggests that 65% of French people accept the inevitability of demographics and the raising of the retirement age from 60 – the lowest in Europe – to 62. Yet, the polls also show that 70% of the people support the strikers' action. A typical French contradiction? Not quite. President Sarkozy has so antagonised the country since his election in May 2007 that this reform offers an ideal pretext for political action. With an opposition that is slowly finding a voice and coming back from the dead, many think this is the moment to vent anger at Sarkozyism as a whole. Many demonstrators said the same thing yesterday, such as Laura, 28, a concert organiser: "I couldn't care less about pensions; I'll never get one anyway. I'm marching because I've had enough of all the things that have been done in my name: the Roma expulsions, rejoining Nato, the debate on national identity, the cuts in the arts and education sectors, the introduction of a profit culture in public services. I've had enough, and by the look of it I'm not alone." What Sarkozy and his government are now closely monitoring is whether the students and schoolchildren are going to join the protests. If they do, there is trouble ahead. Each time that French youth has taken to the streets, either in 1986 or in 2005, the government has had to give in to the protesters and withdraw whatever law the street disapproved of. In May 1968 they almost toppled the regime, with Charles de Gaulle secretly scurrying to check on the army's loyalty in Baden Baden, the then headquarters of the French army in Germany. Figures show that yesterday's demonstrations attracted many more young people than those during the previous weeks had. If the strike were to be held again, day after day, it could create enough momentum for the nation's youth to join forces with their elders and change the face of the movement. The future will tell whether the slogan of "strike till you retire" appeals to France's younger generation – and whether the street still call the shots in France. I sincerely hope it still does.

I sincerely hope it doesn't. It takes forever to get into school with those miserable, bone-idle idiots blocking everything. I missed two lessons yesterday.

Fortunately, what she doesn't mention is that one of the rare things that the workers (civil servants for the most part, actually, but who's counting?) love more than putting their leaders in their place is being put in their place by their leaders. Partly because they haven't really got any plans for what they'd do should they actually get into power so it's a little awkward (that's what derailed 68), and partly because the cause loses its coherence the instant they're no longer the poor oppressed, but mainly because they just get off on that sort of thing.

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Many demonstrators said the same thing yesterday, such as Laura, 28, a concert organiser: "I couldn't care less about pensions; I'll never get one anyway. I'm marching because I've had enough of all the things that have been done in my name: the Roma expulsions, rejoining Nato, the debate on national identity, the cuts in the arts and education sectors, the introduction of a profit culture in public services. I've had enough, and by the look of it I'm not alone."

A concert organiser. That sounds suitably young and grungy and entrepreneurial. Except in France where "artists" get an extremely generous unemployment scheme... One of their slogan when that system was somewhat reformed (maybe) some years ago was: "If you think culture is expensive, try idiocy". It's a very good slogan but it turns out to be wrong. Studies have shown that the frequency of children visit to the museums or art exhibitions or anything else really is of no relevance to their future social status.

Furthermore, this dispendious system might be forgiven if it produced a vibrant art scene. In reality, the english musical scene, with no subsidies to speak of, kicks the shit out of the french one. Not only do they churn out more stars but if you're going to a random pub or bar to listen to some random band, the musical experience in London is likely to be way better. French movies are an international joke, with very few gems being actually produced.

At some point, one has to ask why is one paying for and what is one actually getting...

And, obviously, as Zichao pointed out, the right, for all its fault, has a model and a proposal for the French: To become like the US/UK. The (parliamentary, for contra ) left has no such proposal...

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Quote:

The barricades are up, acrid tear gas is filling the streets, angry hordes of striking workers and students are preparing to do battle against a common enemy. Eh oui, the French are at it again. In the past, I have found the Gallic shrug the best response to the country’s trigger-happy strike culture – it’s just something you have to learn to live with. This time, though, I’m finding it difficult to shrug off – and I am not alone. A French friend, until recently an aide at the Elysée Palace, vented his spleen this week. “I never thought I would hear myself say this,” he told me dejectedly. “But I am seriously considering leaving the country. I can’t take it any more.” The government is in the final stages of pushing through a plan that will, if you believe the union hype, change the face of France as we know it and end the good life this country has come to symbolise – not just for its own citizens, but for the world at large. Which is why the country has taken to the streets. You might be forgiven for not being entirely sure what year we are in. It could be 1789 (apart from the tear gas). 1968? Or perhaps 1995, when France shut down completely for three weeks over a plan to reform disgracefully advantageous special pensions for a small group of workers. It could even be 2006, when students ran amok against a bill to make youth work contracts more flexible. But, no, this is October 2010 and it is all about saying non to retiring at 62 instead of 60 and receiving a full pension at 67 instead of 65. In rejection of this seemingly paltry change, protesters are bringing the country to its knees. Yesterday, strikes halted all 12 of France’s oil refineries – the first time since May 1968. The pipeline bringing fuel to Paris’s two main airports and a large area of southern Paris was closed. Lorry drivers have pledged to clog France’s roads and rail workers to disrupt TGV trains whose promise of Très Grande Vitesse may come back to haunt them. Students have taken up the call to arms, blocking schools with wheelie bins in lieu of the traditional paving slabs. For now, things have been relatively peaceful, although a policeman in Cannes was injured by a flying rock and doctors struggled to save an eye of a 16-year-old boy after he was struck by a rubber bullet. A school inspector in Seine Saint Denis, the Paris suburb where the nationwide riots of 2005 began, has sounded a note of caution. “Certain school blockages,” he warned earlier this week, risked “degenerating into the beginnings of urban riots”. Pressure is mounting on Sarkozy and his government as 3.5 million take to the streets, many of them simply because they can no longer stand their president. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, an aggressive hard-Left figure, said that Mr Sarkozy was trying to “place himself in the shoes of a 21st century (Margaret) Thatcher”. In one sense, he is wrong. Compared to Margaret Thatcher and her battle with the miners, Mr Sarkozy’s reform is hardly radical. However, if the fuel blockages, student protests and demonstrations continue, he may need her resolve to stand firm. But it will be like facing an incoming tide. As Le Monde pointed out yesterday, France is a very conservative country “hell-bent on keeping the status quo and acquired (social) rights, with history used as a windshield against reality”. Even the Iron Lady might have resorted to a Gallic shrug at the thought of trying to break the Frenchman’s bond with his placard.

The famed Gallic shrug was never more needed - Telegraph

I was on the metro today when St Denis' schools let out for some protest or something. I would now vote for anyone who proposed a programme of forced sterilisation. In ordinary circumstances, when schoolkids join a strike in order to have a few days off I just sort of smile indulgently, but this time, watching them campaign ardently to be tax raped ever harder by their elders fills me with depression.

Line 4 was horrendous today, easily as bad as Tuesday. The drivers were taking advantage of the crush to invite hot girls to ride with them in their cabs.

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FML. I'm in a lesson now, downstairs there are a bunch of socialistards yelling about pensions. When it's ordinary lycéens doing it it's just a little depressing. When it's people who are supposed to have a basic knowledge of economics it just makes you want to open your wrists.

Tomorrow I have another concours, starting at 7.15 at Chateau de Vincennes. And the strike's starting up again. I hope these morons get stampeded by fat trades unionists on their way home.

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What is it with this mania of having concours in places way away from Paris' center and at dawn?

What's wrong with a 9.00am start?

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Besides, the French are assholes. So, now, they don't like Sarko 1er? They hadn't realise he was a bling bling obsessed self-involved autocratic cunt before? They had to elect him President first? Morons.

And most of them supported his reduction of inheritance taxes for the wealthiest therefore losing any kind of credibility in terms of economical understanding.

As with pensions, it's just a matter of "me, me, me - And, after me, le deluge..."

To go back to Laura, from the OP:

"I couldn't care less about pensions; I'll never get one anyway": At least, she is realist.

"I'm marching because I've had enough of all the things that have been done in my name: the Roma expulsions, rejoining Nato, the debate on national identity, the cuts in the arts and education sectors, the introduction of a profit culture in public services. I've had enough": Right. So you're a classical leftwing - with preference for publically funded culture & services, a humanitarian view of immigration and an anti-US approach to foreign policy. So just vote for any which one of the leftwing parties you might support but don't bloody add your voice to the concert of support for the bankruptcy of our public finance and rising unemployment for the youth...

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Quote:

When he entered the Elysée palace in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy dreamed of a glorious destiny. Enthusiastic commentators predicted that his casual populism would revamp the Bonapartist right, and that his Gallic brand of neoliberal policies would sell the "American dream" to a mistrustful population. Things have not gone according to plan. Sarkozy wanted to be the French JFK; today he looks more like Louis XVI awaiting trial in 1793. He may escape the guillotine, but his presidency is now under siege. The French are deeply unhappy with the way they have been governed, but their main grievance is about pension reform, which is seen as a cynical ploy to make ordinary people work more for inferior entitlements, while bailed-out bankers and the rich get tax rebates and continue to enjoy the high life. Over the past month, five national demonstrations have gathered together an estimated average of 3.5 million people per action day. The latest, on Saturday, was a big success and another is scheduled for today. The movement is popular: 69% of the nation back the strikes and demonstrations; 73% want the government to withdraw the reform. And high school pupils have now joined the fray. Over 1,000 high schools are on strike as the youngsters take to the streets to protest against mass unemployment and the raising of the retirement age. The government has patronisingly labelled them as "manipulated kids", but these comments have backfired and served only to galvanise the young, who have hardened their resistance and taken further interest in the reform. When interviewed by the media, pupils come across as articulate and knowledgable. Parents worry about their children's future, so they will not stop them from striking. In France, strikes and demonstrations are seen as a civilised and effective way to enact one's citizenship. Students are expected to join marches from an early age, receiving by the same token a "political education". France's youth have always scared governments because of their radical potential. Student demonstrations of late have been invariably popular because people know that the young have been badly hit by unemployment over the past 30 years. University students are preparing to strike as well. Sarkozy, like Louis XVI in 1789, does not seem to have grasped how volatile the situation has become. He should know better. Since May 1968, all governments have been forced on the ropes every time youngsters have entered a social movement. This time it could prove crucial in helping to reach a tipping point; a stage in the conflict where the balance of power switches from the government toward those opposing the pension reform. Last week, Sarkozy had to send in riot police to reopen fuel depots blocked by strikes in several places. Yet several hundred filling stations had to shut because they had run out of supplies. Lorry and train drivers are also starting strike actions. How can the current situation be interpreted? Undoubtedly, the rebellion seems durable and runs deeper than the question of pensions. The reform has triggered a web of collective actions that are now spreading fast. Discontent is fuelled by low incomes and unemployment, but also by the impact of the crisis on people's daily life, the arrogance of the Sarkozy presidency, corruption cases and police brutality. There is a sense of moral outrage at the imposition of a neoliberal medicine to cure an illness caused by the same neoliberal policies. The French are not hostile to reforms: they just demand those that redistribute wealth and allocate resources to those who need it the most. Any comparison with May '68, however, may be hasty. Then, France was experiencing a period of economic prosperity. Today, events occur in the context of a deep economic depression. This is why the political situation is potentially explosive. Radicalised workers and youngsters are forcing the unions to up their game. The normally toothless Socialist party has pledged to return the retirement age to 60, should it come back to power in 2012. One can envisage two possible scenarios. Opposition to the reform hardens, in which case Sarkozy may have to water it down or even withdraw it. This would mark the first major popular victory in Europe against the post-2008 neoliberal order. Alternatively, Sarkozy stays put and imposes a deeply unpopular reform, in which case the political price to pay for the incumbent president would be very high, should he decide to run again in 2012.

Horsefeathers.

The teenagers on strike don't have the first fucking clue what any of this is about. They never do. University strikes are bullshit too. The local communist party has a vote, declares itself the winner and blockades the place while everyone else gets drunk and calls them dickheads.

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Also, seriously, wtf?

Quote:

Since May 1968, all governments have been forced on the ropes every time youngsters have entered a social movement.

This guy is supposed to be French, so I guess he's just decided that British readers won't know any better so he can lie all he wants. The lycées protest every time anyone else does. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

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Originally Posted by Zichao

Also, seriously, wtf? This guy is supposed to be French, so I guess he's just decided that British readers won't know any better so he can lie all he wants. The lycées protest every time anyone else does. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose.

British readers? As if there are enough of them to care about. What are they saying on TV? That's what matters. If it's on TV, it's true.

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Actually: Les "French strikes" passionnent la presse étrangère - LeMonde.fr

It seems our Anglo-saxons neigbhours are getting interested....

Google Translated:

Because of their radicalization, "French strikes" against the pension reform are becoming more room on the foreign news sites, which do not hesitate to set one image of a country beset by strikes , shortages of gasoline and clashes between youths and police.

While most major news sites offer a wealth of factual coverage mobilization (the BBC and El Pais even offer "questions and answers" to their readers to level on issues not always easy to understand from abroad), the British daily The Guardian same passion for the subject and offers live coverage of the day of action Tuesday.

"KEEP RIGHT"

What do they look about France? Beyond the facts, some foreign media are waging a sometimes coarse analysis of the mobilization which affects France: the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times do not hesitate to draw parallels between the current situation and the riots that hit the suburbs in 2005 or the 2006 protests against the CPE, which had forced the government to back down.

The New York Times goes further. In addition to delivering a report Detailed events affecting France - events that reflect primarily "A reaction against the elite"Said a French newspaper quoted - it publishes in its issue dated on Monday Editorial support for reform who, while deploring the method used to advance the project, estimates that "Raise the age for retirement is a necessity"Including in relation to the magnitude of the French deficit: "The protests are deeply embedded in French national tradition. The feelings and traditions can not rely on fiscal reality", Wrote the editorialist.

Same story this weekend in the Financial Times, One of whose columnists recommends Nicolas Sarkozy of "Stand firm", "Not only to save the pension system"But "To save his own presidency and his desire to prove that France is ready for reform".

"COMMITMENT" AGAINST FRENCH "pusillanimity" COLUMBIA

If the Anglo-Saxon place, unsurprisingly, on the side of reform, all readers in the UK and overseas are not necessarily agree. Many in fact reflect their support for the strikers and protesters in comments published articles on the Internet. On the "every minute" of Guardian, Greets a visitor that "When the French do not agree with their government (...), they mobilize, rather than sit in their corner to ruminate".

An Englishman living in France admits that even if "Inconvenienced by the strike"It "Admires the French who are fighting to preserve the rights acquired by their fathers and mothers who do not accept the supposed need to cut social spending. Often, the British opposed the will to fight the French in "Cowardice" the English against the austerity plan introduced in the United Kingdom.

Other readers, however, show more reserved, while suggesting that they understand the motivations of the protesters. "I live in France and to be honest, push the retirement age makes sense to meWrote a user on the Guardian. Young people show just because they are afraid of not finding a job. "

The Monde.fr

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