France

It would seem that France is going to abolish their legally mandated 35 hour work week.

The article linked to above makes some good points. One of them is that the biggest source of French foreign investment came from the US, and we just didn’t want to pour money into a culture that is that restrictive when it comes to business.

But there were also some unintended consequences that are biting French lawmakers.

Often touted as the working mother’s godsend, the 35-hour week actually made life harder for poorer women and single parents, according to women’s organization CLEF.

“The women that suffered were the lowest paid, who needed all the overtime they could get to make ends meet,” said CLEF president Monique Halpern. “I think this is one of the reasons that Lionel Jospin lost the elections.”

I confess – I once loved France. At one point, I would have gone back to Marianne back in an instant, as abject as a dog rescued from death in the pound; at another, I would have gladly strangled her with her own hair. For more conflicted love and hatred, try Elvatoloko, a young man from France now in the USA. Not a clue what the blog title is supposed to mean.

Shannon Love has a pretty good post up right below this one, talking about the CIA report which predicts that the European Union will fragment in 15 years unless they do something about their economic woes.

And what caused these problems? A variety of reasons, but the one that could be acted on immediately (and the one discussed in the report) is a welfare system that’s out of control.

Shannon thinks that the CIA is so incompetent that only the opposite can happen. I’m not so sure.

Case in point is this news report, which covers massive strikes and protests in France.

Why are the French so upset? They’re complaining about rather minor cuts that the government has made in their social welfare system They want their undeserved goodies restored, and restored right quick. If they don’t get their way, then the voters might just oppose the EU Constitution which will be put up for a vote in a few months.

It looks to me like the EU is going to go hang, and it’s their own Socialist system that will put the noose on.

But, hey, I’m just a cowboy American. Maybe there’s some sort of nuance that I’m not picking up on.

Andrew Boucher at Volatility from Paris has a short post, entitled Christmas Shopping Lesson, on the large drop in Americans’ spending in Paris stores. He wrote:

Reuters had an interesting article on the Galeries Lafayette store in Paris today. Because of the weak dollar, boycott, or just lack of energy, the American consumer isn’t much of a force any more in Paris.

Chinese tourists have climbed from 20th position 10 years ago to the number one spot in terms of visitor numbers to the Galeries today – overtaking the Japanese, British, Russians and in fifth place, the Americans.

Big spenders are customers from the Middle East, Japan, Russia and the United States. But while Americans spend more than the Chinese, it’s the force of numbers that counts.

“An American spends twice as much as a Chinese customer, but … the Chinese are at least 10 times more numerous…,” the general manager at the flagship Boulevard Haussmann store said.

It’s followed by a similar post, entitled The New Hollywood Villain, in which he says:

“I don’t go to as many new films as I would like, but in those that I have seen, I’ve noticed a tendency which has become a trend. I’m speaking of the Frenchman as villain. ”

I’ve noticed it too. Last night I caught part of program on the History Channel on the French Revolution. The commercial they were running to promote the program, both before it aired and during the program itself, ends with this little jab:

“Now, for 2 hours, it won’t kill you to love the French.”

I had to laugh every time I heard that. Whoever wrote that certainly has their finger on the pulse of the American public. Say the words ‘France’ or ‘French’ to an American these days and the reaction you’ll get is one of outright disgust.

One fairly accurate measure of the enmity Americans feel towards the French can seen in the degree to which the French have become the butt of jokes. Tell a French joke and not only will everyone laugh, some caustic remarks will be added to boot; not to mention much head shaking and mock spitting.

(After writing this post, I checked the spelling of ‘enmity’ at Merriam-Webster Online and found this:

Etymology: Middle English enmite, from Middle French enemité, from Old French enemisté, from enemi enemy
: positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will

I think that sums up feelings on both sides the Atlantic pretty well, don’t you? I also laughed when I saw that the word is from French.)

All this begs the question, Why? After all, the Russians opposed the war in Iraq, as did the Chinese and the Germans and many others. So why is all this animosity focussed on the French? I’d offer three reasons:

1. A sense of betrayal. Russians and Chinese have never been considered as allies. The French have been. There’s a sense among Americans that an agreement had been made prior to war, that we were led into a UNSC vote believing in that agreement, and were betrayed by a French led counter-stroke.

2. A sense among Americans that the French owe us something for WWII.

3. A widening discussion and understanding of the degree of anti-Americanism in France. Many people were shocked by what they read. Much of it appears little different than Soviet-style propaganda.

An interesting, related question is this: Why haven’t the Germans experienced the same backlash? Their media is certainly as anti-American. Schroeder is no different in his actions than Chirac. Is it because so many Americans are of German descent? Or possibly because so many Americans have been stationed in Germany in the last fifty years and feel connected to Germans on a level they don’t feel towards the French? Or maybe the Germans aren’t seen as a traditional American ally. I don’t know.

Anybody here speak French?

Douglas at The Last of the Famous International Playboys says that there’s an embarrassing segment on a French news program about tsunami aid efforts. The report apparently praises American efforts, while pointing out that the French are helpless to do anything meaningful.

If you’re interested you should click on this link and check it out. If you can speak the lingo I bet it would be more insightful.

(Big hat tip to Prof. Reynolds.)