During his adventurous journeys across oceans and through faraway lands, Obelix, the loyal friend of Asterix in the famous French comic book series of that name, is often surprised by local customs and traditions. Whenever he encounters something unfamiliar, the fat Gaul in the blue-and-white striped pants taps his red hair and mumbles: "These Romans are crazy," or makes similar remarks about whichever nationality he happens to have encountered.
These days, as the French take to the barricades once again to protest a pension reform that appears to be necessary, one might be tempted to turn Obelix's remarks around, and ask: Are these Gauls crazy? Have the French lost their minds?Last week, garbage collectors went on strike in Marseille, while shouting high-school students marched through the streets of Nanterre. Buses and trains remained idle in Calais, Dijon, Toulouse and Nice, where public transportation was almost shut down for entire days at a time. In 24 university cities, including Rennes, Caen, Montpellier and Grenoble, students marched out of lecture halls and became a jubilant threat to public safety on downtown streets. There was no mail delivery in Poitiers and there were no newspapers in Paris.
Because protesters had blocked access to refineries and fuel depots, more than 3,000 filling stations around the country ran out of gas. Traffic at the airports in Paris and other cities was seriously disrupted, many long-distance trains were cancelled throughout the country and truck drivers provoked traffic jams on major highways. The corresponding images, including those of small fires set by rioters, quickly circled the globe.
Those who have paid only fleeting attention to the events in France and have relied on little more than brief, hectic news reports must conclude that the French, in defiance of all reason, are fighting ferociously to keep their retirement age at 60, and not change it to 62, as the government wants to do. If this were true, one would indeed be forced to conclude that the French are mad, and France itself would have to be written off as a serious partner in Europe until further notice. But fortunately the truth looks a little different.
Yes, the French are protesting against a flawed, unfair and poorly executed pension reform, and they are angry about more than what is being touted as a number of ridiculously minor changes. At the same time, however, the resistance against this concrete reform project by a very broad, only loosely cohesive protest movement offers a welcome excuse for the French to finally vent their long-simmering frustrations with their general situation. In fact, France is currently witnessing a veritable popular uprising against a government which has been shaken by scandals and which is already over the hill after only half of its term in office. The real target of the protesters' anger is Nicolas Sarkozy, the most unpopular French president of the last 30 years...
...MORE HERE...
...UPDATE!...
It Just Got More Personal!
October 30, 2010 by Declan O'Shea - The French newspapers Le Point and Politis explain one reason Nicolas Sarkozy could have been so keen to pass his Pension reform.
His brother, Guillame Sarkozy is the head of Malakoff Mederic, a company created in 2008 that sells pension schemes. According to Politis, banks and insurance companies now stand to make a fortune after the reform that pushed the retirement age in France from 60 to 62.
Guillaume Sarkozy stands to gain a massive 1.2 billion euro within a few years and his company has already made preparations for the ‘windfall’.
Perhaps Nicolas Sarkozy who is so fond of ‘luxury’ is preparing a nice little retirement fund for himself in cahoots with his brother after only 5 years on the job!
Malakoff Mederic
International Private company
21 rue Laffitte, Paris, F-75317 Cedex 9, France
33 01 56 03 34 56,
33 01 56 03 45 67 fax,
http://www.malakoffmederic.comPrimary SIC: Life Insurance, Primary NAICS: Direct Life Insurance Carriers
Description: Insurance: Provision of all types of social protection insurance cover and pensions
Here are the links related to this subject:
http://www.politis.fr/Sevriena-l-entreprise-sarkozyste,11865.html
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