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Sarkozy on TV tonite


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The poison dwarf, sorry President Bling-bling, sorry I mean Monsieur Le President, will address the nation tonite. Presumeably to lie about, sorry explain, why he didn't commit election fraud, why there is no conflict of interest over Bettencourt, why gagging the media is actually good for everyone, and why Princess Carla spends 47 times SMIC of public money on flowers.

Paxman, it won't be....................http://info.france2.fr/france/nicolas-sarkozy-lundi-soir-sur-france-2-64038677.html

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What time is it on?

Let me hazard a guess 20.45?

Twas announced on the lunchtime news and as they didnt say which channel I had assumed TF1. Will it be Laurence Ferrari again?

He will be talking about reform of the retirement age which should be quite interesting, what has been talked about IMHO doesnt even scratch the surface, is a fraction of what the UK stoically has accepted yet every French person I talk too is reacting like a spoilt child.

 

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Well, I thought it was fascinating TV.  I have not seen another politician, anywhere, make such a commanding performance.  Can anyone, better informed than me, suggest someone who could provide such a convincing performance ?  I have no idea whther or not his statistics were accurate, but they impressed me.

Please read carefully what I said before you all climb in.  Remember, he was not talking to members of this forum, he was addressing the French electorate, most of whom reject him.  Keep it objective if you can. 

ernie

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I didn't watch the broadcast as we had guests in for dinner so I have had to play catch up via the newspapers.

There seems to be a lot of animosity towards the Wealth Tax i.e. many people want to see it gone. There seemed to be mixed feeling about him leaving the tax system alone and that people who started work before the age of 18 and are reaching 62 now will still retire at 62.

I liked the comment from a guy in Le Figaro who was a 'mason' (as in builder) who at 50 claimed he was worn out but he couldn't retire and would have to work much longer. I wish I could retire at 50 on a pension.

The reform of the agricultural system I think is necessary. Because of the way land is divided through the inheritance system, there are lots of very small farms that cannot survive without the subsidies, this is clearly something that needs to be sorted out. Many have tried in the past but the farming lobby is so big it has always failed. It's time these farms of 50 hectare and 6 cows went, its just costing the state too much money and they are not really productive.

I liked the bit about the government getting rid of over 100,000 jobs, typically French, as the government get rid of them regional and local government have been re-employing them. It also seems the opposite in France to the UK if I understood this right in that the state is leading the way (he claims) with reforms and he expects the private sector to follow their lead.

So as to his actual performance (should I have put that in quotes?), I don't know as I never saw it. I shall try and read some of the papers during the day if I have time.

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I'll declare that I do have issues with the French political elite (and leave it at that, I won't explain why!). So, I wasn't surprised when he claimed "France is not corrupt", when the charge was that the UMP and his Govn was corrupt. When he claimed the last political scandel was in Britain, conveniently forgetting the 2 ministers he sacked last week. There is no details on how the fiscal deficit will be reduced, just a target. No information about how Govn borrowing will be corrected. France borrows short term, therefore has to refund roughly 30% of it's national debt each year(2.5% in the UK). No information on the Trillion Euros needed for nuke decommissioning. No information on the CMU deficit.

Still, I did like his style!

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In an opinion poll (LH3) conducted after the broadcast 57% said they no confidence in the President.

Also, another French political scandal has appeared in the German press. It seems in order to get French support for the EU bailout fund, Greece had to buy EUR3billion of French helicopters. That's going to go down well with the Greek public! Tough, you're getting a 20% paycut, but look at the nice shiny new French helicopters we've got (and can't afford to put the fuel in).

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Sadly I didnt get to see it as a work break intervened.

I saw the last one and like you was mightily impressed, I agree that that there is no-one else in his league.

I also agree with his politics and believe that he is passionate about what he does, sadly I think he is 100 years to early for the French electorate.

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Only caught the last 20 mins - and he was really on the defensive. It is difficult for me to be impartial, as he is one of those few people that sets my teeth on edge and bring my hackles up as soon as I see them or hear their voice - Mrs T did that to me, and so does Berlusconi. Strangely enough, so did Portillo. However I saw a documentary he had made about his father who died fighting against Franco's fascist regime- and it was a very moving story. He making friends with his uncle, who fought for Franco - ever since then, this aversion has gone. Good for him for keeping the tax on fortune - and, whatever my teacher friends in France say - he has to fight for pension reforms - as most civil servants and many others expect to retire on full pension by 58 at the very most - it is just not sustainable.

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It is quite interesting to see the interaction between the French. Many of those I watch and 'tune in to' at our boules and rugby club are not too frightened of letting their dislike of those who work for the government and retire early with a good pension known. It's normally  something like 'It's OK for you retiring at 50 or 55 just because you worked for La Poste (or SNCF) but we have to work till we are nearly 70 to keep our heads above water'. So, I get the impression that those in the private sector are all in favour for the public service retirement age to be increased in line with theirs.
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I agree Quillan but no-one in the private sectr has to work until 70 AFAIK, my ex who was a fonctionnaire was always going on abouthow she has to work more years than others around her but she didnt actually start work and hence paying her cotisations until she was 28, interestingly she could never get her head around the notion that she could actually leave earlier should she decide to which was the only time our differences in age was ever a problem.

You spoke earlier about the maçon who was tired at 50 and wanted to retire, I kinda see where he is coming from as I am his age and only started building work 5 years ago and I dont have to put up with the demands of a patron or customers, I have French friends only a couple of years oder than me who are already retired, one pushed paper for SNCF, another worked in a factory and started work at 16 as I did.

I actually feel sorry for these guys, they are minted by anyones standards but have lost direction and are atrophying mentally, when I tell them the current (and ever increasing) age that I can claim my retirement pension, the amount it is regardless of how much you earn or pay they think that I am taking the proverbial they cannot begin to comprehend that anyone could possibly live on that amount.

I point out to them that they PX their flash cars for a new one every 3 years, one had an Audi TT and now a huge BMW cabriolet they say c'est normal" when I talk about the demographic crisis and Frances deficit being far greater than the UK and that even rasing the age to 70 immediatly would not be enough they revert to spoilt child mode.

They consider that the answer is to raise taxes, tax the rich and companies even more and make the unemployed work so that they pay cotisations.

But above all its not their problem, its the state that must take care of them at any cost.

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I agree there is a naivity in France when it comes to the disassociation of tax and benefits, something in general Anglo-Saxons take as obvious.

I also think the essential paradox, when talking about benefits, lies in the British attitude "It's not fair, I don't get it, so they shouldn't" whereas in France it's "It's not fair, I don't get it, I should have it".

AND Woerth's in the papers again (Le Canard Enchaine). Apparently he approved (oh yes he did!) the sale of a state owned racecource, and land, to a mate, for 2.5M, when it's valued at 28M. Let's see where this one goes[:D]

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[quote user="velcorin"]

I agree there is a naivity in France when it comes to the disassociation of tax and benefits, something in general Anglo-Saxons take as obvious.

I also think the essential paradox, when talking about benefits, lies in the British attitude "It's not fair, I don't get it, so they shouldn't" whereas in France it's "It's not fair, I don't get it, I should have it".

Very succinctly put. 

 

AND Woerth's in the papers again (Le Canard Enchaine). Apparently he approved (oh yes he did!) the sale of a state owned racecource, and land, to a mate, for 2.5M, when it's valued at 28M. Let's see where this one goes[:D]

Come on! a guy has to look after his pôtes, the boss certainly does!

[/quote]
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[quote user="Swissie"] --- I saw a documentary he had made about his father who died fighting against Franco's fascist ---[/quote]

Must be a different Michael Portillo than the one I know of - his father died in England at the age of 86.  [:)]

 

Actually, I did see that programme, too, and I found it moving. I think that Michael Portillo is an interesting broadcaster.

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