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France overrun by les rosbifs?


Logan
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[quote user="jond"]I suppose one question I have never received a satisfactory answer to (or, indeed, much any answer) is this: if the economies of the UK and France are rooted in such different philosophies (one dynamic & thrusting, the other tired & stagnant) how can they be, at the highest level, so similar?

GDP UK $1867 billion (1.8% real growth in2005)
GDP France $1816 billion (1.5% real growth in 2005)

The French economy is quite clearly NOT spiralling to its doom any more than the UK is. For the time being, anyway.


[/quote]

That was really well put.

I remember querying the above bit some time ago, because it just didn't  seem to add up to me with the high unemployment, high business costs etc in France.

I  am not an economist but I amazed at how the UK economy just keeps going, I know that many  in the UK are taxed to the hilt but equally the social security or whatever it is called these days, seems to be a lifestyle choice for many rather than something to help people in their hour of need. Also the UK still seems to feel it has to play the role of a super power rather than a country that globally has had its day, I don't think France has such aspirations any more.

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[quote user="le bouffon"]Mr smith only has a holiday home in france so maybe he would say that.[/quote]

What do you mean 'only' ? That means twice the hassle, twice the expense and contributing to the wealth of two areas.

Now then Buffy as an owner of two houses yourself, what is wrong with that?

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[quote user="KathyC"]Logan, I would love to take you up on so many points but I'm up to my armpits in a similar discussion on TF. (Ask SB, or perhaps not!) There's nothing wrong with disliking the way the French arrange things, my only point is, why live there if you feel that way?[/quote]

Kathy the answer to your question is simple surely, if you like or love a country enough to move to it, you want them to thrive, its not a question of 'disliking' more like hoping for  a better future for a country with lots to offer, hampered by red tape.

 

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[quote user="viva"]

I don't think France has such aspirations any more.

[/quote]

You are kidding, aren't you?

Haven't you noticed that the news is followed by the DOM-TOM news?   These far-flung places are regarded as part of France.  They're colonies by any other name.  Funny how Britain isn't allowed any, but France is?

And what about Chirac's posturing a month or so ago, about keeping up France's nuclear force because France is such an important international presence?

 

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[quote user="jond"]A divine right to rule also still exists among the political elite and in the minds of the middle class and the functionaries.

This is true of most countries on Earth. There are very few places that could truely be called meritocracies. Oligarchies are the predominant political structure of most large economies.


[/quote]

Yes, but if you wanted to get into higher politics in the UK, you'd have a chance.  In France you have to be an Enarque.  Very few others get in.  It's the old boy, school-tie network at its worst.

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"Holiday homes are fine so long as you rent them out to people who can

contribute to the local economy rather than let them stand empty."

Eh? What are you on? Our house had been empty for years before we bought and restored it - no-one else wanted it apart from holiday homers. We then contributed to the local economy having it renovated and still contribute by paying taxes and purchasing locally.

And finally - who are you to tell me what I should do with my property?

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I dont give a shit what you do with your property.  If it was empty for years and you restored it that is a fair shout but merely paying your tax is hardly contributing to a village.  How often do you buy from your local shops.  If everybody had your attitude the villages would become ghost towns. 
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[quote user="KatieKopyKat"]How often do you buy from your local shops.   [/quote]

How often does ANYONE buy from their local shops?   They prefer to pile into the gigantic supermarkets, and local shops are disappearing as a result.    Supermarkets sell a litre carton of milk for 55 centimes, local shops sell it for at least 70.    Not everyone likes to throw their money away.

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Brother-in-law & sister-in-law over for a long weekend. Went out for a walk with Peter this afternoon and bumped in to a couple down by the river.  They had a small bonfire going and had clearly been clearing a large-ish area of overgrown scrub etc. They were from Avignon (some 40kms away) and said that they come here most weekends for the day and a picnic in the Summer and wanted to tidy things up in preparation for the 'season'. Interested that we were now living here and weren't most Brits holiday home people? I replied that some were and some weren't. Nice chat: nice people. In their way, they are incomers, and I have no idea what 'right' they had to be doing what they were doing, but it harms nobody. (on the contrary) 

My point is that some people are delightful and some people are ***holes, regardless of whether they're British, French, Dutch, German or whatever. Live and let live, I say. Everyone gets very hot under the collar about it all, but my conviction is that the French, by and large, feel much the same way. Give them the credit for understanding the economic pro's and con's of us the incomers.      

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SB

Yes, of course I think my views are sane, why would I hold views that I think insane? I thought Jond's analysis was thoughtful and backed up by supporting evidence,which is more than can be said for many of the knee jerk (or should I say "wallet jerk") reactions that are exressed here.What many people appear to be complaing about is that France seems to have systems in place to protect people from exploitation. One's views on this are, naturally, going to be coloured by whether one sees oneself as an exploiter or an exploitee (if such a word exists).

Russethouse

You're right that one wants the country to thrive, but we may all have different definitions of what is meant by the word.

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