DaveLister

I think the responses on this forum have shown that the opinion in France nationally is more divided. As anotherbanana has said something has to be done to address the pension deficit and Macrons reforms were in his manifesto so people can't say they weren't warned.

I've been monitoring the comments section of the local paper. The vast majority are appalled by both the violence and the actions of the unions. Most point to other countries where the retirement age is even older and the benefits are less. No one is asking for Macrons head, quite the opposite.

The French always hate their Presidents. It's a national sport.

Thank you for providing context. I came late to the debate. I'll take a look at Hansard later. I just hope the right wing press are as measured in their reporting.

Suella Braverman has just stood up in the house of commons and said - DIRECT QUOTE " Criminality and particular (sic) drug supply and usage is now connected to people who came here on small boats illegally in the first place" So now the people who arrive in the UK on small boats are drug runners. Sorry Gary, it seems as if you still have some work to do.

Goodness me ALBF. What has Gary Linekar ever done to you? Did you once nearly choke on a Walkers crisp or something.

Looks like the BBC has backed down. Statement from Gary Linekar. After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming. I have been presenting sport on the BBC for almost 3 decades and am immeasurably proud to work with the best and fairest broadcaster in the world. I cannot wait to get back in the MOTD chair on Saturday. A final thought: however difficult the last few days have been, it simply doesn’t compare to having to flee your home from persecution or war to seek refuge in a land far away. It’s heartwarming to have seen the empathy towards their plight from so many of you. We remain a country of predominantly tolerant, welcoming and generous people. Thank you. Can't argue with that can you ALBF

I don't know about you but I don't fancy having to spend three months living in a Premier Inn😱

Words and deeds yes. So, if the language of the current government doesn't bother you why should the words of a former footballer? Why are you getting so upset, it's just words. Personally I think very few countries can cover themselves in glory over this issue ( Germany's maybe an exception ). Being an asylum seeker in the UK can be a miserable existence. Just ask those poor souls who have caught diphtheria in overcrowded centres or had their accommodation firebombed by angry mobs. Not to mention the hundreds of unaccompanied children the Home Office itself admits to losing. Oh, and Sarkozy didn't have Sangate knocked down, it was returned to Eurotunnel from which it had been requisitioned. Sarkozy was only able to do this because the British government promised to sort out it's dysfunctional asylum processing of Kurdish refugees. Sound familiar?

Gary Linekar has been active in highlighting the plight of refugees for years. He hosts them in his own home. He knows more about the subject than most. As has been said, he was referring to the language being used and, yes, he probably has read more than one book on the subject. More interesting, in my opinion, is the actions of Suella Braverman. To all intents and purposes she's very bright. She studied law both at Cambridge and the Sorbonne and is a KC. Last year she was sent a letter from a group of Holocaust survivors asking her to refrain from using dehumanising language when referring to refugees as it was reminiscent of the language used in Germany before the second world war. In January another holocaust survivor went to her constituency and requested the same thing. Both times she refused and on the second occasion the home office office threatened legal action against the woman if she didn't remove the video of her asking the question from the internet. Numerous charities and aid associations have made the same point. You could argue the Gary Linekar is merely the last. So my question is this, why does the home secretary persist in using such language? What is she hoping to achieve if not the demonisation of a whole group of people. Just like what happened in 1930's Germany.

Apparently it originally meant making use of the services of "ladies of the night" without paying. https://www.lefigaro.fr/langue-francaise/expressions-francaises/2017/07/11/37003-20170711ARTFIG00010-mais-d-o-vient-poser-un-lapin.php

https://twitter.com/F3Aquitaine/status/1631720098909102080

OK, that's all impressive but you can't honestly say you did all those things straight away ( can you? ). I was looking for the little thing that gave you a sense that "yes I can do this"

For me, it was figuring out what a K7 was. Had me baffled for months.

Leaving it in the hard case will be fine. Much better that letting a four year old play with it😀. If the guitar is lying flat in the case and there's no pressure on the neck it won't warp. Sounds like you've got this covered in more ways than one🙂. If you do decide to buy a tripod stand at a later date, check out the reviews as some of them have a coating that can react with newer varnishes.

Just make sure your guitar sits in the hard case correctly and there's no pressure on the neck. I rarely put my guitars away. Instead I use wall supports like this. https://www.amazon.fr/Hercules-Stands-GSP39WB-Support-Guitare/dp/B000EEJGRK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1544623575&sr=8-2&keywords=HERCULES%2BSTANDS&th=1 Personally I would be very wary of cleaning. Distilled water only on the body. I don't bother de-tuning. If you're going to be storing the instrument for long periods keep an eye on the humidity as the body can dry out and the veneer craze.

Does that mean it's now OK with you if I get the vote? 😉😀

The reluctance of employers to employ mature workers is a world wide problem but I agree with ALBF that there does appear to be a particular malaise in France that begins with the schools. The learning by rote and reluctance to allow free expression and independent thought produces a workforce that is incapable of adapting to change. I know countless young French people who hate their jobs but wouldn't consider looking for alternative employment. Instead they go to work every day, detesting every moment of it, waiting for the weekend when they can let rip. There are a few who can think outside the box and, like Wooly's example on another thread, move on and obtain a sense of fulfillment but most are just waiting for a retirement they see slipping further and further away from them. As to elderly British couples clogging up the system, I'm not old, I'm not married, and I don't have a dog. So I suppose I'm alright😉

Quick, where's my railcard😃

I should also add that I am below the current pensionable age.

Personally I have great sympathy for most of the strikers. They see their parents or grandparents enjoying retirement with a good pension and a full social calendar and want to aspire to the same. BUT, The country as a whole cannot survive with increasing social costs and an inflexible workforce. Advances in medicine means most people are now living longer, and more active lives than before. The proposed increase in retirement age is not unreasonable. In order to have a country fit enough to pass onto the next generation I hope it is brought in.

I think that might just say something about the company you keep. My French friends love a good debate. I don't know why but I find that very sad.😔

I'm not talking about Brexit. We're talking about France. Should I have a say in your kids or your other halves future? Absolutely! After all they have a say in mine. It's called democracy. You personally may choose not to take part but as someone once said 'the rules are made by those who turn up'.

So by your logic, anyone who doesn't have children should be excluded from voting. I'm assuming you would extend that to French Nationals as well. We all have our vested interests, that's what makes universal suffrage so important.

So I guess you can't stand me ALBF. I'm one of those 'self serving muppets' in that I am in the process of applying for French Nationality. Two reasons really. The first is that I want the right to vote. I feel I should have a say in who gets to spend my taxes. Secondly I can very well imagine myself ending up in an EPAD. I've no family and, as for moving to the UK, I spent ten years there once & didn't like it. My right to live in France currently requires me to apply for a residency card every ten years. What if I became too infirm to go through the formalities? I read recently about a woman with dementia in Sweden who is being deported back to the UK because she was unable to complete her residency application despite being in a care home for the past seven years. You are right, not having French Nationality doesn't have that much of a bearing on my life currently but who knows what might happen to any of us in the future. As I intend to die here, I'd rather apply now instead of waiting until it does become life threatening.