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French public spending: it makes you weep!


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Last year, funeral spending on senators, former senators and their families cost the taxpayer €967000 and the deputés and their families €573000!

The benefit has just been renewed and increased. In addition, the bigger the pension, the bigger the allowance.

Do these idiots have no sense of shame? ???????

http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2018/03/17/01016-20180317ARTFIG00065-les-contribuables-vont-continuer-a-payer-les-obseques-des-deputes-mais-un-peu-moins.php
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And what, pray, my dear grumpy old chap, has the situation in Youkay to do with France? Haven’ lived there for 20, don’t necessarily keep up with events.

Of course, if you had referred to, say, Thailand.......?

Is this relevant?

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/do-we-still-need-school-dinners-8577039.html
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Don't care if the likes of Wooly feel an irresistable desire to throw rotten eggs at me.

But NOTHING mentioned compares to what we spend on our fast expanding royal family.  Apparently this soon to take place wedding of Harry and Meghan would cost something like 33 million pounds just for security.

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Yes, my dear Nimt, I do agree that their spending should be contracted. What always confuses me is who gets money from the Queen’s purse and who gets nowt? So, let’s get the funding clear too.

I never keep eggs until they are rotten as they get eaten quickly enough.

But why are we cross referencing with YewKay when it is a country which, according to Norman, we have left as emigrants.
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[quote user="woolybanana"]

But why are we cross referencing with YewKay when it is a country which, according to Norman, we have left as emigrants.[/quote] As usual Wooly, when people hear things about their little paradise they don't like they try to deflect it by changing the subject. By the way the Royal wedding will bring in more revenue than it costs via tourism, TV coverage and advertising etc. Still, why spoil a good moan.
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What's wrong with cross-referencing, as you call it?  Comparisons, of course, we all do it; after all, most of us have lived in the UK longer than we have in France and some of us still pay UK taxes and are UK citizens.  Would be wholly unnatural to ignore all things British as though they have never played any place in your life!

For your information, I have never been one to think that France is my "little paradise"....some things are better and some worse and that's the natural order of things too.

Oh yes, I expect too that you are one of those people who think that the royal family "brings in more tourism revenue" than what we spend on their various castles and residences, their security and all the rest of it.

The average tourist goes to the UK for all the interesting and cultural things which we do have a lot of and I don't suppose there are many that get to actually see a member of that famous anachronistic family (after all, we ARE in the 21st last time I looked)

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Well, each to their own, eh Nimty! Maybe there should be a referendum on whether to keep them or not!?. Problem is what to replace them with: Blair, Corbyn, Cameron, Tatchell, Boaty McBoatface...........?

Comparisons don't work that well as circumstances in each country are so different as are their histories. Great Bobo, even those of Scotland, Ireland, England and the other one(???????closest thing to a leak I can find)?.
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Wooly, why name all those people who, if they had to be elected as Head of State, would not even get on the long list, never the short one?

Don't tell me that in a country as populous as ours, there is no other person who could possibly do that "job"?

I am happy for "each to his or her own" but note that I was attacked, and what spirited person with a legitimate viewpoint, living in a society that encourages free speech, could refrain from a riposte or two?[:)]

Of course comparisons don't always work and circumstances are different in each country but we also are individuals and have different responses to changed circumstances.  As you very well know, I have never asked for English-speaking dentists, doctors, chiropodists, nail-bar workers, hairdressers, etc.  I have got on with it as best I can and, whilst I have strong views about both countries, I am always ready to learn something new and indeed thrive on learning and "finding out".....many things can be interesting and intriguing and I have never felt any need to find "expats" with whom to make friends or how to have foodstuffs delivered from the UK to either of the homes I have lived in in France.

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When I was young I was very anti the royal family.

And in my twenties moved to France and discovered that I did not like the way I saw a Republic was run and just how greedy the president and all the presidents men (usually) were, and was very happy to have The Queen, .......... because at the time, I daresay, that due to her 80's popularity, that Maggie would have been President, and that idea still makes my skin crawl.

So republican I am not, and for all I am no completely happy with our old and delapidated system. I have yet to see one I prefer.

French politicians do very very very well out of the french public. Years ago I think someone became a minister for a very small amount of time, days, weeks, or few months? I cannot remember, and would then they would be on a pension for life, a decent one.........hopefully that has changed since, but I do not know.

There was once a costing of how much heads of state cost in Europe and I seem to think that the most expensive was the German President, and I have no idea who that is!

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http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/12/who-are-the-best-paid-mps-in-the-eu

This may help when comparing salaries. However, other perks need to be factored in eg leaving expenses, living expenses, final salary pension scheme extra "responsibility" allowances etc.

IMHumbleO any system based on hereditary privilège stinks. NB that includes a monetary inheritance above a maximum non-obscene amount.

"Networking" based on family/friend influence also included.
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Load of rubbish, does not include full perks and expenses.

My point has been avoided. Should taxpayers be paying for such perks as funeral expenses. I cant see why.

Trouble with heavy deAth duties is that it eventually creates either Cuba where everyone earns the same or Venezuela.

By the way, have you noticed that the happiest nation is the Finns? Seems that having the Russians on your frontier creates a kind of national hysteria.
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Your title of this thread does seem to include all french public spending, of which salaries of members of respective parliaments is a large contribution.

By saying the figures are rubbish can you supply ones that suit your view?

Are you also against the excessive perks paid to CEOs of private companies which probably total much more than their nominal salaries and are way abnove the average salaries paid in the companies - I am.

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Your title of this thread does seem to include all french public spending, of which salaries of members of respective parliaments is a large contribution.

By saying the figures are rubbish can you supply ones that suit your view?

Are you also against the excessive perks paid to CEOs of private companies which probably total much more than their nominal salaries and are way abnove the average salaries paid in the companies - I am.

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Yes, Richard, I am.

The figures for French parliamentarians do not include grace and favour accommodation which they often manage to keep long after their mandate has expired, for example.

Plus largely unaccountable expenses.fortunately the cumul des mandats seems to have been abolished.
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Well, those figures of average pay for the plebs in the UK, for 2010 are off, over £33000 average pay............ hmmmm. So how can I believe in these figures, actually don't.

And if, for example british MP's get a lot of 'extras' I daresay the french would consider UK allowances as peanuts.

Remember the huge amounts of 'cash' that french ministers get delivered to do with as they please. Or has that stopped....... heard it was going to stop, but has it really?????

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Actually I know it was in €'s and as I could not be bothered to check exchange rates for 2010 so didn't and guessed.

So after being picked up on it, checked the Bank of England spot rates this morning, and it imore like £30k average UK salary. Errrrrr, the average salary is not that, far from it and was not in 2010.

You do make me smile richard51, as prickly as a good friend of mine in France, who will pick anyone up on anything at all. There again most of my french friends do similar things too.[:D][:D][:D]

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