A recent poll shows that the vast majority (76%) of young French people are attracted by the idea of being fonctionnaires (government workers--you know, those people who go on strike every few minutes).
Interestingly enough, though, half of the jeunes de banlieue say they want to start their own business-- those troublemakers!
What a tragedy that all this human potential is going to waste. The French economy creates literally hundreds of jobs every few months for the entire country of 60 million plus.
(D'ailleurs quand je me plains de la France ce n'est pas pour dire que mon propre pays a tout résolu. Mais comme disait Jésus cité par Matthieu dans le Nouveau Testament, c'est plus facile de voir la paille dans l'œil du voisin.)
(Slogan on fence, above: "We will only get what we know how to take. Borrowing for everyone!" <Correction, thanks Marco: "Ready for anything!"> Slogan on yellow sign, above: "Money is only a fiction.-- Aristotle".)
Photos courtesy of Flickr: Lyonelka and DSC08055
Si maintenant les americains citent le nouveau testament en français je vais y perdre mon latin moi!
Au fait 50% des jeunes ne veulent pas vraiment etre fonctionnaires ils veulent juste avoir un travail et etre fonctionnaire c'est la seule maniere d'avoir un emploi en france en 2006 malheureusement.
From Sedulia:
Y'a pas de quoi, nayaone, on trouve du tout sur l'internet...bon ben à part le travail bien sûr.
Posted by: the stuff the dreams are made of | 24 April 2006 at 23:06
About your first point, it might come from school/high school teachers' influence, or from media influence, but I really feel french education is business "unfriendly". When young kids grow eventually, they do not only think in terms of public service being more stable, but also it being more "clean" and pure.
Money is dirty, only theory, abstract reasonning and permanent selection have a meaning. Tough selection means making 95% of the people frustrated to extract 5% of so-called geniuses which will enter grandes ecoles. This "dirtyness" of making money to afford a great standard of living is a really intriguing point, and I would be interested in any reference to this. I feel it, to my dismay, within my friends, my family... and even in myself.
decadent country? i think this is where it comes from. we forgot reality and gave priority to abstraction.
just a last little comment: "prête à tout" means "ready for anything", not "borrowing ...". It's the "ready for" meaning of "prêt", which has been feminized (the person who tagged that was a girl in short!).
From Sedulia: Thanks Marco! You're right, I made a mistake in my French (*how embarrassing*). I did realize after I posted that "prête à tout" really means "ready for anything", but I thought it was funnier to leave it...
Posted by: marco | 25 April 2006 at 03:25
I've got to admit, I just don't understand the attitude of the younger people and the CPE. It's a non-starter now, yes? Sounds like the government caved in to the protests. I understand (at least I think I do) that artists can live quite well in France due to subsidies. I know of a few non-French artists who are doing that. Fair? I don't know. I think French taxes must be quite onerous to support so many non-realized potential.
Maybe I just don't understand yet.
Posted by: deb | 25 April 2006 at 03:28
C'était Jésus qui a dit ces paroles dans le Sermon sur la Montagne. (Mt. 7:1-5) Matthieu était seulement évangéliste.
Posted by: William | 25 April 2006 at 06:12
another translation comment ;) "nous n'aurons que ce que nous saurons prendre" means rather "we'll only get what we'll be able to take", or turned differently "we'll only get what we'll have the courage/strength to take". in this case "nous saurons -- " shouldn't be translated as "we know how to -- ".
i'm not saying this is french literature though ;) just to help
Posted by: Marco | 25 April 2006 at 07:59