A man I know came round for a cup of coffee at 2 p.m. the other day. He was unshaven-- not the fashionable kind of unshaven-- and did not look very much like the independent consultant he says he is. He said he and his wife are thinking of moving to New York. "This country will not recover for 25 years. The entire mindset of France is sick."
I urged him to think carefully about expatriation. "You lose a lot too," I said. "France is a wonderful country. All your friends and family are here. Things will get better again."
"I don't think they will," he said. "Not soon enough. I want my children to grow up in a hopeful country."
why does he say the mindset is sick? What wont they recover from?
Can you explain what he's talking about to those of us who know nothing about France.
I found your blog while searching for information about France.
Posted by: aduke | 15 June 2014 at 04:08
The economy is pretty bad right now and people are worried about France's political direction and leadership. There is no real hope that things will change for the better any time soon and many of France's most ambitious are leaving, while fonctionnaires (government employees), who have more rights and privileges than most other workers, are worried their "acquired benefits" ("acquis sociaux") are being eroded, so they are going on strike, especially transport workers. This is the situation he was talking about.
Posted by: Sedulia | 17 June 2014 at 01:36