Will Sarkozy Win?

[Cool-Beans]

I was wrong. I said he'd lose. I was sure that France would just implode.

DH said No, people say they want socialism, but they never actually like it when they have to live with the results. Said the French have had enough of laying in the bed they made and even the French weren't that stupid.

We argued about this and bet on it and I lost. Woe is me.

 

[Crokette]

Sarkozy won and I'm glad he did .
It's now time for changes, and let's hope that the socialists won't drag all their supporters in the streets everytime Sarkozy says a word...

 

[DawnCt1]

Sarkozy won and I'm glad he did .
It's now time for changes, and let's hope that the socialists won't drag all their supporters in the streets everytime Sarkozy says a word...

One HUGE reform he hopes to undertake is an affirmative action plan for blacks and Arabs. This is certainly overdue in France. These two groups are vastly underemployed and in some neighborhoods exceed 60%. They have been left out of the mainstream of France for a generation and many of them were born there.

 

[yeartolate]

Haven't you spoken out against affirmative action in the US?

 

[bimshire]

Yes, he wants to be a friend of the USA but has clearly pointed out that bush's war in Iraq was a "mistake." Good for him.

 

[DawnCt1]

Haven't you spoken out against affirmative action in the US?

Yes, I have because we have had equal opportunity and equal access for years. The same hasn't been true of France. They have ghetttos of Arab speaking youth in which the police do not even enter. The situation is markedly different.

 

[yeartolate]

I blieve he thought it was a "historic mistake" and warned of not making the same mistake in Iran.

Hopefully Sarkosy will be a good fit for France.

 

[yeartolate]

Yes, I have because we have had equal opportunity and equal access for years. The same hasn't been true of France. They have ghetttos of Arab speaking youth in which the police do not even enter. The situation is markedly different.

Were you for AA in the begining in the US?

 

[Chloe'sMom]

I guess i don't see the big deal. I can remember a few years ago some of our Canadian and British posters remarking on how they were disappointed in our election results and people telling them to "worry about your own country and stay out of mine." Now suddenly we are all suppose to be happy with the way the French Elections went?

Does this mean no more french bashing?

While I"m glad that perhaps the new French President will open channels for perhaps more diplomacy in our foreign relations department I certainly don't see this as a win for the US.

And WHY is the 35 hour work week ridiculous? I'm sorry but I don't feel proud to work in a country where workers are overworked, underpaid, and take the least amount of vacation in the world.

~Amanda

 

[DawnCt1]

Were you for AA in the begining in the US?

Yes. I think that during the 50s and the early 60's in certain areas of the country in particular, it was difficult for blacks to get ahead. I think that a lot of those wrongs have been corrected and that we have been on a different track for quite a while.

 

[DawnCt1]

And WHY is the 35 hour work week ridiculous? I'm sorry but I don't feel proud to work in a country where workers are overworked, underpaid, and take the least amount of vacation in the world.

~Amanda

Because it affects productivity tremendously. Business has to spend a lot more to produce less and less. France's employment rate is 60% which means that there are a lot of people permanently excluded from the work force. Its unemployment rate is 9%, twice that of the USA. Last year when attempts were made to loosen some of the constraints on hire; hire on a trial basis, being able to dismiss poor workers, as it is here in the USA, the French rioted. I guess those that do work want their jobs forever, regardless if they are useful or not. If workers had to work 40 hours a week, companies could earn more and expand. Overtime is taxed at very high rates and this too stifles job growth.

 

[salmoneous]

He did win - it will be interesting to see if the conservatives stop bashing France now.

As far as I can tell, most of the conservative French-bashing was due to France thinking war was not the right way to deal with the threat of Saddam. The new guy agrees that the war in Iraq was and is a huge mistake, and is on record saying he won't support war to deal with Iran.

I don't see the conservatives changing their French-bashing ways.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

He got 53% of the vote with the remainder going to the socialist Segolene Royal. Turnout was 85%. The socialists have now been out of power for two terms and are entering a third. Sarkozy said that the USA can count on friendship from France but urged the US President to tackle climate change.

See here for the policies: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6357899.stm



Rich::

Wow! 85% turnout?!?!? The American public could take a real lesson from the French on appreciation of the right to vote!

 

[Database]

I don't see the conservatives changing their French-bashing ways.[/

You paint with too wide of a brush my friend!

I would consider myself conservative. All my friends are way left of me!

Anyway.... I absolutely love the French. Spent time in northern France. Awesome people. Would retire to Normandie in a New York minute. Made a trip last year to support the calvados industry. They had a great month!

The bashing of the French was rather embarassing and showed our collective ignorance of French history and their bravery during WWI and WWII.

The French voted. They made their choice. Viva la France and democracy.

 

[Chloe'sMom]

Wow! 85% turnout?!?!? The American public could take a real lesson from the French on appreciation of the right to vote!

100% agree! I am always amazed that people do not vote. I have several people in my family who don't vote because they don't want to be called for jury duty doesn't keep them from complaining about the government.

~Amanda

 

[LukenDC]

Affirmative action, called "positive discrimination" in France, will be a tough sell. The country is so insistent on equality among its citizens that it does not even keep demographic records on race and national origin.

Of course there is discrimination in France, where many Muslims are unemployed and more than 50% of the prison population is Muslim. In many ways, however, the Sarkozy election is a shot over the bow of militant Islam. The French, along with the British, were the colonial masters of the Middle East and North Africa and they have a deep seated suspicion of Islam. France has been the target of Islamic terrorists for decades and the police are very tough on militants.

The French Muslims are not blameless. There are many French Muslims who disdain Western society, including democracy, and have no intention of integrating. Many Muslim immigrants make little effort to learn French. It's a complicated situation.

 

[billythefish]

Because it affects productivity tremendously. Business has to spend a lot more to produce less and less. France's employment rate is 60% which means that there are a lot of people permanently excluded from the work force. Its unemployment rate is 9%, twice that of the USA. Last year when attempts were made to loosen some of the constraints on hire; hire on a trial basis, being able to dismiss poor workers, as it is here in the USA, the French rioted. I guess those that do work want their jobs forever, regardless if they are useful or not. If workers had to work 40 hours a week, companies could earn more and expand. Overtime is taxed at very high rates and this too stifles job growth.

I don't think tax rates for overtime are any different than normal tax rates. Maybe you can prove me wrong on that one.

It's always amazed me that America has only a two week annual leave as the norm. Four weeks has been the norm in Britain since the 60's. Anyone who tells you it affects the economy adversly is a liar frankly. Or a megarich businessman whose been fleecing his workers for years and telling them it's for the good of the economy.

 

[billythefish]

Actually, we've always had a friend and an ally in France. It's a shame this administration didn't take their advice and intel about Iraq more seriously since they turned out to be correct. We would have saved ourselves hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of American citizens would still be alive.

Exactly right. But those of us who agreed with France at the time were branded cowards and appeasers. How times change.

 

[salmoneous]

You paint with too wide of a brush my friend!

Sorry, my bad. How about:

I don't see those conservatives who like to bash the French changing their ways?

 

[Oreo Cookie]

Because it affects productivity tremendously. Business has to spend a lot more to produce less and less. France's employment rate is 60% which means that there are a lot of people permanently excluded from the work force. Its unemployment rate is 9%, twice that of the USA. Last year when attempts were made to loosen some of the constraints on hire; hire on a trial basis, being able to dismiss poor workers, as it is here in the USA, the French rioted. I guess those that do work want their jobs forever, regardless if they are useful or not. If workers had to work 40 hours a week, companies could earn more and expand. Overtime is taxed at very high rates and this too stifles job growth.

I think there is a balance that is needed. Clearly, there are many Americans who consistently work 50-60 hours a week, and that is not healthy. I agree that the 35 hour work week needs to change in France, and the President elect has some good ideas. One thing I read in the paper this morning is that they are thinking of taking overtime pay an exempting it from taxes to help stimulate the economy.

As far as french bashing, that is just from ignorance and I was embarrassed by some of the behavior I saw in our country. The President elect said he wants to strengthen the relationship with US, and that being a strong allies does not mean agreeing and supporting every issue.