French word of the day: Le chagrin
Published 5 December 2024
It is an absolutely miserable Thursday here in Paris: grey skies with a dash of pouring rain, high winds, fallen government and a national school strike.
Yes, French Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government was censured last night by an unholy alliance of extreme-left and extreme-right groups voting together. Monsieur Barnier only lasted 3 months as PM, but don’t feel too bad for him, he is now entitled to a life-long golden retirement, with personal chauffeur and private offices all paid for by the French taxpayer.
The reason for the government non-confidence vote is that they attempted to make “a few changes”. In essence, the country has too many expenses, amongst the highest tax rates in the world, a deficit that has exploded, and no idea what special privileges to cut.
A few shocking figures where France is the champion of Europe:
- 57% of GDP goes into French govt. spending,
- 6 million govt employees in a country with a population of 66 million,
- 54% of the average salary goes towards taxes.
But no matter these dreadful statistics, the extreme left and right protested any suggestion of reducing expenses, the govt. came down, and the preemptive strikes are going on anyway.
Yes, there is general school strike on today as well. Although technically speaking, it is not all schools that are on strike. Each person working at the schools decides whether or not they are going to strike, and has to declare it 48hrs or so in advance.
Some schools are closed entirely, while other schools have some classes open. (I think there are some flights cancelled as well and taxis were protesting yesterday, but I’ve mostly been paying attention to the schools.)
My kids’ school is not on strike, but there are no “periscolaire activities” today. I didn’t understand what this meant either, but to sum up, I have to:
- drop the kids off at 8:30am for morning class,
- pick them up at 11:30am and bring them home for lunch,
- return them to school at 1:30pm for afternoon classes,
- pick them up again at 4:30pm.
It is a good thing I had nothing important planned today, like maybe sending out a newsletter.
There is to be no lunch canteen, no after-school guard, etc. And no, I am not allowed to pack a sandwich, and send it with them either, they must leave the school premises. The school animators are on strike and the teachers cannot watch the kids during lunch, so leave they must.
To be fair, I have no practise making a packed lunch anyway because this is simply not a thing in France. Kids here get full 3 course meals from their school canteen. No peanut butter sandwiches here, thank you very much. After all, I have get something for our high tax rate!
And with that, this of course is going to be a very short newsletter since it is time to pick up the kids. Again.
In other news:
- A worldwide survey known as the TIMSS report shows that French children are last in the Europe when it comes to maths and science. (This could explain the generally atrocious approach to govt. budgeting.)
- Japanese chefs have taken 1st and 2nd place at the World Pâté Croute competition, dethroning the French at their own dish. (Since the competition was created in 2009, French and Japanese chefs have shared the titles, except for one year, when chef Karen Torosyan took the 2015 title home for Belgium.)
- We may have lost pâté croute but we still have the nougat. The Nougat de Montelimar (from the town of Montelimar, duh!) has been awarded protected status in the EU.
In the blog:
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