I was born in France but have lived 2/3rd of my life in the US.
It is from here that I look with dismay at the ever-degrading political situation of the French Republic.
The French people renewed their long love affair with Socialism 2 years ago when they elected Francois Hollande as president.
Mr. Hollande is an amiable enough fellow, but totally lacking basic leadership qualities.
His detractors (and they are many) call him “Flanby” for a French jello-like caramel custard.
To be more accurate, the French did not really vote for Hollande, they voted out Nicolas Sarkozy.
They brought Hollande to the Elysée Palace to castigate the hyperactive (bling-bling?) former president.
They blamed Sarkozy for all the ills that have befallen the French society in the last 20 years. But to be fair, Sarkozy inherited the problems of a socialist system that refuses to face reality.
Now, after two years of ever-increasing taxes and absurd policies, many French express regrets about the outcome of the last elections.
Frustrated by the ineptitude of the present administration, many of them are unfortunately embracing the Front National, the Extreme-Right party.
Allister Heath, the Editor of City A.M., the daily business newspaper distributed in and around London puts it that way:
“France’s economic sickness is primarily due to its overbearing state, horrendously high tax levels, insane regulations, absurd levels of inefficient public spending and generalized hatred of commerce, capitalism, success and hard work”.
I wholly agree with this.
Socialism is a utopia.
It advocates some kind of a welfare state where production and distribution are tightly controlled by the government, and where getting wealthy is a sin that ought to be punished.
The former USSR is a prime example of the fallacy of this system and ought to be an example for the rest of the world.
But nobody is harder of hearing than somebody who doesn’t want to hear.
Instead of encouraging job creators and facilitating their success, the Socialists hinder their progress at every turn.
Disgusted by this sorry state of affairs, many young people have left France to seek their fortune in more accommodating countries, like Great Britain, Germany or the US.
Getting wealthy through innovation and business acumen, and taking employees in its wake, is the new way of doing business but Socialists are still using ox-drawn carts when the world uses electric cars.
And soaking the rich to pay for a welfare state is not the ideal solution to reenergize a moribund economy.
In France, joblessness is endemic. Why? Because potential employers hemmed in by taxes and regulations are dead set against hiring anybody.
Job creators need motivation, and the motivation is the hope of striking it rich.
Without it, why even try?
The government in its insane policy of trying to placate everybody pleases no one.
And now, this preposterous railroad strike paralyzing the country…when railroad employees can retire at 50 with a good pension… It is absolutely insane.
Anybody with spine ought to bust these out of touch trade unions, just like Margaret Thatcher did in Great Britain.
But unlike the indecisive clown dithering in the Elysée Palace, this lady had balls.
Where are the French Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Sheryl Sandberg?
They are everywhere but would not be caught dead in France.
Alain