Many friends tease me about what is going on in France right now. Here is what is my opinion about the strikes:
I understand that the unions represent 10% of the active (productive population.) They are unhappy because the legislature will force the people to work untill age 62 before becoming eligible to collect their pension.
Let's remember that France is a country where most people work 35 hours a week, get 5 weeks paid vacation, get paid when they miss work because they are sick, etc... This social package is not free, nor is it cheap. Now, the government can only steal so much from the heavily taxed payers, and spend it on social programs.
It appears that the unionists have a hard time understanding the concept that the government can only spend what it has, and when the account is empty, some discipline must be reinjected into the system.
What is particularly disturbing with the union's action, is that their strikes and "manifs," affect seriously the lives of the regular folks rather than those with whom they disagree. The second thing, is that the legislature which is voting to enact these changes was democratically elected by the people, when they, on the other hand, are a minority trying to bully their position in taking the majority hostage. The last thing is that with all the social protections the French people have, the jobs of these strikers is pretty much never on the line...
So I understand when most of the hard working French people suggest to the unionsist "d'aller se faire enculer..." (in French in the text as the word "fuck" which does not bother me is not always well regarded in the English litterature)
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