Keep this in mind as you read:
"Britain and France have the biggest defense budgets in Europe, together accounting for more than half of all military spending in the 27-nation European Union"
They always have enough money for wars, don't they?
"French Senate passes Sarkozy’s pension bill; New retirement measure could be law by Wednesday" by Steven Erlanger and Alan Cowell, New York Times / October 23, 2010
PARIS — After nearly three weeks of debate and a series of national strikes, the Senate voted last evening to pass President Nicolas Sarkozy’s bill to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 and the age for a full pension from 65 to 67....
The vote is a victory for Sarkozy, who has vowed to stick with the pension changes despite the protests in the streets and the blockage by unions of refineries and fuel depots, which have left many drivers without gasoline.
Know what a Pyrrhic victory is?
Sarkozy is hoping that by the time presidential elections roll around in 2012, the French will remember his refusal to give way to street protests in order to pass a bill that the government argues is vital to preserve the financial health of the pension system.
That's the media cover story for all this; the French know this is all about funneling tax loot to bankers.
The French system relies on workers paying each year for the costs of those who have retired, and even under this new law the pension system will go into deficit again by 2018. The changes would be phased in beginning July 1.
Earlier yesterday, security forces scuffled with strikers to break a blockade of a major refinery near Paris. The Grandpuits refinery, 35 miles east of Paris, was one of 12 where strikers had halted operations since early last week, leaving drivers short of gasoline. Refineries, fuel depots, and ports have been blocked and intermittent clashes have broken out between demonstrators and the police....
Labor unions said three strikers had been slightly injured as the police moved in. The police operation was designed to secure access to fuel stocks to ease critical shortages, authorities said.
About one-fifth of the 13,000 French service stations are still out of fuel, down from 40 percent affected earlier this week, Jean-Louis Borloo, the environment minister, said yesterday.
After a meeting later with oil industry executives, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that shortages would probably continue for several days.
With a national school vacation beginning yesterday afternoon, the national railroad authority said it was restoring high-speed services, which had been cut by half earlier in the week.
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"Protesters delay holiday travelers
PARIS — Families hoping to get away for school holidays coped with train delays and gas shortages yesterday as strikes against pension changes stretched to a twelfth day. The government hoped the Toussaint fall holiday would deflate the protests, but drivers had to buy gas first (AP )."
Yeah, those bad protesters wrecking everyone's fun!!
Never you mind those looting bakers that plunged you into the hole!
"Amid protests, French pan president" by Associated Press / October 25, 2010
PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy’s approval rating has sunk to its lowest level, a poll reported yesterday, as protests over his pension reforms left the country struggling with gas shortages, travel chaos, and school shutdowns.
But it was a VICTORY for him!
And that is not the last spinning s*** the AmeriKan media tosses your way, dear readers!
Despite raids by riot police last week to force open refineries blocked by striking workers, France’s 12 refineries were blocked again yesterday, as were ports in Marseille and Le Havre, where dozens of tankers are still anchored, waiting to unload.
Yeah, those raids probably didn't help the rating.
France’s MEDEF business lobby sounded an alarm about the “seriousness’’ of the economic fallout. The group, which has supported reforms, said merchandise shipped by rail was at a virtual standstill, while products shipped by truck were “considerably delayed.’’
**********
It added that tourists and businesspeople are canceling planned visits to France.
The poll, published in the Journal du Dimanche, showed that only 29 percent of those surveyed were satisfied with Sarkozy’s performance. That was down 3 percent from September and was the leader’s lowest rating since he took office in 2007. It was among the lowest approval ratings of any French president in recent memory, the newspaper said.
Please REMEMBER THAT, dear readers!
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"Earliest retirement age rises to 62 in France; Sarkozy says it will save system" by Jamey Keaten, Associated Press / November 11, 2010
PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy may want to keep the pen as a souvenir.
For the day he signed his office away?
The unpopular leader on Tuesday signed a measure that raises France’s minimum retirement age to 62, from 60.
They are really beating to death the retirement angle.
It became law yesterday — a victory for Sarkozy that followed a showdown with labor unions. It was a campaign central to his presidency.
France is now the latest country in Europe where protesters have largely failed to halt a drive for austerity by heavily indebted governments. Workers upset over austerity measures have repeatedly disrupted London’s subway and shut down highways, ferries, and even the Acropolis in Greece, to no avail.
Or so the lying corporate press would have you believe.
As Sarkozy prepares to take over the presidency of the Group of 20 leading economies tomorrow, the European retrenchment stands in stark contrast to the heady growth rates in Asian countries like China and India....
That's because they didn't let Wall Street bankers loot their treasuries.
Governments in other heavily indebted European countries have also faced public anger as they try to cut spending. For example, tens of thousands of students protested yesterday in London against plans to triple university tuition fees.
See: Broken Britain
Sarkozy has not said whether he will run in the 2012 presidential election. But with the retirement fight behind him, he can now try to rebuild his popularity.
That is what you think!
During the debate, his approval ratings hovered near their lowest levels since he took office 3 1/2 years ago....
Try LOWEST in RECENT MEMORY for ANT FRENCH PRESIDENT!
But what's an AmeriKan newspaper without obfuscations and omissions, 'eh? !
In the end, Sarkozy and his allies in Parliament built their case on the perception that French workers had it a bit too good, causing Europe to lag while busy workers in places like China and India are propelling their economies ahead....
Really?
How many BILLIONS in BAILOUT LOOT did THEY GET?
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Related: Prime minister formally resigns
"PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed a new government yesterday in a marathon weekend reshuffling, with faithful allies taking top posts, clearly aimed at pleasing his conservative ranks before the 2012 presidential elections....
It's called shoring up the base.
--more--"
Also see: UN terms French food a cultural treasure
I'm sorry, readers. I've eaten enough BS for one day.
