Opinion
French protests not entirely rational
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Also by Cynthia Martens:
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- French protests not entirely rational (April 7, 2006)
- Dynamics change for college dating (November 14, 2005)
- Language always amusing (April 14, 2006)
- Religion interferes with FDA ruling (November 21, 2005)
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The dour pundits on television would have you believe that the student riots across France are an economic protest. But shut your econ textbooks for a moment and, instead, tune in to French popular music.
It's all about the past. Edith Piaf's rich, deep voice and trilled r's crooned "Non, je ne regrette rien" ("No, I don't regret anything") back in 1960. As a child in elementary school in Paris, I never had to learn the French national anthem, "The Marseillaise." Instead, my classmates and I sang classic French songs from the 1960s, reminiscing about lost loves and youth, about what could have been or would never be. Never mind that we were 8 years old and had lost neither love nor youth.
Even the French oldies station on the radio is called Nostalgie, or nostalgia.
Compare that to today's American pop music, with Kanye West jamming out, "I ain't sayin' she a gold digger," and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas singing about her lovely lady lumps. Where's the nostalgia there?
Common stereotypes of France include a mustached man playing an accordion, a beautiful woman inhaling cigarette smoke as she awaits her lover or a group of friends lounging at a café over a bottle of wine, bread and cheese. All of these images reflect France's love affair with things past, with the good old days, even though it's never been clear exactly when the good old days were.
France is, after all, a land with a long history. Americans have been known to fall in love with France for the very reason that its allegiance to the past runs counter to the American penchant for the present. Likewise, the French love to visit the United States because it's so fast-paced and focused on immediacy. While Claude François lamented a love affair gone sour, Marvin Gaye sang "Let's Get It On."
Experts analyzing the riots over the CPE labor law assume all the protesters are acting rationally and have a deep understanding of the economic implications of the law. But maybe there's a cultural element at play, a kind of gut reaction against change — an irrational nostalgia.
"Oh, these French," sighed a very proper, elderly French passenger on my flight from Paris to Chicago last month. "You try to change anything and they all take to the streets!"
She might be on to something. By American standards, the CPE is hardly a drastic conservative measure. It would extend the trial period of new employees under age 26 to two years, during which time they could be let go without a stated reason. France's Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin argued this would encourage employers to hire more young people, which would counteract France's absurdly high unemployment rate — nearly 25 percent among young workers.
Students in France — feeling singled out in a country that prides itself on its strong social programs and employee-protection laws — have taken full advantage of their right to strike. This Tuesday, the riots were as strong as ever, and even the Eiffel Tower was closed, as it was during the March 28 protests.
The riots have interfered with classes at most universities, and some public-transportation workers and airport employees have joined the strikes in a display of the solidarity France holds so dear. But the students on the French news broadcasts are beginning to look more like soccer fans at the World Cup than people seriously interested in debating liberal economics.
Few of my friends in Madison who are renting caps and gowns and preparing to join the working world expect immediate job stability following graduation. It's more "get a job, sha na na na" than anything else. If the students protesting the CPE at Place d'Italie looked around the world, they'd see they don't have it so tough. But that's assuming the riots are entirely rational.
French films wouldn't be French without complicated sexual liaisons and infidelities, and French music wouldn't be French without nostalgia. France itself, in fact, wouldn't be France if people didn't periodically take to the streets and protest.
Leave the economic pontificating to the pundits. It might not be la vie en rose for M. de Villepin right now, but it's all so … French.
Cynthia Martens (cmartens@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in Italian and European studies.
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"But the students on the French news broadcasts are beginning to look more like soccer fans at the World Cup than people seriously interested in debating liberal economics."
Maybe it's because it's not about ideology, but about PEOPLE'S LIVES. The unions are even threatening to strike, therefore it's not something that affects only students.
And since when did the media favor these students? Everything I've seen portrays them as irrational savages who hate capitalism.
Too bad they don't think far enough back, but the tradition of the Franks is long gone and there is no Hammer to hold back the tide of Islam. France will be under new management by the end of this century and Notre Dame will suffer the same fate as Hagia Sophia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Martel
"Everything I've seen portrays them as irrational savages who hate capitalism."
Finally, truth in the MSM!
France's Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin argued this would encourage employers to hire more young people.
Seems Dominique de Villepin should concentrate his efforts on getting more industry than allowing employers to screw there workers around. You can make all the laws you want to make it easier to fire employees but the core problem remains having enough jobs to go around.
The French...the Socialists. It's all about the worker until the Business Owner fails to materialize. I am not in business for my workers, I am business for me. (Don't jump on me, I treat me valued workers very well but anyone under 26 can be replaced in about an hour.) You have to be able to fire someone minor without a major hassle or you will find a way NOT to hire them in the first place.
"the core problem remains having enough jobs to go around."
And making it impossible to fire someone helps this how?
Here's the rub, if a company can't fire you, they'll do everything in the power not to hire you in the first place.
I guess I can't blame them for trying.
I wish I could get a life-time job, 35 hour per week with lots of vacation and many holidays.
I do wonder how the French plan to compete against the Chinese. Hell, I wonder how I can compete against the Chinese.
The cost of firing an employee in France is not two weeks notice and a have a nice life at the door. The employeer ends up paying for the fired individual for at least another year. When an employeer is caluculating the cost of doing business in France and adding employees they have to account for the cost of riding themselves of dead weight. It constrains the flow of labor by raising the cost above what the market should bear. Although explaining this to most in Madison is difficult as those voting for Feingold actually believe that Corporations pay taxes. When you inflate the cost of labor for business then business looks elsewhere for labor or creates efficeincys that eliminate the need for labor. Something the pro-illegal we want cheap produce folks have not figured out.
The fat and happy youth of France want a free ride. Not surprisingly the typical Madison college student wants the government to pay for damn near everything to. Eventually they grow up and realize that the government is not paying for anything, taxpayers are.