Bonjour, Londres
Nicholas Sarkozy, the compact little bundle of French presidential energy, was defeated today. His successor is Francois Hollande, a Socialist. The great thing about France is, if you believe in socialism you call yourself a Socialist and other people are allowed to call you Socialist.
Sarkozy was probably doomed, anyway. He was chipping away at the French welfare state -- well, it's probably more accurate to say he was chipping away at chipping away at the French welfare state -- and that's never popular. (And before we shake our heads ruefully at those crazy French we'd better ask ourselves: what happens when we start chipping away at chipping away at ours?)
Meanwhile, though, something new may be happening to the beleaguered French entrepreneurial and investor class. From today's Financial Times:
Wealthy French people are looking to London as a refuge from fresh taxes on high earners pledged by candidates in the country’s presidential elections.
The “soak the rich” rhetoric that has punctuated the presidential campaign has prompted a sharp rise in the numbers weighing a move across the Channel, according to London-based wealth managers, lawyers and property agents specialising in French clients.
And if you switch some of the countries around, is this a preview of coming attractions for American high-earners?
The departure of France’s business people, entrepreneurs and the young for opportunities overseas is not a new phenomenon. When Nicolas Sarkozy visited London in 2007 he called for its French residents to return to a reformed France under his presidency. But the trend has been accelerated by the growing possibility of a Socialist victory in Sunday’s decisive second round of the presidential election.
Mr Blanc says some French clients were even contemplating acquiring British or other nationality in order to safeguard assets from fears that France could move to collect more tax from citizens overseas. “A lot of people are extremely worried,” he said.
Alexandre Terrasse, a partner in corporate and property law at Jeffrey Green Russell, says he had seen a 25 per cent rise in activity from French clients over the past six months, “The 75 per cent tax is clearly a sign that the politicians will hit the wealthy and they don’t want to have to deal with that.”
What happens in a global marketplace when people vote with their feet?
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Dec '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Rob,
The worst possible man at the worst possible time. The New Governor Moonbeam of France. Why that nasty old Sarkozy, 60 to 62, never!
Ahhh..the wonderful smell of socialist tinkerbellism. If everyone just believes in tink then the economy won't die.
Let me give you a hint. Gd is not going to smile on these prophets of Baal. They can believe in the socialist tinkerbell all they want. France is Greece as of now.
Regards,
Jim
Mar '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
I wonder if some time in the future a nation will come up with a voting skem were the % of your income you pay in taxes is how many votes you got so as to check the mob from voting for itself pay raise that destroy the nation.
Edited on May 7, 2012 at 2:48amJul '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
I suppose similar things might happen that have happened in the past, when earners vote with their feet - there will be billions of un-repatriated earnings that are waiting offshore, hoping not to be taxed (or taxed as much) when they are re-patriated. In other words, you can vote with your feet, but you might not be able to go home again with what you've earned.
As it turns out in the US, you can spend hundreds of millions or billions on lobbying, but since so much power resides in the administrative arm of government now, how much voice do the people have in what's being done to them? For me, that's the core of what's wrong. The apparatus of gov't has become so large, so encompassing, that you literally cannot escape it, and you cannot hope to change it.
Democrats think this is a swell way to operate. Just ask Julia.
May '12
Re: Bonjour, Londres
How did Fulbright encourage the East Germans to build the Berlin Wall?
Jul '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
I know a few who voted away from the US. France will just fail faster now. Bring it on. I want interesting times and here they are. Cali and the other welfare states will have their hands out soon enough and I am curious if we will have a choice about bailouts or not.
May '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Forgetting about how the country got there, the Greek rejection of austerity actually makes sense. It does nothing for the Greek people, other than condemn them to a generation of disaster. It serves only to bail out the irresponsible European banks. The people would be better off absorbing the pain of default, a few years of pain and then getting on with life.
This is really going to get interesting. If Greece defaults and the Germans actually hold firm regarding future bailouts (which I doubt), given Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy +general recession and a France with invigorated Socialism, I don't see a successful scenario forward for the Euro zone.
Anyone have ideas?
Jun '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Ningrim: I'm confused, are the Greeks opposed to bailouts and austerity?
Without the former, don't you get the latter? · 4 hours ago
Once the body politic gets fully confused, neither bailouts nor austerity really matter. You get something else: anarchy.
May '12
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Sorry for the Doofus question. I just read the Wikipedia page on Fulbright. Everything else I am reading her makes sense. But what he said does not. And he was the first political book I ever read.
I wish Greece luck. I wish France luck. I wish California luck.
I say this often and wish it was not true: it sucks to be the person in the room when the shit finally hits the fan.
But if Greek war refuges could rebuild their lives in upstate New York (the founder of the diner where the Trailways bus stopped in Saratoga Springs was one) and prosper, and if Jews fleeing the Pograms could struggle in New York and finally find prosperity in the Deep South (one eventual destination for those who tired of the bedbugs in the tenements) we have a chance.
As to Greece, well, I seem to recall that quite a few of the Greek tutors to Roman families willingly sold themselves into slavery, and many were able to buy back their freedom and prosper.
Too many cliches? I hope not.
Jun '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Roberto
Without a moment's reflection, at which I feel no shame, this is the most brilliant line you have penned yet Mr. Long. · 5 hours ago
Yup, the very pith of the matter. You can't chip away at a welfare state. It takes bulldozers, chainsaws, wrecking balls, riot shields, and defoliants to get the job properly done. Or national bankruptcy.
Dec '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Chris Campion: I suppose similar things might happen that have happened in the past, when earners vote with their feet - there will be billions of un-repatriated earnings that are waiting offshore, hoping not to be taxed (or taxed as much) when they are re-patriated. In other words, you can vote with your feet, but you might not be able to go home again with what you've earned.
As it turns out in the US, you can spend hundreds of millions or billions on lobbying, but since so much power resides in the administrative arm of government now, how much voice do the people have in what's being done to them? For me, that's the core of what's wrong. The apparatus of gov't has become so large, so encompassing, that you literally cannot escape it, and you cannot hope to change it.
Democrats think this is a swell way to operate. Just ask Julia. · 2 hours ago
"Like" in that ironic, fatalistic, "we're doomed" sort of way.
Aug '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Will the entitled French now run out of other people's money much faster?
Apr '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
tabula rasa
This will return France to its unsustainable past, but will accelerate the day of reckoning. As a committed Francophobe (my Dad lost a good part of one arm helping free the ungrateful dopes), I can only hope the France becomes the new Greece sooner rather than later. ·
There was a discussion a while back about whether Hamilton was the grandfather of conservatism. I'd like to note in response to this that he would have been the most delighted of the founders to discover that the French would, a couple of centuries later, be known as "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys".
My Grandfather, incidentally, was one of a few men to fight on the right side of WWII; against the French, for the Allies (he commanded the artillery in the invasion of Madagascar). Despite after a couple of previous French attempts to kill him (he left France after Dunkirk, and the later stages of the Battle of France saw a lot more French assistance to the Nazis than the earlier stages), he never held a grudge, using stories of chilling attempts on his life to describe human nature to me rather than French national character.
Apr '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
On the other hand, the entitled British are getting a fresh new injection. London is currently the second biggest French city in the world. With a bit of luck, the rest of the successful French will bring enough prosperity with them to let Cameron successfully make some genuine cuts.
A guy can dream, no?
Jun '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
1. Surprise, surprise. "Free" stuff from the government and taxing the rich are more popular than austerity.
2. I wonder if the Euro will change one way or the other versus the Pound this week.
3. One more country for Germany to bail out (Alsace as collateral?).
Edited on May 7, 2012 at 8:23amAug '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Just what Europe needs - two Hollands.
Aug '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
But seriously, folks. France has a parliamentary system, right?
Please forgive my ignorance of the French political system, but what does a president do in a parliamentary system?
Isn't the Prime Minister more important?
Sep '10
Re: Bonjour, Londres
It probably means entitled Americans, Greeks, Italians, British, etc will all run out of other peoples money much faster.
May '11
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Edward Smith: Sorry for the Doofus question. I just read the Wikipedia page on Fulbright. Everything else I am reading her makes sense. But what he said does not. And he was the first political book I ever read.
I wish Greece luck. I wish France luck. I wish California luck.
I say this often and wish it was not true: it sucks to be the person in the room when the shit finally hits the fan.
But if Greek war refuges could rebuild their lives in upstate New York (the founder of the diner where the Trailways bus stopped in Saratoga Springs was one) and prosper, and if Jews fleeing the Pograms could struggle in New York and finally find prosperity in the Deep South (one eventual destination for those who tired of the bedbugs in the tenements) we have a chance.
As to Greece, well, I seem to recall that quite a few of the Greek tutors to Roman families willingly sold themselves into slavery, and many were able to buy back their freedom and prosper.
Too many cliches? I hope not. · 14 hours ago
CoC translation: when the excrement makes forceful contact with the atmospheric impeller.
May '12
Re: Bonjour, Londres
Misthiocracy: But seriously, folks. France has a parliamentary system, right?
Please forgive my ignorance of the French political system, but what does a presidentdoin a parliamentary system?
Isn't the Prime Minister more important? · 22 hours ago
Yes, well the legislative elections will determine the actual make-up of government (National Assembly), but regardless,it is the president who will name the Premier Ministre.
The president, as Head of State, presides over which ever gov't is formed be it of his party or the opposition and actually has quite a bit of power in either case.
A fairly common result over here is cohabitation wherein the electorate will balance, say, a leftist president with a right leaning gov't, similar to the House and/or Senate going Republican under a Democrat president or vice versa. Thus generally insuring that the much-needed reforms remain an eternal talking point never an action.