"What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Those words, apparently, were written on the patch on a protester's arm in Paris today, and those words say everything.
Hundreds of thousands of French workers, students and functionaries walked out on strike Tuesday and paraded through the streets in what labor unions described as the beginning of a long-term showdown with President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Air and rail service throughout the country was disrupted by the protests -- the fourth in a month.
They were aimed specifically at reversing a new law requiring people to work until age 62 rather than 60 before receiving their retirement pensions. ...
In the souring atmosphere, union leaders declared many of the strikes that on Tuesday nearly crippled the country would continue indefinitely or recur on an irregular schedule. The result could be gasoline shortages, curtailed rail and air travel, chaos at schools and perhaps even power cuts in France's main cities, they warned.
"We are going to continue," vowed Bernard Thibault, secretary general of the General Labor Federation. "The mobilization is not going to stop just because the senators have voted."
France's Winter of Discontent is at hand, apparently. It's all so familiar: Sarkozy is confronting exactly what Thatcher confronted when she took on the unions. When Thatcher took power, the question, the only question, was "Who rules?" The unions had taken down the Heath government, and they had the same fate in mind for hers. Everyone knew it.
So who will rule France? Its democratically elected government or the mob on the street? "What the Parliament does, the street can undo" -- but not if Sarkozy has Thatcher's guts, ma chérie. Hope he does.
If you'd like a bit of encouragement, Monsieur le Président, you know where to reach me.
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Jun '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Well...Europe's socialist peace protesters have finally found something worth going to war over--retirement benefits. Genocide wasn't enough.
May '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
French farming is the most subsidized in the world. Let them eat cake of government supported wheat!
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Perfectly timed! I left France on Sunday and missed the strikes. While I was there, I had a Twitter exchange with Ricochet member Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry. When I arrived, he Tweeted, "Welcome to France. Enjoy the strikes." To which I replied something along the lines of, it's a small price to pay to live in Paris. To which he replied: "Vous dites ça parce que vous ne vivez pas ici." -- "You say that because you don't live here." [Although, really, fellow Ricocheterians really should tutoyer each other....]
So here's my thought: why don't we make visas easily available for our friends in Europe who read the handwriting on the wall: without a radically tamed public sector, there's no hope of growth. Why not, starting November 4th, issue a general invitation to start businesses in the US?
May '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Leave it to the squish to suggest that the French are the answer to our problems. ;)
As much as I'd welcome European entrepreneurs, it would be nice if conservatives around the world didn't all flock to us, so we could retain some allies.
Aug '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
These workers are brilliant. "The government's going broke, so let's shut down the economy and tourism!" Of course it's nihilistic crypto-Marxists - lovers of chaos - who are really behind this.
The accountant's ledger rules us all with an iron hand, and the price of defiance is bitter. If Sarkozy falls, the International Monetary Fund will step in and the pill will be bitterer still.
The austerity lessons being learned - or not - by France, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Italy (known as the PIIGS), are going to be ours to learn as well. It's coming here next.
As the great Thatcher said, "The trouble with Socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money".
Aug '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Oh no, strikes! France's economy and government will be crippled! Contraction and deflation to come!
...although there's a good argument to be made that in 1928-9 France's fear of inflation and subsequent deflationary actions were the larger cause of the Great Depression. Since Krugman et al are insistent that we're on the verge of another Depression, maybe it's a good thing if they're taken out of play for a bit.
Rob: are there any entrepreneurs left in Europe who have yet to read the proverbial wall writing? Europe's statism is a few decades ahead of ours; I would think any such enterprising spirit would be beaten out of them by now.
May '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Sarkozy's problems are a warning from our future and a good reminder of something important...
May '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Part of me would like France run out of money and have the government close just to see the unions realize they killed the golden goose. But then again, they would probably just burn things.
May '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
I think Sarkozy should quit saying, "Après moi, le réfudiation."
Aug '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
Claire Berlinski, Ed.:
If you'd like a bit of encouragement, Monsieur le Président, you know where to reach me. ·
But... is it safe to encourage French men?
My grandma always told me not to.
Jul '10
Re: "What the Parliament Does, the Street Can Undo"
This little nugget from BBC News, Europe: "This is one of the last chances to make the government back down," said Francois Chereque, the leader of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT). "The large majority of employees cannot afford to pay for repeated days of strikes."
Suspendez là, Monsieur Sarkozy
Edited on Oct 13, 2010 at 10:26am