<p><a href=“http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-05-06T181532Z_01_L06633468_RTRUKOC_0_US-FRANCE-ELECTION.xml[/url]”>http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-05-06T181532Z_01_L06633468_RTRUKOC_0_US-FRANCE-ELECTION.xml</a></p>
<p>The french “conservative” party is anything but conservative.</p>
<p>yeah, but French conservatives would be called liberals in this country. </p>
<p>The conservatives of this country would be called reactionaries in France.</p>
<p>Blah Blah Blah. He wants to lengthen the work week, privatize more jobs, cut taxes and welfare and go more hardline on immigration. Show me a Dem here who would support that.</p>
<p>As opposed to the “conservative” Republican administration that is making every effort to spend the US into oblivion.</p>
<p>The labels are about as useful as this season’s hemlines on the French fashion runways. Here today, gone tomorrow.</p>
<p>Focus, Focus. Can we get two posts without switching to complaining about the Republicans.</p>
<p>
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<p>If our work week was 30 hours, the private sector non existent, and taxes over half our income, I bet some Dem would support changes.</p>
<p>It’s obviously sort of hard to compare it. But a lot of what he thinks is pretty radical. I don’t want to give the idea he’s Communist, because he’s NOT, but it’s sort of like how the Communists were the far left but some things they did would be considered almost like what we would consider conservative today. </p>
<p>For example, Sarkozy advocates, or at least has advocated, the state supporting construction of mosques, for instance. This is fairly radical in France considering they basically banned public religion not long ago. He also has advocated what I guess we would call affirmative action, in order to reduce the unemployment of youth in France. This isn’t really what we’d consider conservative by American terms. Although he wants to stop illegal immigration (an idea that at its root basically transcends the party line in America, there’s obviously differing interpretations on what, where, when, why, and how), he supports measures that would integrate capable legal immigrants into the French economy, IMO not so far off the US democratic view of immigration. It would be pretty far left in US terms to not support any action at all against illegal immigration, it just isn’t a primary Democratic scare tactic. Some of his economic ideas would be fiscally conservative here but the economies and social demographics aren’t identical.</p>
<p>“Can we get two posts without switching to complaining about the Republicans.”</p>
<p>then what was the point in starting the thread?</p>
<p>The title suggests that you are ‘gloating’ over the term conservative.</p>
<p>Not at all. It was the BIG news of the day if not the week. I think France is an interesting place to follow as it is larger and more diverse than some of the other Euro countries.</p>
<p>“Not at all.”</p>
<p>well my apologies.</p>
<p>the hell? They’re just reporting the news.</p>
<p>Barrons:</p>
<p>You introduced US politics into your own thread. See post #4.</p>
<p>France has a lot of structural unemployment. Way more than the unemployment numbers indicate because people are kept off the unemployment count by keeping them in school longer and in various training programs on on various kinds of government dole. Add to it the native poplation is aging rapidly and the non-immigrant birth rate is still very low and you have a country that is looking at a lot of fairly near term instability if something isn’t dome soon.</p>
<p>With the Socialists in chatge you were looking at stasis. With Sarko there is at least a hope that some change might come. Problem for Sarko is the French are very comfortable with this system they cannot maintain.</p>
<p>This always makes me laugh</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/france.html[/url]”>http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/france.html</a></p>
<p>That the French elected someone who wants to shorten vacations and stop the unbelievable inattention the French have had to being competitive in Europe much less the world. This says a lot. The feel the pain and know things have to say. I think it will make France a better Country to visit!</p>
<p>I thought the coverage on Sarkozy’s view of USA relations interesting, even though that was clearly not an issue voters were paying attention to. (Good luck turning that anti-American tide…)</p>
<p>Reuters:
</p>
<p>CNN:
</p>
<p>Anyway, my bet is voters chose him primarily because Segolene Royal seemed so completely incompetent. And I think France (and most of the EU) obviously has some real problems with unemployment and their economy and, yes, immigration.</p>
<p>Viva la France. It remains a great country. :)</p>
<p>Idad–I was responding to #3 which introduced it.</p>
<p>"yeah, but French conservatives would be called liberals in this country. </p>
<p>The conservatives of this country would be called reactionaries in France"</p>
<p>Aren’t they called reactionaries in the US too? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a conservative too… not an American conservative though.</p>
<p>Europe will changing over the next decades as they have begun to run out of the money the industrial boom (post ww2) created for government programs. They also are suffering a shrinking workforce (even at fewer hours) funding programs. They will have as much trouble as we have in sorting out what a government should provide and what it can’t afford. </p>
<p>I am curious how they will deal with their immgration issues. Their immgrant base is what makes them a world soccer power. How many Zidanes or Henry’s are you going to decline citizenship? Unlike the US, most of the world views their power in terms of their national teams in international play. I am curious to see if the new government is so willing to hobble their soccer and rugby chances keeping the olive and dark skinned out. It isn’t just economics that drives a country.</p>