Readers Responses to French Protests: An Idealistic Fantasy or More
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From Howard Wait, March 31, 2006
Frederic:
Thanks for the clarity and timeliness of your Common Dreams article on the current protests in France against the anti-labor legislation emulating the anglo-american model of economic policy.
I have watched with digust the media representation here trivializing the massive outpouring of dissent, while I cheered on the protesters.
It is an appalling thing to see elderly people struggling to compete with young workers here in the US. Recently I read with amazement some idiot neo-economist advocate raising the retirement age over the next few decades to 75 years, in order to avoid paying social security and medical benefits. As if employers here will really hire millions of older workers to accomodate this absurd scheme.
I have myself spent years in and out of homelessness, eventually coming to the realization I was not an aberration, but part of a huge social trend in a society that has turned its back on its own people.
This week, I visited two women in jails that I have been photogrphing and recording. They are prostitutes, homeless and drug-addicted and abandoned. They too, are just a few of the millions this country incarcerates for lack of a humane response to mental illness, addiction and poverty.
You can see a website I am contructing here if you are curious: www.streetwomen.org.
Naturally, I am not allowed to bring as much as a pencil into the hellholes of the american penal system, but you can see one of them being arrested here, and why: http://www.streetwomen.org/Cathys%20page.htm
It's not a pretty picture.
Howard Wait
From Duncan Youngerman, March 31, 2006
Bravo pour votre excellent article, parfaitement exprimé, sur le mouvement anti-CPE.
Je suis moi-même en train d'écrire une lettre ouverte à Thomas L. Friedman du New York Times qui avait trainé la France dans la boue lors des préparatifs à l'invasion irakienne, et qui présente à ses (nombreux et influents) lecteurs la Chine, l'Inde ou Dubai comme des modèles socio-économiques à imiter...
Je vous l' enverrai.
Bien à vous,
Duncan Youngerman
(Franco-américain)
From Norris W. Phillips, March 31, 2006
Dear Sir:
I read you excellent article with a sense of joy. I lived and worked in Europe for six years and I observed the working conditions in Germany as opposed to my own. It was my impression that the Europeans were years ahead of the US in social responsibility.
The French protests against moves to compromise the rights of workers are in the best tradition of French history. "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity" actually has meaning. In my fraterniy, as we pledge our allegiance to US flag it is remarked that the US flag is an emblem of "Liberty, Equaliuty and Fraternity." I often ponder if perhaps our reference to that emblem is a bit hypocritical in the face of the corporate capitalism in our society. Sadly, few of my fraternal brothers can even consider such a question.
I would hope that your article gets read by a large audience. We Americans need to awaken to the social needs of our fellow citizens. A truely great country would put the needs of citizens first before the needs of the market place.
Viva La France. And thanks for pointing out truth which we Americans need to hear.
Norris W. Phillips
From J. Bourbon, March 31, 2006
Sir:
"minors under 14 working in Walmart's plants"???? This is from the article entitled "French Protests: An Idealistic Fantasy or More?" by Frederic Mousseau
Could you please verify this. That is to say, could you please provide me with just ONE instance of a 13 year old or younger child working in a Wal Mart in the United States???
Please????
And, if the French Model is "highly efficient", and an example of social justice, why do you have 9.4% unemployment, and crazy muslims destroying your suburbs?
J Bourbon
From Alice Darr, April 1, 2006
Hi;
Good for the French; disposable is what all Americans have become the in race to the bottom of the economic ladder.
I am a healthcare worker of 30 years and I have no guarantees of anything, except as the government intervenes in the healthcare arena, the more paperwork and more overbearing the regulations will be. I have no pension; everytime I get anything, the company I work for is bought out and I get the pitiful NPV, which I dutifully rollover into my IRA, which is subject to market forces.
In long term care, the most raise I have ever gotten is 3% - often not even enough to cover the cost of inflation. Often, the greedy owners, don't even offer matching for 40lK.
I will have been employed for 52 years and paying into the social security system before I am allowed to retire and now Dubba, says I have no right to my "entitlement" that I have earned! I bet he takes his "entitlement" after 8 years and you can bet it will be far more than I will ever get!
Viva la French! And yes, I do eat French Fries, love French perfume, French bread and hope to see France and the French Rivera one day!
Alice Darr
From Chohong Choi, April 1, 2006
Dear Frederic Mousseau:
I was looking at the ILO's KILM 18 again (from 2001), and there are four countries (all European) with a higher per hour productivity than the U.S. France was one of them, and its hourly productivity was the second highest behind Norway. So, assuming that Norway isn't a member of G7, France would have the highest per hour productivity among the G7 countries, as you mentioned.
Does the ILO have an updated productivity report? I would assume five years is a little long on the tooth.
Sincerely,
Chohong Choi, Hong Kong
From David Wurdeman, April 1, 2006,
Sir:
Just a very brief note to tell you how impressed I was by your article "French Protests: An Idealistic Fantasy or More?"
I live in rural Nebraska (where I am a farmer, no less) and the cluelessness of people here about the rest of the world is unbelievable.
I am struck by one particular thought in reading your article: if France is ever spoken of at all in the U.S. media, it is sort of done in the same sort of vein as Defense Sec. Rumsfield's remark about "old Europe". Of course this includes all the implied things about irrelevance to today's world, living in the past, etc. etc. Yet your incisive perspective, together with the actions of your countrymen, show that your country and heritage may yet show the entire world to a better way in the advancement of social issues and world civilization.
Regards,
David Wurdeman
Leigh, Nebraska
From Bob Francaviglia, April 2, 2006
Dear Professor Mousseau..
Thank you for a great article. It supports much of what I have been thinking about this "mini-French Revolution". I am an old American soldier, having fought my country's wars for nearly half a century and now, thankfully, retired. I think that, perhaps, the French have never forgotten what was at the heart of the American revolution and which encouraged and supported the French Revolution; that the People rule and government responds. The French People still carry on that principle, and I admire them for that.
I wish that my own people would voice the disbelief and anger against those who would govern (in the arrogance of their supposed power) that the French students and unions currently exhibit. Yes, the propagandists of the corporations, embodied in the world media will not allow that individuals have a right and just saying in their destiny as contributors to the riches gleaned by corporate CEOs and their minions. But the People will speak, in the streets of Paris and in other places in the world. The majority of my American people don't understand this, lulled by television advertising and the manipulation of politicians. Yet I do have hope for my American people. The French are, once again, showing us the way.
Bob Francaviglia, Bisbee, Arizona
From Erwan Herry, April 3, 2006
Salut Fred
J'ai bien apprécié ton article. Concernant la presse Américaine, je vais au delà du CPE et même des tensions politiques franco- américaine qui se sont accentuées depuis la chute des twin Towers.
Les super médias américains sont des entreprises boursières, de pouvoir, et il y a bien longtemps que les nouvelles sont aménagées et interprété pour servir des intérêts généralement financiers. Le recrutement des journalistes est certainement fait dans ce sens, également.
On voit le même phénomène en Europe, surtout en Italie , mais la France et l'allemagne créent des conglomérat de média sur la même forme.
Ceci explique en partie le désintérêt pour l'information politique au profit du l'information consommation.
Continue
Amitiés
Erwan Herry, France
From Philippe Marchand, April 4, 2006
A l'intzntion de Frédéric Mousseau
Cher Collègue,
Toutes nos félicitations pour votre article publié dans Common Dreams. Il faut, si vous reprenez la plume sur ce sujet, souligner la présence du secteur privé dans les manifestations (50% de grévistes chez Airbus). Il n' y pas que les fonctionnaires et les étudiants qui sont contre le CPE comme le souligne trop souvent notre presse et notreTV.
Bien cordialement à vous
Philippe F. Marchand, Université Charles de Gaulle Lille3
April 4, 2006
I appreciate the idealism presented in your article. But I must question some of your assertions. If the French social model is so good then why the riots last summer? If the French model is so much better than the US model then why is there upwards of 24% unemployment for those suburban youth? I work for a corporate social responsibility network in Brussels and was recently involved in the launch of the European Alliance, which is an initiative by the European Commission to try to integrate economic growth and corporate responsibility.
I don't disagree that the US has ALOT to learn about corporate social responsibility, but the French Social model that you extoll cannot continue without significant economic growth. To compare the productivity of France to the other European members of the G7 is not an entirely accurate description of the "health" of the French economy.
I don't oppose your idealism, but I question the unfettered support of the protestors in France. This law is an experiment that allows French business two years of flexibility in their initial hiring practices. Can you imagine if American companies had the "restrictions" placed on them by this new French law? The protests would be larger, but consisting of CEO's, and the American worker would have NEVER had it so good. The growth America has experienced has been at the expense of the worker, to be sure, and the American worker need greater protection, but the exalted social models of Europe have undoubtedly stunted their growth and if they are to keep the vaunted health insurance, elderly care, and a modicum of job security something needs to be done. If not enterprise flexibility, then what?