Image courtesy of Dennis Jarvis' Flickr France-003348 - Liberty Leading the People: https://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/16238458795/in/photolist-qJWm4v-opVhJX-qstyYk-pyxwxp-oG9Yxx-nvVrKy-pJ9AGB-qLDTM2-oUbFvE-onVXvh-aYhs7M-oUeWti-6Z9MfM-opMQyy-orKnNa-o8weHR-o8v5Uo-pyBuMk-ebNcEu-opXJSe-huJQAv-o8sWc4-oZu8t7-8poCoP-oUfLM3-o8qZKd-oUcb2N-qstZaB-nvUgye-7EBSYt-o8r8HW-qonh73-o8ujyg-o8r9SR-s7hRCS-opZuqV-o1MeM4-qJUrLr-iNpH9k-qLzCL5-79QSFs-5tFwKC-onXdGs-cXBR2h-o8ur8F-oUbvMS-oUct9y-8CwLSS-pR81Rj-9eV8mb
Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
The eyes of the world are on France right now, as it hosts the Euro tournament - the largest sports tournament that the country has hosted since the World Cup in 1998, which it ultimately won, helping to unify the country. France could sure use something like that right now, though, because there is something else very newsworthy going on there, although it has not exactly been receiving as much press as it probably should have by now.
Political turmoil and France seem to go hand in hand. After all, it was the French Revolution that opened up the floodgates for political revolutions across Europe, including other, smaller revolutions in France itself throughout the nineteenth century. The French Revolution went much further than any other outright political revolution that had come before, and the ideas challenging the status quo and notions of the old, feudal order of the three estates during this era, helped to both inspire and horrify thinkers around the world.
Still, despite the fact of France's political turmoil, the turbulence of political instability would continue to rock France throughout the 20th century and, now, into the 21st century.
Yes, recent protests have grown both massive and violent, as they spread across France.
One major difference is that there has been minimal press coverage of this political turbulence, which some are already suggesting is nothing short of a second French Revolution.
While I am not sure that it exactly qualifies as such, the media blackout has been quite puzzling in the extent to which it has almost completely ignored these protests, at least to the extent possible.
France is a country where the workers generally have it better than they do in most of the rest of the world. Less hours worked per week, more vacation time, superior health coverage, affordable childcare - each of these are among the benefits that French workers generally enjoy.
Yet, France is hardly a worker's paradise, and the problems that it faces are very real. There is a high unemployment rate, and the Hollande government has tried - and failed - to address this issue, but has generally so far failed miserably.
That accounts for the general unhappiness and outrage of French people who are seeing some of those enviable worker's benefits slashed and targeted, all in the name of creating more jobs.
It is strange to me, as a Franco-American, that both countries tend to gravitate towards polar opposite extremes in certain ways. Here in the United States, they scoff at the disorderly French, who protest every five minutes, and shut down highways and ground flights from airlines, not giving a second thought about all of those people that they are stranding, including some medical emergency situations, and all of it so that they can get their specific way regarding benefits that most Americans could only dream of. The French people have so many benefits, that the state cannot afford it, making it feel very much like France has gone much too far in one direction.
Yet, here in the United States, wages and benefits are constantly being attacked, as are unions. This, despite the fact that American workers already lag behind - and increasingly far behind - their European counterparts. While most Europeans can enjoy at least four weeks paid vacation, have single payer healthcare systems that keep medical costs quite low (especially compared with what Americans have to pay), and enjoy other benefits like affordable childcare, paid sick leave, maternity leave, and enjoy the benefits of the wonderful infrastructure that most of Europe has, including a world class public transportation system, we Americans seem to stand idly by while even more previous rights and privileges are stripped away. Collectively, we are working longer hours for less money and less benefits, and all we do about it is get a second or, sometimes, a third or even a fourth job, all just trying to keep our heads above water. This is where we could use a revolt, and yet Americans who rock the boat are often dismissed as unruly and worth being victims of violent suppression.
Media Blackout As France Witnesses Biggest Revolution In 200 Years by Sean Adl-Tabatabai, June 2, 2016:
No comments:
Post a Comment