15th December 2013

A French lawmaker has spent the last 8 months walking around France listening to the views of ordinary people. Everywhere he went he found people 'without hope', he told listeners on Europe 1 Radio. People reported that France has no more industry, farming is in crisis and city suburbs are terrible. He said he “needed to get a feeling” for the country, and wrote on his personal blog that he was impressed by peoples’ willingness to speak frankly with him. France is changing, he said, and the government has failed to explain what this change means. Worse, he found latent racism everywhere, even in the smallest villages, especially a return of 'anti-Semitic' rhetoric. Have people learned nothing from the past? Let's hope his report to M. Hollande in February will do something, but I'm not confident. My comment to M. Hollande: follow the UK's lead and get the French economy moving again. For British expats, their French house values have dropped alarmingly, whilst English ones have risen - pulling those who wish to return out of the UK property market. So, where to go from here?

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against the sea of troubles and by opposing, end them? Well, that's what Hamlet thought. But after 8  years of living in France, what do I think? 
Last week I was contacted and interviewed for the local Gaillac magazine. They were doing a survey of recent new arrivals. Unfortunately, for me, the French are the most unfriendly people towards strangers I've ever met. Surprisingly, however, the reporter from the Maire's office agreed with me! 'That is the French way'.  The best comparison I can make is with the Americans, whom I've found to be the most friendly in the world.  They go out of their way to welcome new arrivals in every way imaginable. Of course I also told the Gaillac reporter of my love for the French sunshine, food and quality of life. But, in a recent survey, amongst other EU nations France was also named as the most arrogant. Clearly, then, M. Hollande needs to do something about the attitudes of French people in general if he is to improve tourism. But what of me? Because of my family health background I need as much sunshine as possible, but because of my East European background, I need to relate to friendly people to improve my innate pessimism. Oy vay!