I agree Paul, but the traffic chaos happens every year, this year is a little different because of the security situation and whether we like it or not the referendum result, has put it all into sharp focus, and yes neither party is faultless, but hopefully lessons can be learned!!
Jane, do you not think that the UK has dozens of departments and security departments, all competing with each other?
Your French friends are doing what citizens of amost every Country in the world does, they are complaining about their government, and in countries that allow free speech it is called Democracy.
The army situation is sensible, you cannot work your armed forces indefinitely without rest, and as in the other comment French reservists are usually retired service personnel who are regularly assessed and retrained, they are not just plucked out of the population at random, so there is not a problem with that situation.
Could I just ask you a question? If everything in France is so awful why are you settled there?
I think thats really what gets me down Susanne - it happens every year ! Shouldn't a solution to this problem have been found by now? We are not talking about 3rd world countries here. Anyway.. enough from me... ranting over.
.....Quite,.....
Susanne, UK learned its lesson after the London July killings and weekly meetings are held between the heads of all services and information is now circulated between all of our agencies.
Unfortunately this morning's events have shown once more why security forces are concentrated elsewhere to try and save lives rather than get people off on holiday. As Terry says - it's so normal to spend hours and hours in traffic when going on holiday, it's a national sport commented on 13h and 20h each evening and each chassé-croisé weekend !
Security forces need to concentrate on Everywhere in order to save lives!
The airports, ports and roads are not exempt from this.
And, perhaps Tobacs have no great relationship with holiday makers and make their money
from residents.I can see that not everyone 'likes' the tourist industry. Sir Water set sail for his
hols and came back with tobacco!
My customers are, as you've guessed 99.9% French, a few people on holiday but they're nearly all French too. I see more mainland European holiday-makers than UK ones too. I'm not having a go and do sympathise with what some people are going through (some of us are going through equaly difficult times in market conditions imposed by a completely unrealistic/out of this world/off her trolly Marisol Touraine!!!), just trying to explain/add to what Terry et al have said - it's pretty normal for the French so why should they be surprised. Most also don't give a monkeys about the Brits as they've thrown their rattle out of the European pram (Brexit). I know it must be a pain in the preverbial for those in the holiday business but sooo many other people come to France on holiday, the French holiday here too, don't people diversify their client base or does everything/everyone come from Blighty...?!
Susanne, I have to admit to having had the exact same thought myself about the OP.
As past président de la république M. Sarkozy once famously said when he was interior minister "If you don't like france then go"
You may have noticed I also said we have à lot of border and à finite quantité of people to déploy. I'm sure the individual frontier police's hearts bleed but we're not talking about them, we're talking about ministerial decisions, that is life. Like it or not it won't make any différence. And yes people should have à bit of nous and equip themselves for délays and émergencies. I'm in Spain right now and the day I drôve down there was à fire which led to the motorway being closed in both directions just beforê the border and délays of up to 7 hours while people were evacuated. It's just one of those things, people should just get à grip and stop being so féeble.
Quite so Andrew and how anyone can have the gall to compare running à b and b with being à policier des frontières is quite extraordinary. Some people could do with getting à sensé of proportion.
And you don't think that there is perhaps, just possibly, maybe, à tiny différence, of nature as well as scale, in what you're describing and the job of the border police????????
Organisation does come into operating any service!
Do I get the impresssion that you feel that running a B and B is an inferior job?
Well it is not!
Very ungracious of you Vernonique to assume!
Andrew my clients do often come from UK and I have clients from Norway, South Africa,
America and China this year.
I very much doubt that is what Véronique intended by her post and indeed is NOT what she said but merely dared to suggest that her (Jane's) responsibilities in running a B&B should be compared more favourably to that of the supposed laissez-faire attitude of france's security services who do not deserve to be given credit for anything
Some people on here need a serious reality check.
Nobody talked about inferiour jobs, Barbara, but c'est le jour et la nuit between operating a country's security and border controls and running a B+B.
Pleased about your client mix, most of my foreigner clients are from the Mahgreb, and Eastern Europe! Out of interest, what % of your clients are French?
You know we just have different ideas!
I want the best for France and that is why I entered the conversation.
Tourism is undervalued!
I am deverstated that UK is leaving EU.....and I intend to carry on living here.
What is all this 'if you d'ont like France then go?'
Perhaps Vernique and I are not compatable....perhaps....
She is a teacher and I was a chef who takes in holidaymaker.
There we are Graham.
What is all this 'if you d'ont like France then go?'
Quite simple Barbara. The OP seems to endlessly dumb france down. Someone else already asked (which was not replied to) "if you don't like france so much, why are you here?"
Who is this person who does not want to be here?
Before we retired my husband worked as an independent consultant for government, his last contracts being for UK Borders.
I don't know where you get the idea that any one has compared being in the tourist industry with being in the police.
Our experience is that whatever you do, you do it to the best of your ability.
My own experience of the French police is appalling and I found them more interested in supporting an ex colleague than looking for the truth.
the poor French border guard rushed off his feet because they forgot to send back-up for the holiday weekend...! ;-)