France spends most on Social Security

Health Care & Carte Vitale
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I’m so glad we live here… :slight_smile:

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No big shock but it’s simply not sustainable going forward, the French are also one of the most taxed in the world so tax rises are out, difficult decisions ahead for Manu, sorry Mr President.

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:wink: We can call him Manu on our Forum and in any other informal gathering etc… :grinning:

but NOT at a formal gathering where he is representing France… as he quite rightly pointed out to the young man… “Sir or Mr President” is correct on such occasions. :relaxed:

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what always attracted me to France (apart from wine, sun and my French wife) was the balance between private enterprise and social conscience. I have lived in France for over 35 years now and that balance is a very difficult act to continue, especially with the increasing number “wrinklies” - self included.

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Absolutely Stella but an “elder” statesman would have known that it was wiser to just keep walking instead of getting involved in an exchange with the teen. Or at least to simply dismiss it with a joke. This reminds me of the true story about the Queen doing a Jubilee walkabout and stopping to talk to a woman. The poor soul’s mobile started to ring at that very moment and she just froze, not knowing what to do. I mean, what would you do? HM told her she had better answer because “it might be somebody important”. So you see, she does have a sense of humour that we rarely have the opportunity of seeing.

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Mr President, is a bit more respectful I think, from an ‘adult’ ( I assume? especially) :+1:

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Judging by the expression on the plonkers face, he got the message, well done Mr President :+1: :+1:

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Actually, in my view he did it just right… an important part of French culture is Respect. Macron then went on to encourage the student to work hard to achieve his dreams… :relaxed:

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I agree, Stella, the president delivered a necessary rebuke in an appropriate manner, neither oppressive nor condescending, and the young fellow on the receiving end will have got the message, and respect his President all the more for having delivered it. At least, I so believe and hope. I have been on the receiving end of similar rebukes in the past, and have learned from them. A lot depends on the intent of the one who presents the challenge. There are some who confront out of malice acknowledged or otherwise, but Macron was not malicious, just honest and with a higher purpose than putting the young man down. Macron has integrity.

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I think most people would applaud Macron for not only correcting the boy but in the way he did it. He is though starting to do things though that will not increase his popularity and if they continue will further the belief that he is not a man of the people just another leader who asks the public to make sacrifices whilst he lives a life of luxury. Following on from the new dinner service row he now wants a swimming pool at the presidential holiday retreat at a cost of 150k which the taxpayer will naturally pay for.

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Timothy…

I think you will find that the figure of 150,000€ is the annual budget allocated to the Residency and not the price of the pool …

As far as I can see, the idea of an above ground pool in the “garden area”… is that it will be much cheaper to maintain the necessary security there, than it is in the “open sea”…

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But it was in the Guardian so must be true -

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:laughing::wink::thinking: you and your sense of humour… :rofl:

I don’t blame him wanting to take a dip…

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Nor do I blame him, Stella. It’s noticeable how quickly politicians at the top of the tree age in post. The demands of the job must be almost insupportable, and it is right that they should allow themselves and be allowed by us to be well-looked after in what passes for “everyday life” in such circumstances, even amounting to luxury. When we can, we plebs allow ourselves “a bit of luxury” in our hardworking humdrum lives, so it seems right that some of the hard edges should be smoothed for the Macrons.

It’s not begrudged to popular singers, actors, footballers or sundry other celebs, only politicians seem to be grudged in this rather mean-spirited way.

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Hi Peter… so near to the sea, yet costing too much/so much to swim in it… :zipper_mouth_face:

I think it says somewhere that around 60k € is the cost for guarding the beach, so the “garden” pool must surely be the cheaper option, as the gardens will already have their own security team.

In this week’s heatwave, I almost wish for a pool of my own… my dream would be to have an indoor pool. We experienced that luxury a few years back, in a holiday rental and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves… Sadly no room to do that here, but we do have a nice large shower… :relaxed::wink:

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I like a nice hot bath for a long soak and reverie, but large expanses of water scare me, after a nearly-drowned incident in chilly Lake Windermere as a youngster. But my wife and I were thrilled by a four day stay at Thalazur Ouistreham, lovely saline baths, scented steam rooms etc. Very therapeutic, and lounging about in fluffy gowns :hugs::relieved::flushed:. I will go in the Med up to my neck as long as Berlina holds me tight, and vice versa…:grin:

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We have a lovely large shower as well. It’s actually the best thing about our apartment :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

But how I long for a bath. A good long soak in steaming water. It’s been 8 years since I had a bath… :bath:

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Ha ha… we have a lovely big bath… but have had plumbing problems. Almost every time someone used the bath, water would arrive in the kitchen… below… ooops :roll_eyes: so the bath was put off-limits.

Now the plumbing is finally fixed, I can no longer heave myself in and out … :roll_eyes: (and NO I do not want a hoist or whatever)

I love our huge shower and can even put a chair in there if I am feeling wobbly (hic) :grin:

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:laughing::laughing:

Well if you’re not using it I’ll be there in 8 hours or so (I’m guessing :thinking:) for a nice long soak :bath: :red_car::motorway:

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Good chat here, rambling in a very agreeable way. Just like sitting round a table with you all - under a shady tree in the garden with some chilled wine of course.

Under the umbrella of my husband we’ve paid our dues into the tax pot but have also benefitted from it. What is surprising is how easy it is to change character depending on whether we’re paying our receiving. Groaning when tackling the tax forms and responding to questions but wonder when we benefit from the system. We have a son who’s autistic and so have seen up close how the state can help out families like ours.

The down side to the system seems to be the cost of employing people. The young and the old seem to find it difficult to get jobs (and by old I mean after 45) and when my daughter worked at a charity institution for a summer she told me most of the employees were on short term contracts that were renewed or not, this was to avoided the cost of full employment. She came away with the opinion that this was normal so that the charity could continue in some sort of liquidity, but those who had moved families into the area and bought houses were sometimes on year or even six months contracts.

I think they benefits to employees may have backfired for some.