So who would you vote for in France

I was never a private Mr Armstrong, I was commissioned in the 4/7 RDG, and served in several conflicts. Not that it matter, you will no doubt use that to further insult me. After all ex military are prime targets are we not.

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Good grief this has all gone a bit pear-shaped since I last had a look, is there any need to get so het-up? Can’t we all discuss things like civilised people? Tit-for-tat squabbling is so tedious really, especially when it is no longer even relevant to the discussion originally posted… dinner party rules, remember.

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Thank you @vero my sentiments exactly.

http://www.survivefrance.com/t/argumentum-ad-hominem-survive-france-guidelines/11538/

She is the current leader of the French National Front and therefore not eternal. The party she leads has been around much longer than her, and suffice it say, “cleaning up” party membership (which is questionable in and of itself) to oust the more extreme elements to suit one’s political ambitions is only a means to an end to gain wider support among the larger voting public. There are still many within her party who are just waiting for the opportunity to replace her with a more traditional National Front view, one which harks back to the days of her father, and is even more rightwards-leaning on the political spectrum than today’s current, much like any other political party with its various sub-currents. At the moment, she is treading a thin line politically, and I suspect that if needs must, she would necessarily veer to the right in order to keep her position as head of the party once in power. The concern for the French is that, as Véronique rightly pointed out, many French people still living today have the memory of what the occupation was like, and what various collaborators of that regime did to aid and abet the regime in place at the time, including rounding people up or denouncing them to the authorities simply based on the particular faith to which they adhered, at odds with the political power in place at the time. The thought of such a similar regime being able to insinuate its way into daily life once again is anathema to them. Whilst Being British might not mean we would be an immediate target, it is probably safe to say that it won’t save us from the long-term politics her party espouses - it will only be a matter of time before rules start being changed which will begin to affect our lives too, especially if, as she has vowed, she takes France out of the EU. To that extent, I can understand why some Brits might feel like leaving France is an appropriate response were she to be elected - after all, why live in a country where one feels that persecution, perceived or real, is either only just around the corner, or already here. I suspect that on a personal level, I too, would have some qualms about such a situation. I don’t get that feeling with French centrist politics, a degree of cynicism certainly, and the “same old, same old” weariness, but not apprehension of what unpleasant fodder is likely to be coming down the funnel at some time in the near future.

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Some fair points there and as I have tried to say she does not share her fathers extreme views. before condemning someone though I think they should be given a chance to prove themselves after all its only a 5 year term. I truly believe that if she did, in the highly unlikely event, win the election, I would seriously doubt she would expel foreigners such as Brits, Belgian German etc who are here legitimately, Indeed at least our local economy and community has benefited greatly from the Brits Belgian and Dutch especially. The FN have made it clear they would want to deport illegals and better control of France’s borders. I think anyone who feels they have to leave are over reacting much like the celebs in USA who promised to leave if Trump became POTUS, they haven’t left. Unlike the UK, the French currently have a protectionist policy especially with regards to labour apply for jobs and French applicants are given priority I don’t see this changing whoever wins the election.

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The protectionist labour policy is only applicable with regard to a certain number of reserved job areas, that can not be held by a non-French national, and certain non-EU citizens. Other than that, most jobs are actually available to a fairly broad swathe of the population. One of the reasons I can currently be a lawyer here is thanks to the UK’s membership of the EU - with Brexit my capacity to continue to exercise my profession is likely to change significantly if each country opts for the “my country first” attitude, which would officially be Mrs. Le Pen’s political stance. I would further add that 5 years is potentially a sufficiently long enough time for a President to wreak havoc, irrespective of their political leaning, and I can imagine that many might consider you inconscionable for even thinking such a possibility to be a good idea :wink:

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LOL I didn’t say it was a good idea I think government should be sacked if they fail in their duty or mandate though. One of my sons is a lawyer with a masters and he can’t work here, must ask him why. I know from experience most trades and professions cannot work here without retraining, electricians, plumbers doctors, nurses etc. I worked here for a while as an IT consultant which fortunately didn’t require retraining. I actually agree with the “my country first” stance and wish the UK would adopt that, all the money currently wasted in foreign aid for example should in part be redirected to the NHS, defence, social care etc.

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I gusse that you know her well Lee and you trust her…not me!

I didn’t say that Barbara, all I’m saying is give someone a chance, FN seems to have changed a lot since her father ran it with questionable policies. what choice do the French have anyway? Fillon who is under police investigation for fraud, Macron a total noobie no one really knows and Le Pen who is/was under investigation for misuse of EU funds, but then how is that different from UK polititions misusing tax payers money. Someone once said “The last person to enter parliament with honest intentions was Guy Fawkes” Quite frankly I don’t trust any politician or French lawyers. Present company excepted.

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Expelling all you foreigners would be the least of our problems under a FN administration, sorry.

“One of my sons is a lawyer with a masters and he can’t work here, must ask him why. I know from experience most trades and professions cannot work here without retraining, electricians, plumbers doctors, nurses etc.”

Retraining because of different requirements and the necessity to speak read write and understand French to a sufficient level. The language of the Republic is French, it says so on the constitution so we have to abide by that. And you have to comply with local standards which may not be higher, just different.

Law is very different depending on what your specialisation may be: even within the UK law differs eg Scottish law is not at all like English law (it works a lot more like French law). Friends of mine from university in the UK who read law then did articles with international lawyers and now practise in many different countries, including France, without any trouble.

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“after all its only a 5 year term”

Long enough to do very serious long-term damage.

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Post removed.

My daughter is a British lawyer currently working for an International law firm in London. She could work in France without even leaving the firm that she works for. In fact they paid for her to spend four months in Paris to improve her French as part of her training.

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Yes, exactly like my lawyer friends, they tend to go all over the place according to where they fancy being, even if their firms are London-based! So I suppose Lee’s son must have chosen a different legal specialism.

As I said I don’t know why he can’t work here. But foreign medical staff can work in UK only requirement is they speak English. Anyway I think this is might be deviating from the original post although its quite an interesting deviation.

Your daughter is in a unique position in that she works for an international firm hence the reason she can work here. my son works as a contracts lawyer in a university so he’ is not as free to move around

I do know that, she went to a lot of effort to get herself into that position. She was very keen for Britain to stay in the EU but it is some consolation that the Brexit result even though it will provide her and her colleagues unlimited work for a very, very long time.

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Glad to hear it but Brexit or not, by definition being an international firm that shouldn’t make any difference.

His specialist are contracts and criminal law but doesn’t practice criminal law. The French advocat I hired some years ago said he can’t practice in the UK.

I suppose if my son studied French contract law he might be able to practice here, maybe he doesn’t want to.

Yes, he would have to in order to practise; contract, criminal law and such delights as tort are completely different here. All the painstakingly acquired expertise in precedent eg Rose vs Miles or Carlill vs the Carbolic Smoke Ball co. or indeed Aldred’s case (happy memories!!) count for absolutely nothing outwith the home jurisdiction.