Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux,Strasbourg, Lille, Nice, Nantes, Rennes, Dijon, Brest, Caen, La Rochelle, Le Havre.

Former Socialist Party Presidential candidate Ségolène Royal has stated that “if the French come out in numbers to demonstrate in the street, the government will have to take that into account.” More on this tomorrow…I know I have an important meeting on the other side of Paris tomorrow morning for work, might risk the RATP system, Vélib it or taxi…we’ll see. Bon courage à tous!

“…Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner – a former Socialist who made his name at the international charity Medecins Sans Frontieres – admitted this week that he was “shocked” by the focus on people of foreign origin….

…Further criticism came from the Defence Minister Herve Morin, head of the small New Centre party, who in a speech attacked “the policy of hate, of fear, of the scapegoat” and said any programme based purely on police repression was doomed to fail.

And on Tuesday, the Towns Minister Fadela Amara – herself of Algerian origin and an avowed left-winger – said she could “never agree” to a policy that placed foreign-born French citizens in a special judicial category….”

France has historically been less successful than the United States, the “melting pot” (itself a debatable idea) at integrating its immigrants into its society. Obviously successful immigration and assimilation requires two main elements: the will to become a respectful, law-abiding citizen on the immigrant’s side, and a welcoming environment on the country’s side. The U.S. has its own problems with illegal immigration and a backlash against Mexicans, among others, so France is certainly not alone in its troubles. But I know that from personal experience the French generally don’t take the first step at meeting newcomers -it’s up to the foreigner to take the initiative. Whereas in the U.S. you wouldn’t be surprised to have a neighbor bring over a housewarming gift or fresh pie for a new neighbor. This is a debate for another day… But I do know that many French people support the expulsions. It’s a difficult balance: many of the pick-pocketers in the Parisian metro and elsewhere are “gypsies” (Roma), but there are many others who just want to earn a living. We will see how this plays out.

For further reading:

The Economist
Le Figaro
Radio France International (RFI)
Le Parisien

You can see a slideshow as well.

Excerpts below:

A Greener Champagne Bottle

REIMS, France — Deep below a lush landscape of ripening Champagne grapes, Thierry Gasco, the master vintner for Pommery, ran his finger over the shoulders of a dark green bottle that looked just like the thousands of others reposing in his chilly subterranean cellars.

But to the practiced hand and eye, there is a subtle, if potentially significant, difference.

“This is how we’re remaking the future of Champagne,” he said, pointing to the area just below the neck. “We’re slimming the shoulders to make the bottle lighter, so our carbon footprint will be reduced to help keep Champagne here for future generations.”

The Champagne industry has embarked on a drive to cut the 200,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide it emits every year transporting billions of tiny bubbles around the world. Producing and shipping accounts for nearly a third of Champagne’s carbon emissions, with the hefty bottle the biggest offender.

Yet while many other industries might plaster their marketing with eco-friendly claims, changes to Champagne, as with so much else in France, are being made discreetly. Producers in this secretive business are tight-lipped about the costs and occasionally enigmatic about how much their carbon emissions will really be cut……

….The current retooling, which uses 65 fewer grams (2.3 ounces) of glass, is in response to a 2003 study of Champagne’s carbon footprint, which the industry wants to cut 25 percent by 2020, and 75 percent by 2050.

The move comes as efforts to reduce carbon output and improve vineyard ecology are accelerating worldwide, as wine houses reduce packaging, pesticides, water use and transportation. In California, for example, winegrowers are promoting what their trade group, the Wine Institute, says are nearly 230 “green practices,” including methods to cut carbon emissions….

I think everyone loves vacation but that in the US, it’s an environment of peer pressure to work the hardest and longest hours. People love stating “I haven’t taken vacation in (insert long period of time)”, as if it’s a proof of dedication. The French workforce is one of the most productive and efficient, so I think the US could learn a thing or two and adopt a healthier work/life balance. This way of life is one of the things that attracts Americans to living in France. Your thoughts?

Excerpts from article below.

“…The figures in a 2007 report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) are stark. It looked at 21 of the richest countries in the world, and found that only one, the US, does not impose a legal mandate on employers to provide time off.

Obviously, people in America do get paid annual leave, but for most wage earners it is subject to so many different calculations based on seniority and how much you earn, it can only be described as miserly. In other words, it is a privilege to be earned rather than a normal part of compensation.

Nine days of annual leave is what the average American accrues during the course of a year. So you have to be at your job for 12 months before you begin to get even that amount….Holidays as part of compensation are one of the small, subtle things that keep a workplace happy. Happy workers are productive workers in ways that can’t be measured statistically.

Whenever citing Americans’ acceptance of the longer hours they work or their lack of paid leave, the cliche is to say it goes back to the country’s Puritan heritage or the Protestant work ethic. I disagree. I think it comes from raw fear. Most Americans are not descended from Puritan stock. The people I have worked with in a variety of jobs – I wasn’t always a journalist – would have liked nothing more than a guarantee of 20 days of paid holiday a year.

But since the heyday of Thatcher and Reagan, they have been increasingly afraid to ask for it directly and way too afraid to come together and demand it as a group. It is easy enough to get fired in the US, and when people have a job they tend not to want to make waves….”

For now it seems like France is taking the right actions for now, as its debt ratings from Moody’s remain in good condition. But there have been concerns and warnings that France could face long-term debt problems and thus a credit down-rating (thus undermining their ability to finance the state debt through treasury bonds). Thus it’s important that France continues to reform its system (such as raising the retirement age from 60, the lowest in Europe).

This is from Agence France Presse, taken from the Expatica website.

France to abolish 10 billion euros in tax breaks

President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Friday plans to abolish tax breaks worth 10 billion euros per year, as part of France’s plans to reduce its large public deficit.A statement issued after Sarkozy met his senior economic ministers said general taxation would not increase but that 10 billion euros (12.8 billion dollars) would be raised by abolishing various special tax regimes.

“Any resulting excess in revenues will be entirely assigned to reducing the deficit,” it said, promising to continue with policies of only replacing one retiring civil servant in two and of freezing local government funding. Sarkozy has vowed to maintain state spending at current levels, apart from interest payments and pensions, for the next three years as France battles to bring its ballooning deficit under control.

© 2010 AFP

It’s targeted more towards travelers abroad but has relevant implications for expats as well, especially those recently settling in. Excerpts below. How do you think it is best to adapt to your new country?

…Once you figure out where the locals hang, check out where they live. Ride a city bus or subway into the suburbs, then wander through some neighbourhoods to see how residents live when they’re not wearing lederhosen and yodelling. Visit a supermarket. Make friends at the launderette. Or mill around area schools and universities, checking out the announcement boards and eating at the cafeteria. Be alert and a little bit snoopy. If you stumble onto a grade-school talent show, sit down and watch it. You can even visit a university’s English-language department and ask about hiring a student (who’s learning English) as a private guide.

Even if you’re not a regular churchgoer, consider attending a European worship service. An hour in a small-town church provides an unbeatable peek into the community, especially if you join them for coffee and cookies afterwards. I’ll never forget going to a little church on the south coast of Portugal one Easter. A tourist stood at the door videotaping the “colourful natives” (including me) shaking hands with the priest after the service. You can experience St. Peter’s by taking photographs, or you can do it by taking a seat at Mass…

This is not to say there are not opportunities to participate in religious services in France (I know of English-speaking churches in Paris, for expats, for example). Au contraire. But it’s important to take into account cultural differences to understand a country’s collective mindset.

from the Economist, Aug. 9, 2010

from Rhônexpress website

For those of you who have traveled to Lyon and resented taking the Satobus shuttle buses from Lyon St. Exupéry Airport to downtown Lyon, you now have a more modern alternative that gets you downtown (Gare Part Dieu, the main train station) in under 30 minutes. You can read an article in French about this here in Le Point.

Rhônexpress is the name of the brand new system, and you can find out more from its website, in French. Soon you will be able to buy tickets online.

The line is 22km (13.7 miles) long, it shares part of its track with the T3 tramway of the urban network TCL, it reaches a speed of 100km/hr (about 60 mph) and each of its 6 cars can hold up to 76 passengers. The tram-train will run from 5am to midnight, with service every 15 minutes.

As the article mentions, the ticket price will be higher than the 8.90€ for one-way Satobus; a one-way ticket costs 13€ (round-trip 23€), but if you buy a booklet of 6 tickets, the individual ticket price goes down to 11€. There are discounts being discussed at the moment for students and families (as is the norm for most transport), maybe free for under-12, as well as special rates for a combo TCL-Rhônexpress card, and possibly an SNCF-Rhônexpress card or rates. As for a combined rate for flight-Rhônexpress, however, that is less feasible, as the article highlights, because in case one or the other is late, there would be disagreements about reimbursing passengers based on responsibility.

This article quotes authorities of the project who expect to have 1 million passengers in the service’s first year. You can also read a background article in English here.

In any case, this is a welcome addition to the Lyon transport landscape, and I know I’ll be happy to take it.

Until then, bon voyage!

Excerpt below. For full article click here.

Surely you always eat well in France? Well, actually, no. We have had some mediocre meals in restaurants with pretensions to haute cuisine. Equally, some of the best meals we have eaten in France have been at establishments that are less than prepossessing at first glance. France rightly has a reputation for its cuisine. Sometimes, however, it rests on its laurels. But there’s no reason why you should put up with that. Here are my 10 top tips for enjoying a meal out….

1. Avoid the tourist honey pots
You visit a picturesque town – possibly l’un des plus beaux villages de France – only to have your day spoiled by an indifferent meal. I’m not saying that all restaurants in such places are bad. Far from it; but you are more likely to feel ripped off and encounter poor service in a place where they rely mainly on passing trade. Go to the next village, which is likely to have a restaurant, and eat there instead….

(PARIS) – The French trade balance showed a reduced deficit in June but an increased gap for the first six months of the year, data from the economy ministry showed on Friday.

In June the deficit fell to 3.796 billion euros (5.0 billion dollars) from 5.179 billion euros in May.

The fall came after exports picked up to total 33.0 billion euros in the month from 30.0 billion euros in May, helped mainly by sales of equipment for transportation, notably airliners.

But for the first six months, the deficit increased to 24.5 billion euros from 20.4 billion euros for the same period of last year.

The trade balance is an important indicator of the competitiveness of an economy and the ability of a country to pay its way in the world in trade in goods and services. The trade data form part of an even more critical measure of long-term fundamental forces in the economy, the balance of payments.

France has been running a structural trade deficit for some time, and analysts say that this reflects a number of underlying weaknesses in the economy.

The deficit over six months increased mainly because of an increase in the energy import bill, as denominated in the euro which has fallen against the dollar.

The ministry noted that exports had risen by 10.0 percent in the first half on a 12-month comparison and that for the second quarter they had risen by 6.0 percent.

Junior Trade Minister Anne-Marie Idrac said that this “shows the capacity of French exports to bounce back as the economy emerges from the crisis.”

She welcomed a particularly big increase in trade with emerging economies.

Separate data from the budget ministry showed that the central state budget showed a sharply reduced deficit of 61.7 billion euros at the end of June from 82.4 billion euros in the first six months of last year.

This reflected the ending of exceptional measures to stimulate the economy through the downturn and a rise of tax revenues, it said.

The central government budget is one of three components forming the public deficit, which is the figure used by the European Union to measure excessive deficits.

EU countries, and notably countries in the eurozone, are bound to contain any public deficit to less than 3.0 percent of output. Several countries, including France, have far higher ratios, notably because of the costs of facing the global economic downturn.

France, in common with several other countries, is now working on reforms to reduce its structural deficit.