Posted
10/19/2010 07:57:00 PM
by Douglas
Nothing fires up a French riot like having to
work. The good news is they got the afternoon off to go riot. Thank god it happened when it did instead of one of their four week vacations. I'm not coming back early just to riot.
The protesters are trying to prevent the French parliament from approving a bill that would raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 to help prevent the pension system from going bankrupt. Many workers feel the change would be a dangerous step in eroding France's social benefits -- which include long vacations, contracts that make it hard for employers to lay off workers and a state-subsidized health care system -- in favor of "American-style capitalism."
Sarkozy's conservative government points out that 62 is among the lowest retirement ages in the world, the French are living much longer than they used to and the pension system is losing money. The workers say the government could find pension savings elsewhere, such as by raising contributions from employers.
Don't worry 30 year old rioters. It's all going to be gone by the time you're 60 anyway. Go enjoy some wine and dirty sex with one of your mistresses and quit thinking about it.