No public transport in Paris tomorrow 18/10

Now this sounds silly putting this here but you never know, there might be some tourist out there arriving in Paris tomorrow. In which case he will discover:

- almost all public transport in Paris - even in France - is on strike tomorrow.

Hardly any trains, subways, buses. I'm going to have to come in by car.

The "public servants" in the transport industries have built up a rather privileged status over the years with early retirement, comfortable pensions, etc. The public transport system works very well but the new government wants to cut back on this special status. Like waving a red flag at a bull..

I've put my name on the car-sharing board but nobody has shown any interest yet. A lot of people are going to take the day off. Though the fact I said I was arriving early and leaving late might have something to do with it.

And a train strike in Germany last week while we were out there for the DTM final.
Then the postal workers strike in the UK.

The peasants are revolting !

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Originally Posted by Franglais

I've put my name on the car-sharing board but nobody has shown any interest yet. A lot of people are going to take the day off. Though the fact I said I was arriving early and leaving late might have something to do with it.

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Ha! Arriving early and leaving late. In Austin that would be a deal breaker for me too. But, if it meant I had to wait around for an hour or two in Paris, I think I could handle it. :D

Up at 5:45am, traffic busy but not actually stationary all along the river bank west of Paris, first car in the parking lot, first person in the building and I discover -

- the network's gone down

My farm of 12 EXCHANGE servers is unavailable. Called the hot line. Never mind. That's what I'm here for - modernise the client's infrastructure.

Last time I was in NYC, the public transit strike was supposed to start the day I arrived. Fortunately for me, it was held off for a few days but it really created a mess. Hope it is over soon!

I really had a nice time today. All the managers were stuck at home. No tedious crisis meetings. I actually finished two key documents I've been trying to get on with for weeks.

And in the evening - traffic is light. Everyone left at 4pm to avoid the jams. I actually drove a collegue back to Paris. Had a drag race at the traffic lights at Porte Maillot with a beautiful woman in a big black Mercedes, two young guys in a BMW Z3 and a taxi. (The taxi won but he jumped the lights. I was second).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Franglais

The "public servants" in the transport industries have built up a rather privileged status over the years with early retirement, comfortable pensions, etc. The public transport system works very well but the new government wants to cut back on this special status. Like waving a red flag at a bull..

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No offense, but when I and a lot of folks here in the USA hear of all the job protection and benefits the Europeans and specifically the French receive over there, and the high unemployment that is the result of it (due to nobody wanting to start a business in France because of the lack of flexibility they'll have), the country seems like one big, freaking welfare state. It also seems that every time the politicians who realize this try to change things, so to help the country in the long run, that the workers strike, demonstrate, and riot.

I guess this goes to show that once you give something to someone and they grow dependent on it that stopping it is close to impossible. :eek:

There was an article in the paper here about 6 months ago that France created a research oriented area in the southern part of the country, in the mountains, hoping that people with good technical ideas would start small businesses. Very few did, and it's been a disappointment so far. The article stated that the average big company worker in France has such a good deal that they see no reason to 'take a chance' and start their own small business.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GB1

No offense, but when I and a lot of folks here in the USA hear of all the job protection and benefits the Europeans and specifically the French receive over there, and the high unemployment that is the result of it (due to nobody wanting to start a business in France because of the lack of flexibility they'll have), the country seems like one big, freaking welfare state. It also seems that every time the politicians who realize this try to change things, so to help the country in the long run, that the workers strike, demonstrate, and riot.

I guess this goes to show that once you give something to someone and they grow dependent on it that stopping it is close to impossible. :eek:

There was an article in the paper here about 6 months ago that France created a research oriented area in the southern part of the country, in the mountains, hoping that people with good technical ideas would start small businesses. Very few did, and it's been a disappointment so far. The article stated that the average big company worker in France has such a good deal that they see no reason to 'take a chance' and start their own small business.

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All that you say is true. However having an economy which is to some extent planned by the government has its advantages. The French have an excellent public transport system, a nuclear power system that covers 80% of the country's needs, etc.

The problem is human nature. Take any system and some people will pervert it to serve their own interests.

No system is perfect. I look out of my window this morning (the strike is still on) and I can see lines of stationary cars and even lines of people walking between them. It's just part of the French compromise between free enterprise and social-friendly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Franglais

All that you say is true. However having an economy which is to some extent planned by the government has its advantages. The French have an excellent public transport system, a nuclear power system that covers 80% of the country's needs, etc.

The problem is human nature. Take any system and some people will pervert it to serve their own interests.

No system is perfect. I look out of my window this morning (the strike is still on) and I can see lines of stationary cars and even lines of people walking between them. It's just part of the French compromise between free enterprise and social-friendly.

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All you say here is true, also. The women are great there too :thumbsup:

But I still feel that the best system is one that encourages self motivation and rewards instead of government support.

Like you said, one's view of a system is probably strongly influenced on how well they do in it. That's why you'll see such a wide variation of opinions when you ask someone how good a particular system is. For example, if you asked someone here about free enterprise and capitalism, if they were a successful business owner and a millionaire I would expect them to say it's the best in the world and nothing should change. I doubt you would get the same answer from somebody making minimum wage or someone on welfare.

I think this is why the best decision makers (politicians, etc) are ones that have worked their way up from the lowest jobs. They've seen it all.