FRENCH BASHING!

French bashing, next to cricket and football, is the favorite game of the English. (I am not an expert on history, but I suspect it has always been like that.) The front-runner and the flag holder of this game, no doubt, is The Economist magazine. Almost every other issue, you would see either a deragotary remark about French politicians (not that some of them really deserve those remarks!) or a critique of their “mal” economy. (As of late, since their economy is (suppposedly) doing better, they somewhat increased their bashing.) Now, according to pscyhology quotidien, the constant derision of a person is an underlying symptom of “jealousy”.

Well, if your neighbor across the river is more happy, less fatty, incomewise less inequal, socially more liberal, works less, has low cost “zero” emission energy, much better food and wine, higher life expectancy and its politicians publicly bang better girls (just think of Carla Bruni and Hollande’s various liaisons in stark (or shall I say “naked”) contrast to poor and pathetic “dick” (of) Brooks Newmark), as a “morning cold shower” public school boy politician or journalist, you would be jealous, wouldn’t you?  

Of course the whole bashing thing is deeper than that. There is actually an ideological side to it. France has never been an economy driven by neo-liberal principles. They have always been more pragmatic and heterodox in their conduct of the economy. For example, where they see fit, they are not against State-holdership of companies. (The French State has significant stakes in many key sectors such as energy, as well as in banks.) Of course, as of late, thanks to Sarkozy and others, unfortunately they veered off-course somewhat. But, no doubt France still represents a nuisance for the neo-liberal mindeds, or, let’s say, one of the last forts to be conquered (a Masada perhaps).