what you know, and who you know.

It's not what you know that counts, but who you know.

Welcome to my new blog. Let's talk about the French, and putting the cart before the horse.

Here's a first thought that's been on my mind the last few days, and from personal experience no less. Despite what just about everyone in the worlds press is saying about the (anti-) new (proposed) employment legislation protesters in France, I have to agree with the protesters for one reason and one reason only. This is a point no-one else seems to be bringing up as far as I've heard. This reason is as follows: in France, if you do NOT have a "CDI" (contrat durée indeterminée) work contract, you will have one hell of a time getting a roof over your head, whether this be rental accomodation, or buying a property. It doesn't matter how much money you have (unless of course you're some kind of millionaire), or other sources of income, "the system" will not take them into account. This means you're out on the street, and you will be given no sympathy or leeway, except in the most unusual circumstances (like if you're dealing with sympathetic foreigners who sympathise with the absurd situation you may find yourself in), or with massive extra hassle, such as legal guarantees from 3rd parties, losing money on deposits equivalent to a years rent on the property, etc. Why is this situation so absurd as it is? Well, at least in terms of rental accomodation, the law in France says: if someone doesn't pay their rent, they cannot be kicked out of the property by the landlord except after (potentially) many years of court battles. The net result of this (very socialistic law) is a total distrust of prospective tenants by propery owners from the get-go. Prospective tenants are often treated with a suspicion amounting to (in my personal view at least) disrespect, often asked for personal details in a (in my personal view at least) intrusive manner, and more often than not, the property owner or 3rd party interlocutor or property agency will simply refuse to discuss any possibility of renting the proerty if you fail to produce the much lauded/appreciated/disputed "CDI" contract. But it doesn't end there! The property owner also may or may not have "rent insurance", in which situation the insurance company decides whether it's necessary for the prospective tenant to have a CDI contract or nor. Then again, even when the tenant does produce the work contract, the property owner may decide arbitrarily that said contract hasn't been in force "long enough" so as to ward off his suspicions that you may not be able to pay your rent, after which he may not be able to kick you out. Then again, you may even be in possession of "the CDI contract", but still be in the "trial period", which could last anywhere from 3 to 6 months. Now if, under the proposed new legislation, the "employment trial period" could last up to 2 years, should we not be sympathetic with anyone who has to go through this kind of ridiculous crap, only for 2 years instead of 6 months (and that just in principle, not taking into account the "arbitrary suspicion" factor highlighted above)?

In conclusion, the French should change their property laws before they change their employment laws. Apart from that, I agree with what the rest of the world is saying: nowhere in the world do they have employment laws like in France. Then again, this also explains the 2 or 3 hour lunchbreaks. But who am I to complain about that?