Problems ...

It seems that Britain is not the only country suffering domestic difficulties in these financially austere days. The ministerial statement in the mother of parliaments today seems not to have quelled potential disquiet in various sections of the electorate.

There is a similar situation currently here in France and for a somewhat similar reason, the government wishes to raise the retirement age by two years, yes, two whole years! This has brought about a series of fairly devastating one day strikes each week since the beginning of September as yet to little avail. Naturally, as is the way with such things when a lack of progress is made, the strikes and protests escalate. During the past couple of weeks fuel supply depots have been targeted throughout the whole of the country with the inevitable fuel shortages resulting. Currently some forty per cent of all filling stations are reported as having run out of supplies. Thankfully, as I write, our region has barely felt the effects so far.

The government have decided that blockading supplies is not on so have sent in the CRS, that's the French police heavy mob, to persuade the picketers to desist from their chosen action. Yesterday three fuel depots were recipients of the attention from the CRS, all three depots resumed supplying retailers.

Will the government eventually cave in over the proposed changes? Possibly as historically there is not a one hundred per cent record of forcing change when faced with protest and civil unrest. I suspect that that government hesitancy owes not a little to the events of 1789, the time of the French Revolution.

There is also a supply problem with other carbon fuels, particularly heating oil something which is commonly used for central heating systems due to a fairly sparse national gas network. The further north in country is obviously a little colder than here in the southwest and its citizens are naturally feeling the combined effects of winter's onset and a lack of fuel. Gallic people are not without resourcefulness and solve this lack of warmth by going out onto the streets. Surely that defeats the object of attempting to stay warm, does it not? No, is the answer. The simple solution is to gather in neighbourly groups and stand around a nice blazing fire in the middle of the road created by setting fire to the odd car or two!

Who knows how and where this present dispute will end, my euro is not on the side of the government.