sdale100

Only people I've ever seen hurrying in french shops are the retired who turn up on a saturday afternoon just to push you in the back whilst queuing at the till, when they've got all week to do their shopping.:curse: Can someone explain this?

val50

must be a regional thing - seems to be Thursday afternoon in Normandy - especially in Lidl when they get the new specials in

themoose

because they are nearer to death or so they think.

wait until you are over 70 you will have battle scars and whip marksto show the grandchildren. They love it

Collioure_Bee

I love the way you get ushered to the front if you only have one or two items, no problems, no having to plead with your eyes or, in the case of Asdas in Fareham, one bottle of wine and woman with full trolley visibly accelorated to get in front of me!

onlyonebrenda

We all need to think about what we do and be a bit kinder to others, don't we. All that grasping on both individual and collective level causes so much misery and really isn't necessary.

sdale100

OUCH! That was one deep dose of morality for us all, but right on the nail.

treskillard

It's the price you have to pay for living in the Perigord (God Bless All Who Sail in Her...)

sdale100

On another note, I've just noticed today is Europe Day, that has to be worth another public holiday, doesn't it?

treskillard

That's why I'm doing bu**er all today

onlyonebrenda

Sorry, didn't mean to be so heavy handed with the morality bit. It's just that it really hits me, the way that going for that last little bit extra when it really doesn't make much difference causes so much pain.

sdale100

Not to worry, I do actually feel the same way myself.


Anyway, here I am at work, waiting for the last hour to go by, wondering if I may see one or two clients this morning, if they have all chosen to "make the bridge".

How many of you are working on Monday ( for the solidarity of the aged)? I wasn't given any choice in the matter, not that I'm complaining, I'm not working, and wouldn't be able even if I wanted to, the office is closed. My wife on the other hand is working, and in theory she is paid double for doing so as it is now a Public Holiday once again. The hitch is that half of the double pay she's paid goes automatically to the Solidarity fund. Now my maths ain't good, but I'd call that a raw deal!!

Collioure_Bee

I used to love that point when I was an FOC in print. The company wanted people to work bank holiday for double time. In reality even this is only normal time. I could be sat at home getting a days pay and they'd be working getting a days extra. Therefore only normal time in real terms.

I love this pont jour or whatever they call it, can you imagine the uproar in Britain if we did it there?

onlyonebrenda

I do actually like the idea of contributing to the aged except that i seem to remember reading that the money doesn't actually end up being spent that way. Did you know that the French state pension has gone up so it's now somewhere around 800€ which is more than the full English state pension.
On the news the other day they were saying that the number of bank holidays in May creates absolute havoc with the nation's cash flow. They also commented that it was one of the busiest holiday months so everyone, including the French, was away but nobody was there to provide for the tourists. Ho hum. Why do I keep expecting life to be logical?

dmu

The French State Pension depends on what you earned during your working life, based on several of your "best years". 800 € would correspond to a low-wage earner, probably the equivalent of the SMIC, and at the other end of the scale, an engineer could expect a State Pension of 5 times that sum. This is logical, as the more you pay in when working, the more you get back upon retirement. (and don't forget the compulsory supplementary pension for everyone and the "Caisse des Cadres" Pension for executives and management).
The merry month of May has always been catastrophic for the French economy, esp. if May 1st and 8th are on a Thursday or Tuesday, if Ascension Thursday doesn't coincide with one of them, like this year, and if Easter is early and Whit Monday falls in May. The French complain that their purchasing power has greatly diminished, but it doesn't stop them going away for all these long weekends and creating traffic jams!

dmu

[QUOTE=dmu;6333996]The French State Pension depends on what you earned during your working life, based on several of your "best years". 800 € would correspond to a low-wage earner, probably the equivalent of the SMIC, and at the other end of the scale, an engineer could expect a State Pension of 5 times that sum. This is logical, as the more you pay in when working, the more you get back upon retirement. (and don't forget the compulsory supplementary pension for everyone and the "Caisse des Cadres" Pension for executives and management).
/QUOTE]

For the record, I've made a mistake. The State Pension is more or less the same for everyone. It is the Supplementary Fund and Caisse des Cadres which provide pensions proportional to the salary. Sorry about that...