20th C. France and its "model social" How do americans look at it ?

Question

Which are the high moments of tension between the two nations?
What means "the French model social "
In what is the american model different from the french?
The French model social seen from USA .


All contributions are welcome

Answer 1

This is a pretty hot topic in my house as I am American, my wife is French and our children enjoy dual citizenship.

There has been quite a change over the last few years in how this is perceived. One of the biggest problems that we have is that the views of both country's populations are generally shaped by what we see in the biased media. For those who speak both french and english, it is a great exercise to look up the same news story on yahoo.com and yahoo.fr. Wow! It is hard to believe the writers are reporting on the same information. Naturally, this will filter down to the readers and shape their opinions on these topics and events.

Most of the current tension is derived from a wildly different view on how the situation in the middle east is being handled. Obviously, France and the U.S. have very different views on this topic. Most Americans do not realize what a precarious time this is for France from an economical standpoint. Also, most Americans are not cognizant of the volatile nature of the social and political climate within France. While last year's violent uprising of the immensely large Arab population in France was related to the current social and economic conditions within France, it is also a solid indicator of how important it is for the French government to consider the reaction of this portion of their population when making global decisions.

On the flip side of this topic, it is very important to understand the American mentality when gauging their reaction to the French. Americans are very patriotic and very loyal. Long before WWII, the U.S. and France have been allies on and off the battlefield. France has decided in the past to not participate in global skirmishes and the U.S. has forgiven and forgotten. This time, however, France joined Germany (there's why you hear so much about WWII lately) in vocally protesting the U.S. agenda. More so than the lack of participation, Americans in general view this alliance and course of action as a betrayal of a two and a half century friendship.

As for the "French model social" as compared to the U.S. model, this has been a long term debate. Previous postings have already described the current economic condition of France so I won't go in to it. One of the problems with this system is that it is predicated on the assumption that everyone will perform to the best of their ability and work hard to maintain their current status and achieve a balanced society. This system supposedly assures the well being of all members of society. The down side is that it discourages the notion that one can drastically improve their financial or personal status by working hard or more.

The United States, on the other hand, encourages people to work harder, more often or even take multiple jobs to improve their own personal situation. The upside is a whole lot of rags to riches stories and a real opportunity to improve upon one's financial condition. The downside is that it doesn't always work out and there really isn't much of a safety net. It's kind of a pioneer mentality - and that isn't really surprising given U.S. history.

I have no idea which is better, but only which model I prefer. My situation certainly leads me to applaud the American ideal, but I might feel differently if I was poor and uninsured. If I was French, however, I personally wouldn't be incented to do a lot if I knew that I would be working the exact same job for 30 years with no real hope of improving my quality of life by working harder.

As a rule I find the greater the risk, the greater the reward. In the U.S. there are a whole lot of winners and losers. In France, they don't really play the game.

Answer 2

Its pretty obvious that the previous posters haven't the foggiest notion of what you're talking about.

I believe that most Americans, if they had any idea of what the French social model is, would find it unpalatable. The majority might like the benefits but the concomitant drawbacks would be unacceptable.

We, for example, are experiencing a high level of public demand for some sort of universal health coverage. However, there is no support at all for doubling taxes to pay for it.

The public also often calls for more job security, more vacation time, maternity leave and other government mandated job benefits but regard the 9-10% unemployment which France has as a result as cause for a revolution.

We have settled on a system in which government mandates or provides relatively fewer benefits. As a result we have, relative to France, lower unemployment, more work options, greater personal freedom, bigger houses, higher home ownership, more social mobility, and a variety of other things we prize.

France has chosen a different model which provides, among other things, greater personal security.

The American national character is different than the French and so its is not surprising we have different systems and that each regards its system as superior.

Answer 3

Don't worry about the Americans Emile, ww2 was the last time they were on the winning side in a war so they pretend that they won it alone.

The French government is much more left wing than the American government and French people are much more politically aware.

As for selling technology to 'the axis of evil' perhaps they should ask where those old chemical weapons found in Iraq originally came from

Answer 4

the Anglo-Saxon model has a low degree of job protection allowing for easy hiring and firing by companies which allows for a more dynamic economy and very good at generating jobs when the economy thrives. However, the Anglo-Saxon Model is not very successful in reducing poverty, increasing national health, etc. the Continental model (the french use a variation on this) has strict rules on job protection and large amounts of regulation in industry. The labour market has proven to be inflexible and slow to react to globalisation. Generous insurance based unemployment benefits and well funded welfare state are excellent at reducing poverty and providing high quality health care. to Robabard: In Scandinavia, there is even higher taxation, and they're doing fine. Yes, there is high unemployment in France, but you are giving deceitfull information. It's probably even less than 57 procent. However, the children, retired and crippled do not work. If you consider that, 57 procentage points out of perhaps 63 procentage points of the population who is at working age is a whole different picture than 57 out of 100. The comming drop is mostly because of the aging of the population.

Answer 5

Emile, I'm sorry, but DAR and Bryan are pretty much on target. We just don't notice or care. The French did not endear themselves to us during the second world war, and it has left an impression on us that today's French government seems to make worse. Since France is not a threat to the US, we just look the other way. Speaking of the French PEOPLE, however, is another story. I, for one, love the French people. It's just your government I don't care for.

Answer 6

Well we look at the French as sad and unfaithful. We saved their butts Twice, and how do they repay us, selling weapons and Nuclear technologies to the Axis of Evil. They haven't even repaid their war debts to us. High moments of tension After 2001. The French think we are losers even though their economy depends on American Tourists.

Answer 7

We mostly didn''t pay much attention to it.

Answer 8

all french are gay