France General Discussion III: Tout doit disparaître

[Omega21]

https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1066322994207825921

They had a choice, Le Pen or Macron.

You reap what you sow

[Omega21]

The French government is now blaming the "Ultra-Right" and Le Pen for the protests.

https://news.sky.com/story/tear-gas-fired-at-furious-protesters-in-france-11561900

Boy, they sure seem desperate.

I would feel bad for the French, but then I remember they voted for him as an "outsider", and anyone who truly thinks he is anything but a part of the elite deserves to live under him for a few more years.

[Omega21]

The French government is now blaming the "Ultra-Right" and Le Pen for the protests.

https://news.sky.com/story/tear-gas-fired-at-furious-protesters-in-france-11561900

Boy, they sure seem desperate.

I would feel bad for the French, but then I remember they voted for him as an "outsider", and anyone who truly thinks he is anything but a part of the elite deserves to live under him for a few more years.

Le Pen called to protest on the Champs-Elysées.
https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/gilets-jaunes-marine-le-pen-suggere-une-manifestation-sur-les-champs-elysees-23-11-2018-2273837_23.php
Marion Maréchal Le Pen demonstrated on the Champs Elysées with other RN officials
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/transports/gilets-jaunes/gilets-jaunes-marion-marechal-a-manifeste-sur-les-champs-elysees-samedi_3053555.html
And according to police a hundred members of the ultra right were among the most violent.
https://www.bfmtv.com/societe/violences-aux-champs-elysees-une-centaine-de-membres-de-l-ultra-droite-parmi-les-gilets-jaunes-1573477.html

Maybe the cause of the protest was the fact that Macron is disconnected from the normal people, and that he increased Fuel taxes like a madman?

If he didn't do this, and the Right called people to protest, would they protest? I think not

[Omega21]

wait wait wait....there is a law in France saying all motorists must have a yellow safety vest?  Yeah, I'd riot too.

Nothing unusual, there's even such laws in Eastern European and Balkan countries.

If my memory serves me correctly, you need a Safety triangle, Yellow West, Chains (if winter), Spare car light bulbs, First aid, Spare tire and towing line.

That's in less developed countries, so I assume it's the same for richer countries like France.

[Omega21]

and what's the punishment if you get caught without spare light bulbs or towing line?  Are these things checked for every time you get pulled over?  Part of a regular inspection?

It really depends. At night it's usually just checking your Drivers license and alcohol testing, but I was pulled over a few times during the day (especially during the winter season) for a detailed inspection, including checking the "mandatory equipment" and sometimes even measuring the tire groove (You need to have winter or All season tires during the winter, with the proper groove depth).

If you don't have one of the 7 items, you receive a fine. I got written up because I forgot to put the tire chains in my car (winter had just begun), but since I work online, the fine was fairly cheap for me in Bosnia (about USD 25), and it is not that expensive either way (the average salary is about USD 470-500). Obviously, bribing the police is still a big thing in most ex-Socialist Balkan countries, but you could end up giving an old communist cop $10 and get written up for attempting to bribe an officer.

Most new and even used cars already come with most of the stuff in it, the only thing you might need to do is buy a new First Aid every 5 or so years since it has an expiry date, and obviously have good tires, but that's common sense even without legislation.

I'm usually against overregulation, but I definitely think the US should also introduce something like this, since the Deaths/100,000 Cars ratio is greater than in developed EU countries, so it could maybe help, and it probably wouldn't have any large drawbacks.

[Omega21]

I'm usually against overregulation, but I definitely think the US should also introduce something like this, since the Deaths/100,000 Cars ratio is greater than in developed EU countries, so it could maybe help, and it probably wouldn't have any large drawbacks.

Three things I think that would make this hard to pull off in the US:
A.we like freedom more than Europe
2.this seems like it would be an excuse to hassle poor people
III.would give cops a legit reason to look in trunks (triangulating the first two)


I believe most (all?) states have a law saying vehicles must be kept in good and safe working condition, but I think it's usually only applied after an accident caused by whatever it was that wasn't in good and safe working condition.

I definitely understand the difference, and you're right, maybe this type of regulation is not suited for the States, although I feel like some things, like the driving rules on the interstate should be changed to those of the Autobahn, i.e. go to the left lane only if you are going faster than the other cars or overtaking, and stick to the right lane if you are driving the same speed as others. I watched a lot of close call and accident videos where lane switching for no reason (or however it's called) caused accidents.

These rules make it safe even when the speed limit (or no speed limit at all) is higher than in the US since it's a more controlled and predictable way of driving overall.



As for Macron, I think it's pretty safe to assume that he's going to lose the European election to RN, as he seems to be letting things just spiral out of control.

It will be definitely interesting seeing a new EU Parliament with more right-wing MP's than before, hopefully, it translates into a new direction for the EU, one that does not oppose freedom of speech and sensible Nationalism.

[Omega21]

I definitely understand the difference, and you're right, maybe this type of regulation is not suited for the States, although I feel like some things, like the driving rules on the interstate should be changed to those of the Autobahn, i.e. go to the left lane only if you are going faster than the other cars or overtaking, and stick to the right lane if you are driving the same speed as others. I watched a lot of close call and accident videos where lane switching for no reason (or however it's called) caused accidents.

These rules make it safe even when the speed limit (or no speed limit at all) is higher than in the US since it's a more controlled and predictable way of driving overall.

The sad part is, that IS the rule here in most states.  The amount of time we waste sitting in traffic we wouldn't have to if people just used proper lane discipline is huge.

Definitely... The amount of unnecessary braking can lead to a ripple effect in the back, seriously bogging down traffic.

However, the better "discipline" in EU countries is most likely due to mandatory driving lessons. In Austria (and even Bosnia), you can't just go do your test and be on your way. You need to pay a driving school for mandatory lessons, including theory and practice (16 Driving hours minimum), where your instructor must take you to drive on the highway and in the city, basically drilling in the rules.

When it's all said and done, a driving license will end up costing you $1600+, but I guess that's the price for more discipline on the roads.

[Omega21]

The problem, again, is that the anger of common people is fully justified when there's no solidarity in the effort. In other words: the rich must pay more taxes than the poor, by an amount proportional to the wealth they possess.

they don't?  Rich people in France don't pay the vast majority of income taxes?  Did they learn this from the Greeks?  Sure, regressive taxes like sin and gas taxes should be axed or at least greatly reduced, which is what the protesters are protesting about, no?

He "reformed" the wealth tax, which in practice meant a massive tax cut for the richest - that, the fact that Macron is considered as being the "president of the rich" is one of the underlying factors driving the protests.

But otherwise, yeah, the petrol tax in particular hurts lower income people who tend to live outside the major cities - and are more car reliant.

For me at least, ideologically speaking, climate change is a massive problem; but it is a problem that is mainly caused by the rich - so passing the cost of it on to the poor at the same time as giving tax cuts to rich people is outrageous.

is wiki lying to me when it says people that make more than €72k pay 41% of it to the govt in income taxes?  That ain't even rich!

That sounds more than it actually is.

I don't know the specifics for France, but in most of the EU for those taxes you get Child benefits (200 Euro per child/month in Austria), Free education for the children (University included), free healthcare and unemployment money if you are left without a job and tons of other stuff like that.

I won't go in depth since my knowledge of France is not good enough.

You pay more, but you also get more from the government, so it's not just money that disappears. Sending your children to University is fairly expensive in America if I understand correctly, so that's one of the things you pay for through taxes in the EU.

[Omega21]

Who would have thought that a guy who publicly fancied himself the Roman God Jupiter would face issues stemming from his own arrogance?

Yeah, and they still picked him over Le Pen...

The French people have struck a massive blow to Nationalism across Europe, let's hope they redeem themselves in the upcoming EU elections.