How wonderfully appropriate it is that the language of love is entirely split into genders! It’s as if every single object has personality, identity, feelings... But why are some words masculine and some feminine? Is there any logic to it? And does it make the French language more beautiful – or more sexist? After an in-depth investigation into these thorny questions, The French Deal concludes that the French are almost as confused about it as anyone!
President Macron is being widely criticised for not implementing all the recommendations of the Citizens’ Convention for the Climate as promised. Yet, the Convention itself considers that the impact of almost a third of their recommendations is either "weak" or unknown. What’s going on? What else is in the report? Is the only obstacle to addressing climate change a lack of political will? And by the way, can anything at all be learned from Australia’s experience?
A new job with a leading high-tech company in the south of France, the Mediterranean way of life during the week then back in Paris on the weekends, travelling on high speed trains through the beautiful countryside every week... Things had not only fallen into place for Chris after moving to France, he now had all the ingredients of the dream life. Well, that’s how it sounded...
Overcoming the roadblocks to renting an apartment in France sometimes takes someone in the right place at the right time to bend the rules for you. But what are the real consequences of a housing market that seems to do a better job of keeping people out than getting them in? Underneath the surface of beautiful Parisian apartments and holiday homes in Dordogne lies another reality: evictions, homelessness, social housing and paralysing rental laws...
Looking for an apartment to rent in Paris was pretty good fun at the start for Chris – a great way to get to know the place and practice his French too. Until, gradually, things started to go awry. Piles of paperwork; apartments mysteriously deprived of curtains, light fittings and even kitchen cupboards; financial conditions that seemed impossible to meet... It becomes a make or break mission. Can he overcome the system? Or will he become one of the excluded and be forced to return to Australia?
Why is it a nightmare just to rent an apartment in France? How come neither France nor Australia are leading the world in combating climate change? Why don’t the toilets work in high speed trains which are, in all other respects, technological masterpieces? Chris’ journey to set up a new life in Paris continues and becomes a make or break mission to overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles and decipher the bewildering mysteries of French life.
Presidential elections. After having lived through 3 of them in France, Chris is finding them more and more bizarre. So much faith and responsibility placed in a single individual. Not only that, in both France and the United States, the way the votes are counted leaves them wide open to the “spoilers” and the risk of electing … the wrong President. That’s what the French discovered for themselves, not so long ago. Maybe some Aussie rules would help?
French workers have to contribute 28% of their salary to their retirement, Australians only 9.5%. How unfair! The difference represents a huge drag on the French economy and on the incomes of ordinary people. Why such a difference? How can Australians keep so much more of their income yet still have a good retirement? Chris takes a deep dive into the issue and discovers that the news is not all good for everyone...
Chris has survived one of the toughest years of his life, setting up a new life from scratch in France. He realises he’s not the only one finding it hard going – compared to Australia, which is not without its own problems, France is in a state of permanent economic crisis. And in trying to understand what could explain such a difference, he stumbles on something even more important than Australia’s huge mining industry. Something that no-one seems to talk about ….
Chris’ quest to get himself employed somewhere within commuting distance of Paris had begun. Unemployment was 9.5% - recession levels. After a disastrous interview, a less than encouraging experience with a support group for the unemployed, and watching a macabre film in which the central murderous character seems to be driven by uncomfortably familiar circumstances, things are getting desperate….
When Chris drops everything to move from Melbourne to Paris with his new French wife, he wasn’t expecting it to be easy. No-one says that about France. Not even the French. It’s the famous “méthode française” – unique in the world, extraordinarily complicated, but somehow it’s supposed to be worth it. Or is it? The journey begins.