Monday night in small town France. The Better Half is at her dance class, the offspring is upstairs doing "bits" on the computer, and I have been reduced to blooging in the kitchen on a miniscule i-pad, with its miniscule "touchy" keyboard - hence the spelling mistakes. Today at work - the usual - unwilling Moday students. Later on in the supermarket - bored shoppers pushing trolleys, in search of inspiration for the evening meal. life goes on. BUT, THIS IS A COUNTRY AT WAR. As the poster says "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON".
As French forces thrust through Mali in search of an elusive Islamic enemy, people at home seem nonchalantly unconcerned by the military antics in a far flung African country. The big news item on the home front is still the forthcoming government debate on the issue of same sex marriage. A couple of weeks ago, there were half amillion "anti gay marriage protesters on the streets of Paris. Last weekend there were just over a hundred thousand "pro marriage" protesters marching through the nation's capital.
Now here I am saying that this is a major issue. It is mobilising hundreds of thousands of people, but thereagain, as I sound out friends and coleagues on the issuen the real truth is that no one actually seems to care. The law will be voted and we will get what the French call "universal marriage"
It is pretty much the same story on taxes, unemployment and the ecnomy in general - the French seem resigned to what is happening. Unemployemnt is up. Petrol at the pump is up and taxes are set to rise. if Sarkozy were still in power, there would be hundresd of thousands of people in the streets protesting about everything, for the moment though, everyone just seems so disinterested. What happened to the revollution? Ah mon pauvre pays!!!!.
So I'm blogging on a miniscule keyboard and this relatiev French indifference merits further investigation. So a meatier post when I have a proper keyboard.In the meantime, here's wishing you all a pleasant evening.
