It depends on how you define socialism - it varies from country to country. France is a ultra socialistic country (one could say semi-communistic) with a maximum sized government, that both owns car factories and one of the worlds largest civil airline companies.

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Jesus was a communist!

"Socialist" means communism in the USA. It's not the same in Europe. Here, socialists support capitalism, market economy and democracy. They just want to put more government control on some sectors of the economy than american democrats do. In the case of these elections, Segolene Royal is not planning to do any additional nationalisations; on the other hand, a victory of her would make definitive the recent change in orientation of the socialists, which, not bound anymore by alliances with the communists, are able to implement less leftist policies. BTW, Sarkozy's and Royal's programs must look exactly the same from the perspective of an American - they already have a lot in common from the french point of view, especially since Royal is on the right-wing within the socialist party.

These election really are about the candidates personalities more than about their programs (even though there are some differences in their programs).
Either you don't know what communism is, you don't know what socialism is, or you don't know what France is altogether. Whichever case it is, you should try to educate yourself before you make such comments.

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Client: In six days, do you hear me, six days, God made the world. And you are not bloody well capable of making me a pair of trousers in three months!
Tailor: But my dear Sir, my dear Sir, look at the world, and look at my trousers.
(Beckett)

Would you care to elaborate on what freedom you mean?

You seem to think that somehow freedom and socialism dont work together, and that the french would give up a lot of freedom if they would vote for the socialists.

As IIIX pointed out mainstream European socialism is not at all against political freedom, but it wants to maintain/raise some limits on economical freedom (minimum wages, job protection) to protect the workers from corporations.

Ultra-socialistic? Semi-communistic? You have no idea what you are talking about.

If you are rich you can stay rich in France, so it is not ultra-socialistic.

Companies are owned by their shareholders and not by the laborers, so its not semi-communistic.

Sorry. Is this the kind of things they write about France in Denmark ?

The fact that Air France - one of the largest airline companies in the world for sure - belongs for 51% to the STate doesn't make France a communist country ...

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______________________Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”___________________Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. Just look at the french department map. Tell me, don't you think it's quite strage to see the french vote (largely) FN and UMP in several regions such as :

Nord
Alsace
Région parisienne
Rhone Alpes
PACA

So now, do you need a map to see where the criminality is the most active ?



And here is where the people vote FN and UMP :

The result of the french departements

You say I think wrong! you're kidding me isn't it!




I don't agree and this statment is based on anything. Actually, the left as the right has never been capable to reduce the criminality in France. Why ? because no one has been capable to reduce the social problem and the unemployment. That's the key.


I don't agree with you. Of course he has changed his speech to be seen as the leader of the UMP but as soon he has been designed by the UMP as the candidat he never changed.

Since you talk about "change mind" look at Sego who spend her two last month to bash Bayrou and fight against him this last 5 years! look at what she's doing today! she wants to see the UDF in the middle of the PS ! No, she's not stubborn! she's opportunist!



Oh ! you're kidding me again!




Yes it's 5 % for the moment, but when you create a new administration, and new services, you have to provide more money for the infrastructures, the functioning and fonctionnaires! No need to remind if you have to pay now for the infrastructures and the functionnaing, the fonctionnaires you have to pay them all their life ! yes all their life! it's a cost who push the france right in the wall!


Hmmmm..... not really. The cost of Sarkozy is essentially based on the 5 years while the ones of Sego will push the France to pay all the time. It's different.


Ben desolé de te ramener à une réalité comptable du problème, et puisque tu le prends comme ca, je vais te parler sur le même ton. Il me semble qu'il serait bon pour toi que tu cherches un ptit peu plus loin que le bout de ton nez. Les coûts affichés par Ségolène et Sarko sont sans doute très proche, cependant, les réformes de Ségolène va nous mettre sur la paille. C'est pas moi qui le dit, c'est pas non plus la droite! c'est un certain rapport Perbereau. Un rapport qui est d'ailleurs largement ressenti comme un pavé dans la marre à gauche comme à droite. Sauf que pour le coup, si Sarko ne veut rien faire de particulier pour la dette car sa priorité c'est effictivement de mettre la France au travail Segolène elle de son côté à fait le choix (suicidaire, et je n'exagère pas) d'utiliser ces moyens de paiment.


Honnetement, avant de me dire que je ne sais pas de quoi je parle et que mes propos ne font que souligner mon incohérence, moi si j'étais toi, avant de balancer des vannes comme ca, je regarderai d'un ptit peu plus près avant d'adopter ce ton super desagréable et vraiment agressif pour le coup.




I don't think so.... they both will be capable. Sarko will certainly create more growth than Sego and Sego will use the debt to fund her programm and to push the growth! never hears something called "la reprise" this system invented by Keyns ?

BTW do you remember Besson ? he has the key which obviously slipped you out.

I will reply to the other posts later, but for the moment I just wanted to post this election poster I just received ...

TOGETHER



TOGETHER
without the poors, the communists, the left, the ultra-left, journalists, the blacks, the arabs, the homosexuals (and the guy who took my wife) etc.

EVERYTHING BECOMES POSSIBLE

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______________________Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”___________________Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Having worked in Denmark and France for six months in both countries in the last two years, I found that the french are ar mre hard working than the Danes...

As a Dane complaining about an other country being socialist. Denmark is quite socialist itself.. Denmark is a great little country and has a huge amount to offer the world.. Your use of wind power is a example to the world...

But you don't need to slag off the French... They are just different...

tu te plaignais de recevoir des pps sexistes, ben pour moi c'est du même genre.... ptete même en pire.


Plus ca va, plus je trouve le jeu de la gauche et de l'extrême gauche , très agressif, hors de propos, et surtout qui va a l'encontre de toutes les choses qu'ils sont censés défendre : ouverture d'esprit, tolérance, etc... On en est bien loin.


Et pour toi ?

C'est de bonne guerre .

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______________________Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”___________________Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Im not saying that the French are worse people than the Danes are, hell they might even be better people for all I know. But they do work 30% less hours on a week than the Danes do, and that indicates to me that something needs to be done.

You are correct that Denmark still is a very socialistic country (leftovers from previous governments), but there have been many non-socialistic reforms made in the last 6 years by the liberal government, and that is the primary reason for why it is going so well in Denmark economically, as opposed to France.

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Jesus was a communist!

The productivity per hour is also one of the highest in the world.

I am not a supporter of the 35-hour week. However, for other reasons than "we should all sweet and never have fun" kind of mentality.

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______________________Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”___________________Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Ce qui serait de bonne guerre c'est que tu les mettes en ligne ces PPS


non je deconne. Je ne suis pas d'accord avec ces procédés.

I would vote for her too. With Angela Merkel in Germany, Ségolène Royal in France and Hillary Clinton in the USA we could have the year of the woman!

But it is a very funny poster. It's a caricature.

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______________________Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”___________________Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Bayrou an opportunist ?

Remember he had only 6% of the votes five years ago ?

He just says what he thinks true and unfortunately the truth is that you cannot give away money that you do not have. Most of his positions are quite moderate, not sexy at all, this is because he makes no promises that he cannot hold. Where is the dream ? He is a pragmatic, that makes him a man of the right, but has a number of constant generous principles which make him a man of the left. A generous pragmatic, why shouldn't it work ?

The world has changed and so has France. The big problem of France, IMO, is this constant opposition between right and left, which is more in the head than in the economic reality of the people. This is why I believe that Sarkosy will fail at the end.

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______________________Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”___________________Alexander Solzhenitsyn