{"id":9904,"date":"2013-11-28T11:25:57","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T16:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nadeaubarlow.com\/?p=9904"},"modified":"2013-11-28T11:27:36","modified_gmt":"2013-11-28T16:27:36","slug":"frances-general-revolt-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nadeaubarlow.com\/es\/frances-general-revolt-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"France’s General Revolt: Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bonnet-rouge-laine-france\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Julie Barlow<\/p>\n

The \u201cred cap\u201d protests in Brittany are just the most visible sign of discontent in France. With less than 20% support from his electorate, French President Fran\u00e7ois Hollande is now beating all records of unpopularity of a French president.<\/p>\n

Things are not set to improve. On January 1, he\u2019s going to jack France\u2019s sales tax, already almost 20%.<\/p>\n

Since we arrived in September, we\u2019ve been trying to find the right word for the spirit of defiance that seems to be spreading through the country daily. One expert called France\u2019s present political climate \u201cpre-revolutionary.\u201d But that\u2019s not exactly it.<\/p>\n

The precise term for what\u2019s happening in France right now is a French word: fronde<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fronde does not translate as revolution. Revolutions are violent rejections of a political system. The French aren\u2019t doing that. Fronde<\/em> is a general revolt. The French are revolting against their institutions, against the authorities. They want action.<\/p>\n

Ras-le-Bol<\/h2>\n

The other term key to understanding what\u2019s going on in France is ras-le-bol<\/em>. Literally translated, it means \u201ca bowl-full\u201d, but the sense is \u201ccan\u2019t take it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview on August 20, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici coined an expression that the French media are still talking about today: \u201cras-le-bol fiscal<\/em>\u201d, or \u201cfiscal fed-up-ness.\u201d But beyond acknowledging their discontent, the government is not doing much to improve the mood of the French.<\/p>\n

In September, Fran\u00e7ois Hollande promised to reduce taxes. The next day, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault contradicted him and announced that the government had no choice but to increase taxes.<\/p>\n

When the French received their annual tax bill on September 15, everyone had to pay more. For the first time, even some several million French who never pay taxes had to fork out 300 or 400 euros. Some taxpayers saw their bill increase 1500, or 2000 or even 2500 euros.<\/p>\n

The \u201cred cap\u201d revolts in Brittany started in mid-October, originally in response to company closures in Brittany. But they quickly changed focus to protest the roughly 50 tax increases the French government introduced in 2013.<\/p>\n

The New Year is not looking too bright for Fran\u00e7ois Hollande.<\/p>\n

Next blog: The French are up in arms over changes to the School Week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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