France:

The declared Rightist French political authority, lead by French president Jacques Chirac, has had a series of victories against the Socialist left in recent year leading to content French everywhere. The cohabitating French political spectrum has resulted in reforms like the 35 hour work week and increased public works spending up to 50% of the GDP. Advocates that hold other decisive positions of power, like Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front, simply want to help by addressing immigration issues. French confidence in the current government system is bolder than ever, despite 30% of the voters just deciding to take a break.

Today's growth is an example of French fortitude in the last 100 years, such as the valiant French resistance against the Nazis. The French are well known for their surprising victories in military campaigns, a result of economic and political solidarity created by French Socialist leaders. Indeed, France has contributed to all parts of the world stage, especially with the birth of Socialism in the early 1800's. With Socialism, France has become the leader of modern civilization

France, an example that Socialism, Protectionist Neo-Fascism, Communism, Statism and Neo-Gaullism WORKS!

But does it really work?

Rightist:

The French government is now ruled by the declared "right" wing, in spite of it's "right" wing being more neo-Fascist than economically liberating. Jacques Chirac, French president, has promised a total drop of 30% in French taxation policy, however, total tax cuts are non-existent, and programs like Social Security are on the rise. The French government's public works programs and regulatory agencies have not receded, still remaining just as big (if not bigger) than they were during the past 60 years of Socialist rule in France.

series of victories against the Socialist left:

This "victory" came in the form of the Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin being ousted from the presidential races by National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who is a extremely nationalistic opponent of globalization that advocates expelling France's 3 million immigrants. His flagrant racism and neo-Fascism has gotten him attention for comments like saying that Nazi gas chambers were "a detail in history". In France's political system, his supporters made him #2 in the presidential runnings, a decisive victory of the Socialist right over the Socialist left.

content French everywhere:

The division between party lines, and in particular the ousting of Lionel Jospin from the 2002 presidential elections in France, led to French discontent and protesting for the entire election period. The proportionate representational system being divided so many ways amongst Communists, Socialists, Fascists, neo-Socialists, Statists, Social Democrats, and their ilk that no two groups really have a decisive public sway. Chirac did not have the majority in getting re-elected in 2002, his voters almost being outnumbered by non-voters who simply stayed indoors discontent with the election cycle. In this sea of discontent, free-market advocate Alain Madelin of the Liberal Democratic Party got 3% of the votes, showing that the only contentment the French have is in ignoring advocates of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

cohabitating French political spectrum:

Cohabitation is the term applied for an administration lead by a president of one political ideology and a prime minister of a rival ideology. For a while, Lionel Jospin was PM while Jacques Chirac was President. During this period taxes increased, government got bigger, more regulation on private trade was passed, and the institution of a 35-hour work week was established.

35 hour work week:

Jospin headed the passing of a bill reducing the work week to 35 hours, to counter a skyrocketing unemployment rate of over 11%. The bill did reduce unemployment, because employers were forced to hire more people to make up for staff that could not work beyond the 35 hour work week maximum. This bill's strangulating effects on individual workers (who may need the extra hours) and small businesses (who cannot afford the constant restaffing and loss of more available valued laborers) has yet to be taken into consideration.

increased public works spending up to 50% of the GDP:

France is second only to Sweden in it's government spending, spending nearly 50% of it's GDP. This of course doesn't include government-owned sectors, where the government consumes 22% of the GDP, and additional state controls on production. This means that if you live in France, your pension may be high, but your paycheck won't be.

simply want to help by addressing immigration issues:

Le Pen plans on doing this by outright outlawing illegally registered immigrants and deporting them from the country. Other stances endorsed by the National Front, one of France's largest political parties: separation of French funds from foreigner funds, the death penalty, ban on building Muslim mosques, and the recreation of trade barriers with EU countries.

30% of the voters just deciding to take a break:

Dissatisfied and divided, many of the French voters just sat out of the 2002 presidential elections. Could this be a result of mere laziness, or dissatisfaction with the current confused, jumbled, multiple-platform Socialist politics France is known worldwide for?

valiant French resistance against the Nazis:

France declared war on Germany in late 1939, when the Nazis invaded Poland, but by June 1940 the French were already surrendering. French Nazi sympathizers already existed in pretty large numbers in France, so a puppet government began to be instituted, which did their best to impede Allied attacks. Charles de Gaulle started the beginning of the French Resistance, which did little to nothing to actually liberate France. In 1940 next to no one was a part of this "resistance", but by 1945 the French were publicly proclaiming their own victory and Frenchmen would say they were a part of the "resistance" whether they had done anything or not - much to the annoyance of Allied troops who fought tooth and nail with the Nazis to push them out of France. The Vichy based puppet government in France actually gave the Nazis more than they asked for (especially in terms of deportation of Jews to Nazi concentration camps...) and collaborated with them to carve out a place for France alongside Germany (not believing the Allies would win). Many of the Vichy France supporters took up arms against Allies as invasion attempts were made (however, with little success).

surprising victories:

France has a history of losses in nearly every military encounter they've had during the last several hundred years. Wars/battles lost - Gallic Wars, Hundred Years War, Italian Wars, Wars of Religion against the Huguenots, French and Indian War, War of the Spanish Succession, Napoleonic Wars, Franco-Prussian Wars, World War II, War in Indochina, and even the Algerian Rebellion. Wars that were questionably tied: WWI, the Dutch War, and the Thirty Years War. The only wars France can claim victory in is the American Revolution (primarily fought by American colonialists and not really aided in any major way by the French), and the French Revolution (France's civil war - if you consider beating yourself a victory).

the birth of Socialism in the early 1800's:

France is the home for Socialist thought, started by thinkers like Comte de Saint-Simon in 1815, along with further thinkers who expounded on his ideas like Pierre Joseph Proudhon and Louis Blanc. These groups attacked Capitalism and advocated government control as the only means for workers to exercise their voice democratically. That has lead to the modern French "success story" of political infighting, high unemployment rates, extremist political party platforms, and increased government spending. I guess that's what they get for adhering to the 200 year old principles of an anti-Capitalist romantic.

France has become the leader of modern civilization:

France is one of the head delegates of the European Union, and uses it's sway there and in the United Nations panels to offer it's condescending anti-American input. Despite being a modern nation, no real nation follows it's lead in anything other than gradual Socialistic tendencies. Russia, the U.K., the United States, Japan, China... as you go down the line of nations in the modern world, you find that most large ones have absolutely nothing to do with France or it's political policy. That's because France has problems itself with it's multiplicity of Socialist tendencies and confusion about it's role in the world. France's overrated success story was summarized best by American writer Mark Twain, in the following quote...

France has neither winter, nor summer, nor morals. France is miserable because it is filled with Frenchmen, and Frenchmen are miserable because they live in France. [...] Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country.

- Mark Twain

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