I wanted to post a quick word regarding blame, flames, etc. I knew there would be some degree of anger over our circumstances in some quarters. The first manifestation of this was from some asshole French poster who thought the best response to the wrenching and extremely difficult circumstances of our move was to post a comment along the lines of, "So, you don't like our country? Go back to the US then, we don't want you here - the US is the cause of all the world's problems and caused the depression that's eating the world economy! Etc, etc..." I read this, shook my head over the idiocy of the poster, and yanked the comment because I knew it would only incite flames from our US friends and in the current situation, I have absolutely zero tolerance for having the blog turn into a flame war between offended nationalists.
A lot of American friends and folks in the business have gotten extremely offended at the French in general over what has happened to us. The level of anger expressed in emails and calls has been high, and a friend even opted to cancel a large order of French champagne over this (I posted a personal reply asking that he reconsider, that none of our misfortunes are the fault of an innocent champagne vendor who probably needs every sale he can get in these difficult times). I wanted to post this quick note to stress that there is no need for either side to get angry on the basis of nationalism - Our problems are not with "The French" in general, but with some very specific aspects of the French system. French people are not all evil malcontents - in fact, most are incredibly warm, welcoming, friendly, intelligent, and great fun. The French pipe club has been incredibly nice to us ever since we arrived here.
No, our problems boil down to three areas that most native, salaried French citizens never encounter -
- Accounting. Through bad fortune, we got hooked up initially with a pack of accountants who are the most useless pack of verminous assholes one could never want to meet, and have had our energies and time drained for seven years by having to flog them to get any results at all, all while struggling to understand a foreign tax system with no help from these shits.
- Administration. The French themselves understand this one very well - It's the overall fixation that the government has on paper, regardless of its impact on the lives of its citizens, and the inane difficulty of getting anything done here, on a business level.
- TPB. Yep, "That Préfecture Bitch" has been such a feature of our lives that she even has her own shorthand initials. The level of paperwork and hassle required simply to justify our residence here, year after year, has been beyond imagination, and this is not even counting the fact that the official in question would regularly lie about what papers had been received, never file anything on time, and required constant hounding just to get her to do her damn job. We've done all we can to live here legally, we pay taxes - HER salary - and still every year it's the same... weeks of lost working time chasing down visa papers plus multiple trips in person to Nantes, because of course nothing will get done unless we actually go there in person. Fax? Email? Forget it. Meanwhile all around us, illegal immigrants live and work unhindered by all of this, and while we pay half our income to support the French state, they burn buses, cars, schools, and entire neighborhoods just for kicks.
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Hello Trever.
ReplyDeleteSorry for all your problems with french administration. But I think:
-You're really not lucky with this particular case.
-I would have much problems if I wanted to work in US as a stranger.
Each country has bureaucracy; I suppose the US has his disadvantages too.
So, Emily and Trever, once again, try to keep a good "souvenir" of your french years.
Did you take time to come and visit Paris, Côte d'Azur, Alpes, Pyrénées ?
Maybe you'll come back for holidays and see different areas of the country.
Cheers,
Nicolas
No matter what the subject matter, you can find folks that will erupt into an apoplectic rage over it, take sides, and resort to insults and direct references to each others' mothers. Sad but true, and it's the state of the Internet today. Even on a subject as seemingly tame as deep fried candy bars.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it really is best just to shake your head and hit the 'delete' link. :)
Oh well. Apologies, once again, for the earlier post. Fear not, the champagne has not been canceled. Indeed, we tested the quality of the wonderful beverage just this weekend while smoking at least two Talberts.
ReplyDeleteWe send our condolences to you and all the good citizens who must deal with the bureaucratic merde you have endured these many years. My offer of some equipment still stands and your Dad was a pleasure to speak with. Safe journey.
@Pharoah - No need to apologize! I appreciate the concern, and have been very moved by the sheer number of emails and calls from friends in the US pipe world. I just find myself caught in the difficult position of having one side cursing at all France in general, on our behalf, and at the same time having lots of excellent friends here who are even now working hard to help us out. Our friend Claudie is knocking herself out helping us wrestle with local paperwork and specifics, while our friend MB may well devour the realtor alive if he doesn't find a buyer for our property, pronto.
ReplyDelete@Nicholas - I have heard that the US is a nightmare of difficulty for immigration. I don't know the details of this, and have some friends over there who have successfully immigrated from other countries and done very well, but the hassles of getting through the US legal immigration process are supposed to be extreme (One reason why the country is currently having such difficulties with illegal immigration).
We have all lost influence on our respective governments and have, recently, made changes. Hopefully, immigration will be reformed soon, along with the other laws and policies left in the weeds over the past 8 plus years. My Father sponsored and funded many immigrants over the past thirty years from three continents.
ReplyDeleteThe Problem of Evil is still a viable philosophical/theological quandary and sometimes bad things happen to good people. We all hope that things go well for you and those kind citizens of France helping you in your plight. All we can do is good deeds...
I think that if you don't speak a country's language, especially if you choose to live in a remote location of a conservative region, it is foreseeable that things are going to be very difficult if not impossible.
ReplyDeleteUS history and economy was based on immigration and therefore the country had to make it particularly easy for immigrants to settle there. Not so in France and other european countries, except for short periods.
In Paris you would have found connections to americans who could help you out as well as cheap French lessons at the Alliance française, but certainly not in Herbignac: you were probably the only english speaking immigrant of the whole region in the least years.
Anyway, I wish you all the best for the move and can't wait to get a new Ligne Caroline :)