http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terror ... iticizes-France-burqa-ban

Apparently he's not too happy with the burqa ban.

The French won't even know about it. They're on strike. Something about having to work.

France is so internally conflicted... they really are becoming something of an international joke.

At one end, they are so insular, and that I am sure is what is causing many of the problems. They are trying to maintain the purity of French culture, but in the world of the web and McDonalds, they are losing, and the traditionalists are fighting anyway they can.

On the flip side, you have the hard core socialists who just can't seem to stop protecting things! The youth of France were screwed with all the laws to protect jobs that they were simply unable to find one! It is so hard to fire someone there (the severance package is astounding!), that no company wants to take the risk of hiring anyone. They can't ditch them if they don't work out.

The latest strikes and riots were due to the raising of the retirement age...

I have been there (last December). The staff at my former employers office are hard working and dedicated. They don't do that 4 day work week thing, no where near. They work until the days work is done. I had direct contact with several folks there, and they would stay late so I could call them early. No complaints (that I heard).

I don't know where the truth lies, but I suspect overly protective nanny nation type laws are at the heart of it.