Is This the New Look of France?

I just would like to correct two false statements at the end of this article : First, only a minority of state employees have the right to retire at 50 or 55. Most of them retire at 60 or more.
That early retirement possibility is one of the reason why state employees accept very low wages compared to the ones in the private sector.

Secondly : in the companies where you can retire at 50 or 55, the retirement benefits aren't paid by workers of the private sector. Each of these companies has its own system. Admittedly is the national train company's system sometimes helped financially by the state, but the EDF's system (state-owned French electricity company) is beneficial and helps with its benefits....the private sector retiirement systems !

Its ridiculous that my fellow Americans (this is an american publication so I'll assume the author is
american) feel the need to tell Europe who should be allowed into the EU. Last time I checked only 5% of
Turkey was in Europe and over 99% of its population was non-European. Most European people don't want
Turkey in and it is certainly within their right to choose to let in who ever they want for what ever reason they
want. The author couldn't wait to talk about all the homeless and the beggars he came across without
mentioning the fact that in the US we have the same problem in almost every major city and that we have a
bigger income gap along with no universal health care.

France the indispensible European nation? Do not bet on it. None of the other European big continental countries like Germany, Spain or Italy accept Paris alleged leadership. As for the rest, well, ask a Polish or a Czech about the high respect they pay to French opinions. People in London and Washington should stop seeing Europe through French outdated lenses. That time is over.
Best regards,
Francisco Montes

Denis McShane has proved one more time the deadender Blairite apologist that he is - But now he is also revelling into a self-congratulating, moralising Brownite. Is it because he is looking fondly at another master, or just because he conveniently forgot that Britain last decade has been fuelled by personnal debt, right about to come busting ? Or that Sarkzy has been in office for less than 10 months, and that by the same amount of time Blair's Labour was spining its way, to be brand new modern, incorrupt, pro-europeans, honnest and efficient.
Please Mr McShane, tells us again how Blar's (and Brown) Britain, has consistently been all of this. I mean, 10 years later, when reality check collides with utopian spin .... Britain has kept diluting most efforts at European integration, (by insisting on national veto and expansion w/o reforming), while at the same time being shuned away by its partners except for the most eurosceptic of them (Poland and Cezch), bathed into corruption and sleaze just as the Tories, invested in public sector more out of ideology than economic efficiency (granted the Tories were barbarians in that regard), and has seen the rise of an alienated and xenophobic communautarism that pales in comparison to the disgruntlment in France. And Sarkozy's rhetoric apart, he hasn't helped launched a war criminally devastating a country (Iraq).

So please, Newsweek, I understand you are trying your best to provide a wide range of comments, but Denis McShane is an apologist politician with a self-serving a cause. Don't become his pulprit !!!

Best regards,

Oh yeah, like the United States is doing so marvelously that it can preach to other nations on questions of homelessness, economy and presidential leadership. First homelessness, the ranks of whilch would have increased exponentially if it were not for grudging intervention by a recalcitrant administration. Next the economy and presidential leadership, where we have an embarrassment of wisdom to impart. .



so increasingly often these last