Europe

French Character And The Common Market

I'm not sure why I keep puzzling over the French character since there is no more a stereotype that encapsulates France than there is for any other country. However, in any country there can be character traits that tend to predominate, possibly as a result of culture, education, history, institutions or whatever, and it is these that I try to flush out. I've commented before on the apparent contradiction of an impulse to bureaucracy and at the same time an impulse to anarchy. Now I'm wondering about assertiveness.

Some time ago I related how boules in the village was becoming fraught because of a woman player who basically was acting like a spoiled child. The problem has resurfaced this summer. Most of the regular players have voted with their feet to play in Buis rather than face down the problem player, despite my urging them to tell her to behave or piss off. I regard that as a lack of assertiveness on their part. Now the regular summer visitors are arriving and are frustrated, disappointed, exasperated and even angry at finding the usual boules afternoons in the village they were looking forward to don't happen any more. Why, they ask? But these are the same people who wouldn't face down the problem player before, the reason for the change. So can't the French stomach confrontation when it is required? Can't they be assertive when assertiveness is needed?

I now read in the Press that French farmers are blockading the frontiers with Spain and Germany to stop farm goods entering the country which may sell at a lower price than their local equivalents. These farmers certainly don't flinch from confrontation; they've been not only stopping but eviscerating lorries trying to enter France, and doing it with apparent impunity. In contrast to the farmers, the French police are showing no assertiveness at all in the face of what are unquestionably criminal acts. The police are washing their hands of the whole business.

I asked friend René about this situation this pizza evening and he replied that it was because of the different regulations and costs associated with farm produce between France and other European countries; they needed to be the same. But they are not and neither are they for just about any kind of product you can name. So would other countries in the EU be entitled to blockade their frontiers with the tacit connivance of the police on the basis of difference in regulation and costs of production? If so, what price the common market?

This last was admittedly a pointless question since nobody here, quite possibly nobody in Europe, believes in a common market other than we deluded Brits. And I haven't really got any further either in my investigation of assertiveness; all I can say with any certainty is that is that it definitely applies to farmers but probably not to village boules get-togethers.

A German Europe?

I read an interesting article suggesting that the relationship between Germany and Europe had shifted significantly over the Greek crisis. One of the claimed successes of the EU has been the absence of a war in Europe (pace the Balkans) in the last 60 years. What is certainly true is that major political and diplomatic initiatives were aimed at integrating Germany closely into Europe, creating a European Germany. The article I read suggested that the shift was from a European Germany to a German Europe: Germany had exerted its financial muscle over the Greek crisis, despite conciliatory suggestions from France and Italy. Friend René said he had always assumed this to be the case: that Germany was destined to be the commercial and financial engine of Europe.

Yet there is quite a strong case for arguing that Germany should take something of a financial hit. In 1953 it had all its war reparation debts written off while receiving significant financial investment from the USA via the Marshall plan. It also joined the Euro when indisputably conforming to all the financial requirements when several other countries didn't, thus placing it in a good financial position. And it was allowed to join at an exchange rate to the mark that was artificially low, strengthening its financial position further. Germany is undoubtedly the commercial and financial engine of the EU but it didn't get there entirely through its own efforts. So it owes. Whether and how much it will be willing to pay has yet to be seen.