Meanwhile, Across Le Channel

[Kyoto]

Fuel supply to Paris airports cut amid pension strikes

Look at this for backbone!

Fuel supplies to Paris' main airports through a major pipeline have been cut off amid strikes over pension reforms.

The company that operates the pipeline told French media that the capital's main airport, Charles de Gaulle, could run out of fuel as early as next week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11549694

[ralphmalph]

The French strikers have learnt the lessons that the English tanker drivers taught them well.

So nice to see the natural order of things.

Also are they going to strike over the fact that the Pope thinks Mrs Sarko is a right old slapper.

[Snugglybear]

Fuel supply to Paris airports cut amid pension strikes

Look at this for backbone!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11549694

Couldn't be done in this country. Legislation and distribution systems have been thoroughly tweaked since Brynle and Co's startlingly successful protest ten years ago took the Government by surprise.

[mattyfc]

Good to see the French are accepting reality. All they want to do is move the retirement age from 60 to 62. The idea that you have to work for a living seems to have alluded them. Good luck to Sarkozy with more "reforms"!

[alexw]

Good to see the French are accepting reality. All they want to do is move the retirement age from 60 to 62. The idea that you have to work for a living seems to have alluded them. Good luck to Sarkozy with more "reforms"!

Please tell me where in their (and our) economy there is a shortage of workers that will add up to 5million+ (because thats the size of the economically inactive), and what goods and services we are lacking.

Or could it possibly be that france's (our) need for them to work longer is no more than an outcome of our current economic and monetary system?

[Agentimmo]

Good to see the French are accepting reality. All they want to do is move the retirement age from 60 to 62. The idea that you have to work for a living seems to have alluded them. Good luck to Sarkozy with more "reforms"!

Not quite. Most French people accept the 60 to 62 update. But the Govt also want to change the age that you can retire on full pension from 65 to 67. For all social groups.

If you don't work until 67, you will receive up to 30% less than the full pension, in spite of paying in for 95% of the time (eg. if you want to retire at 65, like now).

The young have now started protesting. A school kid was badly injured by a rubber bullet fired at him by the CRS yesterday.

I'm with the strikers on this one. Sure, the pension system needs reforming, but not steam-rollered over the public who pay for it by a nasty, ideological maniac.....

Edited October 15, 2010 by Agentimmo

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

Not quite. Most French people accept the 60 to 62 update. But the Govt also want to change the age that you can retire on full pension from 65 to 67. For all social groups.

If you don't work until 67, you will receive up to 30% less than the full pension, in spite of paying in for 95% of the time (eg. if you want to retire at 65, like now).

The young have now started protesting. A school kid was badly injured by a rubber bullet fired at him by the CRS yesterday.

I'm with the strikers on this one. Sure, the pension system needs reforming, but not steam-rollered over the public who pay for it by a nasty, ideological maniac.....

sacre bleu

[Bloo Loo]

Not quite. Most French people accept the 60 to 62 update. But the Govt also want to change the age that you can retire on full pension from 65 to 67. For all social groups.

If you don't work until 67, you will receive up to 30% less than the full pension, in spite of paying in for 95% of the time (eg. if you want to retire at 65, like now).

The young have now started protesting. A school kid was badly injured by a rubber bullet fired at him by the CRS yesterday.

I'm with the strikers on this one. Sure, the pension system needs reforming, but not steam-rollered over the public who pay for it by a nasty, ideological maniac.....

yeah, break em in slowly....shame bankruptcy doesnt happen like that.

[Roman Roady]

meanwhile over here...."is the X factor still on at the weekend?"

[mattyfc]

Not quite. Most French people accept the 60 to 62 update. But the Govt also want to change the age that you can retire on full pension from 65 to 67. For all social groups.

If you don't work until 67, you will receive up to 30% less than the full pension, in spite of paying in for 95% of the time (eg. if you want to retire at 65, like now).

The young have now started protesting. A school kid was badly injured by a rubber bullet fired at him by the CRS yesterday.

I'm with the strikers on this one. Sure, the pension system needs reforming, but not steam-rollered over the public who pay for it by a nasty, ideological maniac.....

There will be no state pension in 50 years. The state pension will become unsustainable. Any honest politician would start to phase it out now over the next 50 years. The numbers don't add up at all.

UK Figures

http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/downchart_ukgs.php?year=1990_2011&state=UK&view=1&expand=&units=b&fy=2010&chart=02-total&bar=1&stack=1&size=m&color=c&title=

With life expectancy increasing / more pensioners for the working population to support. The whole scheme will become unaffordable. Most developed economies will have the same problem.

Any policy to deal with the problem will be so unpopular we won't hear about it until the problem is much worse.

[@contradevian]

meanwhile over here...."is the X factor still on at the weekend?"

Of course! The koalishin don't want a riot on their hands do they?

Edited October 15, 2010 by Sir John Steed

[spireite]

meanwhile over here...."is the X factor still on at the weekend?"

and turn the pc and goto 'www.housepricecrash.co.uk'

[non frog]

.....

Also are they going to strike over the fact that the Pope thinks Mrs Sarko is a right old slapper.

Give the Pope a break.

Its the only thing he ever got right in his life

[blankster]

Meanwhile, Across Le Channel

Pedantic point: The French call the English Channel 'la Manche'.

[Griptool]

Give the Pope a break.

Its the only thing he ever got right in his life

No .... His Holiness thinks she looks like a twelve year old.

He can't trust himself .......... And he's short on smarties

[ralphmalph]

No .... His Holiness thinks she looks like a twelve year old.

He can't trust himself .......... And he's short on smarties

Mrs Sarko from now on to dress like a choir boy.

[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Not quite. Most French people accept the 60 to 62 update. But the Govt also want to change the age that you can retire on full pension from 65 to 67. For all social groups.

If you don't work until 67, you will receive up to 30% less than the full pension, in spite of paying in for 95% of the time (eg. if you want to retire at 65, like now).

The young have now started protesting. A school kid was badly injured by a rubber bullet fired at him by the CRS yesterday.

I'm with the strikers on this one. Sure, the pension system needs reforming, but not steam-rollered over the public who pay for it by a nasty, ideological maniac.....

Not the message coming across on the Beeb - oh what a surprise

[crash2006]

There will be no state pension in 50 years. The state pension will become unsustainable. Any honest politician would start to phase it out now over the next 50 years. The numbers don't add up at all.

UK Figures

http://www.ukpublics...&color=c&title=

With life expectancy increasing / more pensioners for the working population to support. The whole scheme will become unaffordable. Most developed economies will have the same problem.

Any policy to deal with the problem will be so unpopular we won't hear about it until the problem is much worse.

The state pension would have worked, but likeanything else its badly managed, and scripted to fail by a few. If it does disappear then why pay tax, and i would like a refund on my pass taxes.

[RufflesTheGuineaPig]

There will be no state pension in 50 years. The state pension will become unsustainable. Any honest politician would start to phase it out now over the next 50 years. The numbers don't add up at all.

The problem with you idea is very simple.

Try convincing those age 18 to pay tax to fund state pensions when they know they wont get one themselves.

Yes it worked in the UK because few people know about it, but in france... no chance.

Essentially it would mean openly saying young people should pay more tax so older people car retire earlier than they.

[campervanman]

There will be no state pension in 50 years. The state pension will become unsustainable. Any honest politician would start to phase it out now over the next 50 years. The numbers don't add up at all.

UK Figures

http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/downchart_ukgs.php?year=1990_2011&state=UK&view=1&expand=&units=b&fy=2010&chart=02-total&bar=1&stack=1&size=m&color=c&title=

With life expectancy increasing / more pensioners for the working population to support. The whole scheme will become unaffordable. Most developed economies will have the same problem.

Any policy to deal with the problem will be so unpopular we won't hear about it until the problem is much worse.

And all the time the UK workers flock to reduce their pension entitlement the top x% cream off more and more of the wealth. At least the French are putting up a fight.

[mattyfc]

The problem with you idea is very simple.

Try convincing those age 18 to pay tax to fund state pensions when they know they wont get one themselves.

Yes it worked in the UK because few people know about it, but in france... no chance.

Essentially it would mean openly saying young people should pay more tax so older people car retire earlier than they.

By my calculation pensions take up about 24% ( 117bn 490bn ) of the entire UK tax income already . Up from about 17% (42bn out of 250bn) in 1995.

If you look at the stats for population ageing:

(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=949 )

The problem is going to get exponentially worse over the next half century. You can see that the % of people over 65 is increasing much faster than the working and main taxpaying population.

What % of tax revenue will pensions reach before this ponzi scheme collapses. There will not be enough tax revenue for us to have a state pension.

Should we not deal with the problem rather than ignore it?

[campervanman]

By my calculation pensions take up about 24% ( 117bn 490bn ) of the entire UK tax income already . Up from about 17% (42bn out of 250bn) in 1995.

If you look at the stats for population ageing:

(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=949 )

The problem is going to get exponentially worse over the next half century. You can see that the % of people over 65 is increasing much faster than the working and main taxpaying population.

What % of tax revenue will pensions reach before this ponzi scheme collapses. There will not be enough tax revenue for us to have a state pension.

Should we not deal with the problem rather than ignore it?

Only if you believe pensions should be funded solely by contributions from people who work.

[Guest UK Debt Slave]

meanwhile over here...."is the X factor still on at the weekend?"

Indeed

Or Anne Widdecombe on Celebrity Come Dancing

I feel like delivering a full sized guillotine to Westminster Square and just leaving it there on the grass outside the palace, just a reminder

[duckwomanloulou]

My parents live in France and we are visiting in a week. We've been told that we should fill up with petrol at Dover as the strikes have meant that petrol is being rationed to 25 Euro fill up per car at the pumps and that there is a danger that it may run out entirely (mind you where they live is 'La France profonde' so the middle of bloody nowhere!)

Edited October 16, 2010 by duckwomanloulou

[theonlywayisdown]

Indeed

Or Anne Widdecombe on Celebrity Come Dancing

I feel like delivering a full sized guillotine to Westminster Square and just leaving it there on the grass outside the palace, just a reminder

The funny thing is, I bet we'll only see mass protests on the streets when Gamu gets deported back to Zimbabwe....I'm hoping to be proved wrong

EDIT: Actually, why not just announce the deportation on the same day the spend cuts are announced...they won't even notice!

Edited October 16, 2010 by theonlywayisdown