Posted on 11/14/2006 8:52:59 PM PST by oblomov
PARIS (Reuters) - Why have French baguettes become more expensive? Because of France's shorter work week, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said on Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT
Breton, who has been a vocal critic of France's 35-hour work week, said the price of a baguette had risen by 23 percent over the past five years, while the price of German bread had fallen by 3 percent over the same period.
"The cost of the 35-hour week is included in the rise of the price of a baguette since 2001, and this has been hidden too much from the French," Breton told L'Express magazine in an interview published on Tuesday.
Breton said French bakers were forced to charge their clients higher prices because they had to make up for higher costs linked to the shorter working week, introduced under a previous Socialist government.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Russian restaurant service is still bad, even though there is competition. My wife and I thought it must be a cultural issue, leisurely dining being more the norm than it is in the US. At least the food is pretty good now.
I am glad its improved. I've never been there but at the time it was a turn off, at least for the reporter! This story just brought that to my mind for some reason. I'm not a youngster so some times I just sit back and recall. Thanks for enlightening me.
Didn't mean to upset you so.
There, there.
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