Posted on 02/23/2013 12:11:51 AM PST by bruinbirdman
An American tyre tycoon has fired off a second virulent missive to France's industry minister, saying his country has “beautiful women and fantastic wine” but “no idea how to run a business”.
Maurice Taylor - chief executive of Titan International - had already incensed the French once this week by saying the country's “so-called” workers put in “three hours a day” with the rest spent eating and talking.
Industry minister Arnaud Montebourg hit back in a written response in which he told Mr Taylor his comments were “extremist and insulting” and displayed “a perfect ignorance of what our country is about”.
"Be assured that you can count on me to inspect your tyre imports with a redoubled zeal."
Mr Taylor has today responded: "You letter shows the extent to which your political class is out of touch with [real] world problems”.
"You call me an extremist, but most businessmen would agree that I must be nuts to have the idea to spend millions of US dollars to buy a tyre factory in France paying some of the highest wages in the world."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I would make this comment....for what it takes 100 French men to accomplish...the same could be done with sixty Japanese men.
No. Six Japanese men and their robot that they set up on the spot.
If no automation is permitted, then thirty Japanese.
Remember when Morry Taylor ran for President in 1996?
On a bad day, an American woman is far more beautiful than a French woman on a good day.
The whole mystique of French romance and “amour” has been overdone for decades.
I’d go farther and say that 100 ambitious Frenchmen couldn’t do the work of 60 average Japanese men. Sure there exceptions. But in sum? Hard work is ingrained in the very culture of Japan whereas avoiding hard work is the core culture of France.
Some of the highest divorce rates there are come from Japanese ‘salarymen’ working 16 hour days for months on end. The French? Find more than a handful that ever worked like that.
Industry minister Arnaud Montebourg hit back in a written response in which he told Mr Taylor his comments were “extremist and insulting” and displayed “a perfect ignorance of what our country is about”.
We notice that the industry minister avoided addressing the charge that the country's "workers" put in three hours a day with the rest spent eating and talking. Perhaps it is true. Perhaps it is partially true and a goal of the unions.
We would like to hear more about the validity of that charge, instead of being told comments are extremist and insulting. To what extent are Taylor's comments true, and what does the French minister plan to do about it? We know that the French are practicing "from each according to his ability" and "to each according to his need." How does that socialist philosophy address the low productivity?
So ... a businessman gets into a slightly robust exchange of opinions, and he is immediately threatened by a government official with regulatory harassment.
This is the point at which a competent U.S. government would fire off a letter of its own saying that discriminatory treatment of U.S. exports will not be tolerated, and that we will redouble our scrutiny of French practices in this area and retaliate against French exports to the U.S. if discriminatory treatment is found.
That is what a competent U.S. government would do if it is committed to increasing U.S. exports, which the Obama administration claims as a goal. Waiting.
What is an "American woman," anyway? California-type? Midwest-type? Southern-type?
The french sauces were used to cover meat so spoiled that even the dogs wouldn't eat it.
I've been to france and we should have let the krauts keep it, they are the most arrogant, condescending, elite dweebs on the planet and they have no reason to be.
Let them eat cow patties with fromage.
Uh, the Obama Administration is too busy driving our manufacturers overseas to notice.
I went to a small French town in the middle of nowhere, and they wouldn’t let me buy drinks at the bar (when they found out I was American).
Funny story: I was sent to a French company near Orleans once to watch the test-firing of an armored vehicle mounted mortar. I arrived in the morning, watched a presentation by company marketing folks and then went to a lunch in the company cafeteria. Huge, excellent lunch - with wine - which was exactly the same as all of the workers for that company. The lunch hour and a half was finally finished and we went to the firing range to watch the demonstration. The armored vehicle’s driver didn’t show up to move it to the firing point - and he was the only one permitted by the union to drive it - and we waited and waited. Finally, he was driven up to the vehicle and he was very clearly falling-down drunk! They poured him into the vehicle and he lurched and swerved to the firing point and then promptly passed out. The rest of the demonstration went fine but the French were offended by our laughing...
"Stinky pits and all, baby!"
I have to say, that crossing the Rhine, from Germany to France, one was struck by the stark and obvious differences. Even though in those days, 1975, Germany still wore war scars here and there, it was strikingly cleaner, the people bore themselves with greater energy and vigor, appeared more industrious and committed to whatever they were doing. French languor is not just a cliche.
I find the same is true when I go from VA to anywhere North and East. Going to NJ is like going to some God awful cold dreary East Block throwback hell hole. It is SOOOO f-ing depressing.
Do you mean that the locals bought your drinks for you, or that they threw you out?
Agreed on that point. French women are a hairier, generally more disagreeable sort than women from the elsewheres of life.
Indiscriminate coupling is not that attractive
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