France is a nation in decline and Chirac knows it. For example, France is now spending
12 percent of its GDP on public pensions compared to a little over 4 percent in the US. Only 16 percent of French citizens 60-65 are still working compared to 38 percent in the UK. This year 550,000 workers will retire on pension. In three years the number will be 800,000. The demographic time bomb (declining birth rate coupled with an aging population) will result by 2040 in one worker for every pensioner compared to two for each pensioner now. The French politicians must make some hard decisions now, ie. before this Summer. Some options discussed include entending the working life by six years, raising contributions by one-half or reducing benefits by one third. Or encourage workers to save for their own retirement.
What does this all mean? France will be forced to reduce its expenditures for all other items, including defence, as public pensions consume more and more of their budget. It is something we should not replicate with Social Security and Medicare. France will become less and less of a world power, economically and militarily. Moreover, culturally with one out of every 10 Frenchmen a Moslem and the percentage will continue to increase due to the higher birth rate of Muslims and immigration. The very character of the nation is changing, which may make it almost unrecognizable in 30 to 40 years.
Well, he is also pandering to (if I remember correctly) a 40% Muslim population in his country too. Funny, I keep remembering all the RATS talking about how we needed to follow the example that Eurpoe was setting as far as healthcare, work days, et. al. I thank God that we didn't take those suggestions more seriously.