"Sacha" wrote in message
...
old TV sets and refrigerators. As someone commented recently on being
turned
away - "Here comes the woods...". Ridiculous.

To be honest, David, I'm amazed that the French capitulate on this.
They're
not exactly known for embracing ridiculous bureaucracy - I thought that
was our national problem!

I'm not a political animal, but the French do seem to have an unhealthy
affinity for paperwork. It seems to be part of their national psyche. I
don't want to get into a political discussion about France, but the
impression I get is that due to the strength of the unions here, there are
lots of Government employees, or civil servants who's job is simply to act
as a link in a chain of irrelevant paperwork between different official
departments, and there is not the political will to make enough of these
roles redundant. As you say, the French are keen to protest and strike -
usually to protect jobs. They still believe in the 'a job is for life'
philosophy which much of the rest of Europe has realised that is no longer
the case, or at least is not economically viable. The protectionist attitude
is making it increasingly difficult for France to compete in International
trade. Almost every evening the TV news features one or more strikes. It is
reminiscent of 1970's Britain, with endless strikes by British Leyland,
miners, British Steel, British Rail etc.

All I can say is that the "Here come the woods" remark is precisely what
is beginning here and what will continue.
I hasten to add that the remark wasn't made by me. It is not a sentiment I
share. As to whether the person went on to dump his TV sets in the woods I
don't know, of if he was merely expressing his evident frustration at being
turned away from the rubbish point. I have seen little fly-tipping here in
France compared with England, but if officials make it more difficult or
costly for individuals to legitimately dispose of their rubbish the outcome
is predictable.

There are lots of recycling points around here now for bottles, plastics and
cardboard, and we make good use of them, usually taking a big box of plastic
bottles every few weeks while calling for a baguette at the local store.
We compost all organic waste and anything burnable goes onto our fire (we
welcome the free fuel!). Interestingly we notice that we put out only a
quarter of the rubbish for the weekly collection as our French neighbour.

£2k per year. We have no street lighting (absolutely do NOT want it) and
the road surfaces are abysmal in places. Hmmm.
Sacha

We don't have any street lighting here too. I'm glad we don't have any. I
sometimes like to sit outside in the evening, even in the dark, and just
relax and listen to the animal noises. If there is no moon it can be pitch
black here - you can hold your hand up in front of your face and not see it.
Street lights would just be "light pollution" and spoil the atmosphere. Most
of the roads here in France are in excellent condition, even the single
track roads through the middle of nowhere!
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/