FRENCH WINERY CRISIS - CAUSES IMPACTS RESPONSES

29 April 2025Looking at the crisis in the French wineries industry. A representative case is that of a now-elderly gentleman - we shall call him Luc Raisinsec - who, some 20 or 30 years ago, combined his vineyard with someone else's, making a splendid vineyard of some 60 hectares of contiguous cultivated vine.Since that time the family has been obliged to halve the land under cultivation.The family receives aid to remove vines now from the local...

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FRANCE'S POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FOLLOWING BARNIER'S RESIGNATION

13 December 2024France's Political and Economic Challenges following Barnier's resignation We will consider the current political and economic situation in France following Macron's calling elections in July 24 and the resignation of michel barney, the prime minister, after only two months in office, together with its budgetary challenges, its market implications, and the broader European context. We will also need to consider the...

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WHAT'S WRONG WITH MACRON

1 Ocrober 2024Macron completed a philosophy degree and for his Masters wrote a thesis on Machievelli and Hegel. In evaluating Macron, you have to start somewhere, so let's start with this fact.As though the French aren't analytic enough, this will have made him even more academic and analytical when he examines problems. Doing Machiavelli will make him more pragmatic or we might say opportunistic or expedient. He flip-flops around like this, thinking he's being pragmatic and adaptable, but actually he comes across as weak, uncertain, uncommitted. And...

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WHAT IS "THE GREAT REPLACEMENT"?

25 June 2022You see in France that Eric Zemmour made a great start in the Presidential election and got 18% and then dropped down through the floor through 7 to 4% in the second round and failed to win a single seat in the legislative elections.He made many mistakes in his campaign, but the mainstream media are trying to get him to apologise for his saying that the greatest issue facing France is an identity issue and is not a cost of living issue.His party is called Reconquest and his issue is called The Great Replacement. What is it about?It...

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WHAT'S WRONG WITH MACRON?

12 March 2022Macron is the only politician keeping in touch with Putin. Good for Macron. But otherwise, Macron is one of those hussard rowdy types. He needs to be a bit less flamboyant and declarative, he needs to listen and concentrate more, be less concerned by public opnion and focus more on policy, make attainable objectives instead of massive shattering unreachable goals esp given the coffers are empty, he needs to recognise that France is a middle-ranking power and he isn't some emperor-in-waiting, get away from...

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IS MELENCHON RIGHT?

Melenchon is a utpoianist who believes man if perfectable. I know that man is flawed and only a functioning state with an operational legal system keeps man in place. (Religion can perform the same function.)Melenchon thinks that the interests of the group must predominate over the freedom of the individual. And these interests are decided by the State. I think that direction is not given top-down from some autocracy, but rises bottom-up from the summation of the wishes of the people.There should only be one party rule because competing...

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