I was scrabbling about trying to find fuel here the last time - now at the first sign of this nonsense I run everything full and have 40 litres on reserve in bidons.

Blame it on Brexit! Pesky Brits won't subsidise french farmers.

I wish i could have had a 35 hour working week... and wine at 2euros a gallon.

:>)

The reality of the life of the average french farmer is far from the above.

We have a dairy farm 100 metres from our house, run by two brothers who work hard 7 days a week and have taken on huge debt to modernise their operation. They cannot afford to employ any help because of the ridiculous french employment laws and massive employer social security contributions. Their father, whose farm it was, is now too old to help out or stand in for them so they could have a holiday.

The price per litre they get for their milk just about breaks even with the cost of producing it, and is sold to a big fromagerie that makes bulk mozzarella for the pizza factories.

I'm sure they would be only too pleased to work a 35 hour week.

Because of the debt situation amongst the farming community suicides are common, it's in the local and national papers usually every week.

Don't believe everything you read in the Daily Mail/Express!

Blame it on Brexit! Pesky Brits won't subsidise french farmers.

I wish i could have had a 35 hour working week... and wine at 2euros a gallon.

:>)

The reality of the life of the average french farmer is far from the above.

We have a dairy farm 100 metres from our house, run by two brothers who work hard 7 days a week and have taken on huge debt to modernise their operation. They cannot afford to employ any help because of the ridiculous french employment laws and massive employer social security contributions. Their father, whose farm it was, is now too old to help out or stand in for them so they could have a holiday.

The price per litre they get for their milk just about breaks even with the cost of producing it, and is sold to a big fromagerie that makes bulk mozzarella for the pizza factories.

I'm sure they would be only too pleased to work a 35 hour week.

Because of the debt situation amongst the farming community suicides are common, it's in the local and national papers usually every week.

Don't believe everything you read in the Daily Mail/Express!

Grovel grovel, It was light heartedly teasing about the strikes.

I worked as a volunteer in the French alps in a retreat that was being run on a farm, hard work, but good fun, and yes , run by volunteers as paid staff unaffordable.

Ok - Grovel accepted - but how long ago was that?

As I have said the current situation with farmers, their debts, the price they get for their produce, and the french government's cavalier attitude to it, is not good.

You got married in a church in France?

Interesting - I only asked because of the somewhat odd situation (to the english) where the official marriage takes place in the mairie and church afterwards is optional.

Currently in France, marriage itself seems to be optional!

Haute-Savoie is a long way from me - about 1000 km south east.

I've been that way many years ago on the way to Italy around Lake Geneva to see MOH's relatives.

Edited by focussed on 25/09/2017 at 14:58