Warning: It's basically me ranting

and has nothing to do with Boo. Today I went to the ANPE (National Agency for Employment) for the third time. They not only help chomers find employment but they aid those who wish to become small-business owners (me) untangle the red tape. I had once again set aside the afternoon -- because here any type of administrative errand takes a minimum of half a day -- only to be met by locked doors upon my arrival. A representative explained that they had to close the office after a man doused himself in gasoline and threatened to light a match if the agency employees wouldn't help him with his file. Fortunately, they were able to negotiate with him to avoid a tragedy. Apparently he has been "unemployed" for the past four years, working, but with the wrong type of contract. Yes, there is a right and a wrong type in France. A magical CDI (undetermined duration contract) will open the door to home ownership, bank loans, and so many other things that we take for granted. If you are one of the unfortunate souls to have a CDD (determined duration contract) you'll not only spend your days worrying about feeding your kids, paying your bills, and keeping clothes on your back, you'll also be hard pressed to find housing. The banks will refuse a loan and no one will rent to you, because they have no guarantee that you'll be employed at the end of your contract and owners have no legal right to evict tenants. Even with my husband's six-figure salary as C.E.O., we had to ask our friends to write a letter of financial support on our behalf before the owner would agree to rent our former apartment to us. Unbelievable!

I love living in this country, and I sincerely hope one day to be able to call myself French, but there are some things that need to be changed here. There are some points of the Anglo-Saxon model that work so much better than what we have going on here, but the unions and the socialists will never accept that radical of a change. They believe that the only job-protection they have is to make it impossible for an employer to fire them. Of course, that makes it practically impossible for an employer to hire them either. Industry complains that they lack the workers to keep business progressing and yet the unemployment rate is at 11%? Someone do the math! Or it's the national economy that'll be going up in flames.