France is populated with lazy, selfish people

Oui oui!

After the great socialist government of France sat back and did nothing while thousands of elderly and infirm people died in a summer heatwave, among other things it was decided to cancel one of the THIRTEEN banking holidays and use the estimated tax and social security funds generated of 2 billion euros (aprox 2.6 billion US) to fund a program for those most at risk from a recurrence. Everyone was heureux and satisfait with this arrangement, that is until it comes time to actually work on the day in question.

Non non!!!

"Vee gon to fat you on dees!"say the various unions and many city councils, vowing to ignore the new law or to take the fight to the European convention on human rights and the European court. But the most unique solution is proposed by the state railway:

And the state railway SNCF has decreed that May 16 will be a holiday. But staff will have an extra minute and 52 seconds added to every working day to compensate.

One minute and fifty-two seconds added to each working day. How are they going to do that? Does this mean that if you are a French state railroad bureaucrat and are talking on the phone at the very end of your workday, you will find yourself unable to put down the phone for an extra 112 seconds and then the telephone will magically drop from your hand? Will pens and pencils be stuck to fingers, like one of those annoying sticky boogers, and then, at the stroke of 1 minute 52 seconds, fall free?

One minute and 52 seconds...EVERY WORKING DAY! The generosity of these people to their own is, well, underwhelming. Small wonder it is so delicious to despise them. These are John Kerry's icons of modern liberal thought? These are the people that are held up to us as shining examples of progressives to whom our foreign relations should be mad subservient? No thanks. I'll stick with McChimpster Bushitler and Pope Natzinger, if you don't mind. And even if you do mind.