That seems to be true for Greece but in the case of France I'm afraid it signals the French insisting in spite of everything on early retirement and government checks. Suicide vote, in other words.
On the bright side, since Mr. Hollande is proud Socialist, at least I can go back to hating the French. Being nice to them always felt unnatural.
Update: Jaffanese American reminds me of Sarkozy's 2007 address to the U.S. Congress. A speech to tear you up.
America did not tell the millions of men and women who came from every country in the world and who—with their hands, their intelligence and their heart—built the greatest nation in the world: "Come, and everything will be given to you." She said: "Come, and the only limits to what you'll be able to achieve will be your own courage and your own talent." America embodies this extraordinary ability to grant each and every person a second chance.
Here, both the humblest and most illustrious citizens alike know that nothing is owed to them and that everything has to be earned. That's what constitutes the moral value of America. America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world. It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible.
