Plenty of grumbles in France at the moment - the weather, the price of fuel, the imminent loss of regional car registration plates, the échec de l'équipe de France in their first match, etc, etc...
The weather recently has been unprecedented. May and June can usually be relied on for a good dose of sunshine, the beginning of summer, but since the first few days of last month, we've had five weeks of virtually unremitting cloud and rain, at least in the southern half of the country. Cold too. It's been somewhat topsy-turvy, with the north having had warmer and better weather than the south. The Côte d'Azur tourist industry is complaining about the worst start to the summer season ever.
And then of course, there's the spiraling price of petrol. Or diesel, which is what the majority of voitures run on. Road hauliers, taxi drivers and the like continue to protest, while politicians are trying to put pressure on Total to use some of their obscene profits to cut prices. Fat chance...
Another aspect of motoring in France is also causing much protest at the moment. The registration plate numbering system which includes the departement number, a peculiarity held dear by much of the population, is soon to be phased out. Seems a shame to me too. It's not only kids who indulge in registration plate spotting - there's a 69, fellow lyonnais, and there goes a despised 75, parisien, etc, etc...
And finally, more strikes yesterday, continuing in patches today. Public service & transport unions continuing to complaining about low spending power and job cuts. Mind you, with patchy support and all these other preoccupations, no-one's really taken any notice...
