tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post510771331581488275..comments2024-01-12T00:24:35.544+01:00Comments on St Bloggie de Riviere: Election ApathySarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13195684182481935384noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-50719656614720847642007-04-06T10:07:00.000+02:002007-04-06T10:07:00.000+02:00I feel the same as you, Sarah. I've been here for...I feel the same as you, Sarah. I've been here for 15 years but after changing my driving licence, getting a carte de sejour, opening a bank account and then getting married here, I couldn't face any more paperwork. Anyway, the whole campaign is aimed at the FRENCH, flag waving, anti-European (or any other nationality that isn't FRENCH for that matter) So much debate about the FRENCH and who they are and what they want (or don't want). And the promises are getting more ridiculous as time goes on.Elspethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385613621281021295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-90148349200665526232007-04-05T09:52:00.000+02:002007-04-05T09:52:00.000+02:00I'm not that desperate to vote that I'd become Fre...I'm not that desperate to vote that I'd become French to do so. My ex-h is French. Nuff said!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195684182481935384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-22807976309515358432007-04-04T22:42:00.000+02:002007-04-04T22:42:00.000+02:00Alors moi, je vote, et depuis 40 ans......j'ai ado...Alors moi, je vote, et depuis 40 ans......j'ai adopté immédiatement la nationalité française, car la France m'a donné mes diplômes, mon epoux, mes enfants et mes petits enfants - je suis française...d'origine anglo-américaine, et aussi fière d'être française que de mes origines! Les papiers ne me cause pas de problèmes - cela fut un peu longue, mais ma terre nourricière fut la France....alors je vote, et je suis très fière de l'etre française....comme je suis fière de feu mon Papa american et Madame Mere très très Britanique...gosh & gadzooks, so green welly boots and all and all, Barbour, Hollonde and Hollande, Lillywhites and Sloane Square. Mais mon coeur est très très française et je ne sais dire des choses douce et aimante qu'en français, car en anglais je ne les avait jamais entendu!!! <BR/><BR/>L'hybride a bien des avantagres - le melting pot de plusiers cultres tres heureux comme melange...le meileur de plusiers cultures.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-35654346102527833972007-04-04T22:27:00.000+02:002007-04-04T22:27:00.000+02:00My passport is English. I feel like a Tory who has...My passport is English. I feel like a Tory who has left the party but realizes that you can never be credible if you join the opposition.Better to say your misfortune in life was to start out on the wrong side of the Channel. No you can never be French and have the vote, but you have that delightful feeling of having chosen your life rather than it happening by chance.<BR/><BR/>French administration is wonderful, efficient and we live in a well organised country. The British have never experienced a properly administered country and don't recognise it when they see it. Ignorant lot.richard of orleanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08821981371460225723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-30821266791917606062007-04-04T21:38:00.000+02:002007-04-04T21:38:00.000+02:00Ha! A few simple forms? No Richard - not simple fo...Ha! A few simple forms? No Richard - not simple for me! I've lived here for over 20 years so I'm French-ish as well as British - and there's nothing wrong with being a <I>métisse</I> ( and after all, I'm only 10 years less French than you :-)) But when it comes to forms, my Britishness does indeed come to the fore. Please don't try to deny that French bureauc - damn, can't spell it - red-tape is frustrating. If you don't have 'the profile' - if you don't fit the mould - then you don't get whatever it is you want to get. I'm having trouble with the CAF at the moment simply because I wanted to declare money I was given in order not to cheat and receive benefits I wasn't entitled to. My rant is too long to deliver here but it boils down to this: if I want my <I>allocations</I> I'm going to have to lie... (in fact, I don't think the amount I tried to declare would make any difference but it's the principle...)<BR/><BR/><BR/>Sorry for hijacking your blog, Sarah :-)Gigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07442510440531817842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-24192612825506117932007-04-04T21:15:00.000+02:002007-04-04T21:15:00.000+02:00What nationality are you, Richard?I tried at one t...What nationality are you, Richard?<BR/><BR/>I tried at one time to get French nationality and I too was totally defeated. As a lady in the Prefecture said to me 'Ah, Madame, si vous etiez Arabe...'Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08277397635514758674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-25981484811286801282007-04-04T20:55:00.000+02:002007-04-04T20:55:00.000+02:00It is the act of asking for French nationality tha...It is the act of asking for French nationality that indicates that you are prepared to be loyal to the French nation and assume the responsibilties of a French national. Granted it does not prove you will be loyal but at least it is a step in the right direction ,whereas not taking the nationality, even though you are fully entited to do so, shows a rejection of the country. Or in my case a feeling of unworthiness to be a member of that great nation given my personal history.<BR/><BR/>Gigi your inabilty to negotiate a few simple forms just proves you're a Brit. <BR/><BR/>Paying taxes has nothing to do with it. You can use the roads, hospitals and all the rest of the excellent services. But to get the vote you need to say 'I do'. After all being French is not like English. The English are subjects of Liz, the French are citizens of the Republique, a true honour. But it carries responsibilities. It is a very different situation.richard of orleanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08821981371460225723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-35609533394572698472007-04-04T20:35:00.000+02:002007-04-04T20:35:00.000+02:00I did decide to adopt French nationality when I go...I <I>did</I> decide to adopt French nationality when I got married, Richard - but the paperwork defeated me! I gave up in the end and sometimes I wonder if that wasn't the idea :-)Gigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07442510440531817842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-50218717223546462302007-04-04T20:07:00.000+02:002007-04-04T20:07:00.000+02:00But what has nationality got to do with it? I pay ...But what has nationality got to do with it? I pay my taxes, I should vote.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195684182481935384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-18013118233630705402007-04-04T20:05:00.000+02:002007-04-04T20:05:00.000+02:00Be honest if you decided to adopt French nationali...Be honest if you decided to adopt French nationality then you could vote. It seems normal, why should you be able to vote while retaining the nationality of the enemy. <BR/><BR/>I've only voted once in my life, the last Euro elections, I doubt I will again. I've got out of the habit and it suits me.richard of orleanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08821981371460225723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18862674.post-62503714074652826122007-04-04T10:42:00.000+02:002007-04-04T10:42:00.000+02:00The last time I voted was for Harold Wilson when h...The last time I voted was for Harold Wilson when he was MP for Huyton. Ever since then I've been living abroad when the elections come around and anyway, I'm a bit of an apathetic voter myself. I can't pretend to follow politics but I do know that I have lived in France with Mitterand and Chirac and my life hasn't changed significantly. <BR/><BR/>I've lived here for 20 years and have never been able to vote - yet this is my home. If I were allowed, I probably would. Why should I vote in the British elections if they don't affect me?<BR/><BR/>My eldest daughter gets to vote for the first time this year. She still doesn't know who she's going to choose, though!Gigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07442510440531817842noreply@blogger.com