Just returned from an excellent long weekend at a sixtieth birthday party in France (or was that fortieth?). Cracking event in the Ducal Palace at Uzes - putting non-bopping thirtysomethings to shame. Thank you Robin and Madeleine. Must post on the Full of Life website...
But also a very convenient opportunity to take stock of the state of the differences between the UK and the French economy.First experiences great - speeding through the French countryside on the TGV. great infrastructure. But shame about the customer service. The fondly imagined elegant dining car with haute cuisine served as we headed South at 200+km an hour turned into a Gallic shrug and a piece of Dundee cake and a toblerone.. il n'y avait rien a manger dans le train. And the lack of catering didn't even merit an announcement. C'est toujours come ca? You do better than that with the Southern train trolley to Bognor.
And so to Uzes. Gorgeous place. Beautiful soft glowing yellow stone; great squares; alleyways - and not a brand name or chain in sight. Ou etait le starbucks d'antan? le Pizza Express ou le Zizzi? Since there is hardly a Town in the UK that has escaped the onward march of the chains, it was very strange to discover that France really still is a nation of epiciers and boulangers - where everything still closes for lunch. Recommended places to stay were all quaint little hotels in the city centre full of character and charm - ni un Marriott ni un Premier Inn a voir.
I am sure that M Sarkozy has commissioned his own version of the notorious 1998 McKinsey report on the UK economy which will tell him that all this quaintness and inefficiency is costing the French economy. After all, that report said we needed to replicate the scale of Walmarts. realise the economies of scale on distribution of a chain economy and put an end to non-standardised country house hotels to achieve the same productive use of space as Travelodges if we were to close the productivity gap with the US.
The only problem with that analysis was that France also had higher productivity than the UK - without going the US route (of course, they could have even higher productivity....)But at what price? Would the Brits still be flocking to Uzes if it tuned into yet another mall? would the guests at the party have been so charmed with the choice between two identikit hotels? Perhaps, because the weather would still be great - and until all planning laws were relaxed (McKinsey did after all lead to the Barker review of planning), the views would still be stunning wandering between the newly industrialised vineyards. Not worth it - even if you could get a decent meal on the newly privatised TGV going down there
But I hope not. Any marginal increment in GDP would be at a very high price in terms of qualite de vie. So let us hope that there is no gallic McKinsey and Uzes remains its charming self. And we can let M Sarkozy proceed with his unusual ambition of turning the Paris banlieue into Croydon to draw people out of the centre of the town!
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This reminds me of a Baconbutty post Sandwich jambon de pays, a couple of years back. I wonder what value the classe ouvrière or one in four unemployed jeunes adultes would place on boutique hotels and bespoke eateries?
Perhaps we get the best of both worlds in Britain – a functioning, generally efficient yet bland economy most of the year and then hop over the channel to free ride on the largesse of the more cultured and sophisticated continentals?
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