Well, there will be no cake today, maybe French toast, I think. Hollande is on an austerity kick with his own ministers, as he wants to break, what the French called, the "bling-bling" presidency of Sarkozy. Here is a bit from an article on this.
Official cars have been diminished in size and in luxury. Mr. Hollande has given up the presidential Citroën C6 for a smaller but hardly shabby Citroën DS5 diesel hybrid. He has reduced the ranks of his official drivers to two from three, and they are now supposed to stop at red lights. Mr. Ayrault gave up his C6 for a cheaper Peugeot 508. Cabinet ministers have also traded down, and the housing minister, Cécile Duflot, an ecologist who was criticized for wearing jeans to an Élysée Palace meeting, has ordered four official bicycles.
Champagne at receptions has largely been replaced by Muscadet, a considerably cheaper white wine, and prices at the official cafeterias for ministerial employees, always a bargain, have been raised modestly.
Even security has been put to the knife, at least a little. Junior ministers no longer get bodyguards, and the number of security workers attached to the presidency has been reduced by a third.
However, the cuts affect others as well. And, there is some concern that taxes for the rich will cause France to slide back into economic doldrums. Can someone spot the funny here?
There are few Socialist ministers with any business experience. Ms. Parisot said that their plans instilled “a palpable anxiety and an immense worry for every entrepreneur,” because they are “disconnected from company life, from what a company can bear,” especially in a period of minimal growth and high unemployment.
And there is more ideological symbolism--The traditional July 14 garden party, which used to be a way to honor distinguished people from all walks of life from all over France, was canceled by Mr. Sarkozy in 2010 to symbolize belt tightening. Mr. Hollande will not dare resurrect it, although the Élysée gardens will be open to the public on Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Hollande has decided, however, to maintain the July 14 military parade, with jet overflights, armored vehicles and hundreds of military personnel, an extraordinarily costly affair. And like a good politician, he has decided to restore a nationally televised presidential interview on Bastille Day. But given the low viewership expected on a Saturday evening in mid-July, he will do it at lunchtime.
Sad, but what will Hollande have for lunch? Socialist are so obviously moral about other people's stuff....ick. This will be a five post day.
