When you read the headline “French Workers Strike” you think: this is news? They should run a story when French strikers work.
The government’s desire to raise the retirement age to 62 caused the last spasm of outrage, but I have an idea what will cause mass protests in 2013:
France's strategy to combat illegal music downloads by contributing to the amount young people pay for them won European Union approval and praise for promoting cultural diversity.
Under the scheme, French residents who purchase a card to download music from subscription-based website platforms, will only pay half the cost of a 50-euro credit included in the card, with the French government paying the rest.
Since this discriminates against people who can’t pay anything, it will be raised to 100% next year, and then it will be raised to 120% in 2012 to encourage people to buy music they don’t want in order to support unpopular artists. When the government tries to cut it back to 90% in 2013, it will be described as “cultural genocide,” and strikes will result. Some old Commie who’s been at everyone of these events since 1968 will get a phone call: need you to show up at the Opera House at noon, dressed as an iPod with the word perfidie written on the front. Can do you it? Merci.
(James Lilek of Ricochet via Reuters)
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