By choosing this term as the title of his documentary on the construction of the Grande Arche de La Défense, the author was conforming to a very French fault, systematically denigrating everything that has succeeded. He perfectly describes the circumstances in which this project was born. At the beginning of 1982, the President of the Republic decided to carry out several major projects of both an economic and cultural nature. Building a large building on the site then called "La Tête Défense" was part of it and gave rise to a competition in which several hundred architects ...

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The adoption in the National Assembly of an amendment leading to the nationalisation of the activities in France of the steel group Arcelor-Mittal has revived old memories, the nationalisations following the arrival of the left in power in 1981, accompanied by unjustified critical comments. At the time, Usinor and Sacilor were on the verge of bankruptcy due to their heavy losses and excessive debt. The conversion into shares of these debts held by banks, which had been nationalized since 1945, and by the State, followed by the purchase of the last listed shares, made it possible to save the two ...

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France has entered a long period of political instability due to the inability to find a majority to adopt the necessary measures to restore public finances. At the heart of these is the question of the balance of pension systems faced with the ageing of the population. As life expectancy increases, the length of time a retiree receives his or her benefits increases, which generates additional costs. The proposed solution, the postponement of the legal retirement age, is the subject of strong opposition among the population. Its suspension is not considered sufficient, which risks paralysing government action with the blocking ...

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