Is France’s Lack of a Protestant Ethic, Its Greatest Undoing?

French protests on my mind.

Anthony Delanoix via Unsplash

France’s descent into anarchy in the last few months has made headlines news all over the world.

And what’s interesting here is that the madness hasn’t been restricted to everyday folk: police officers and fire brigade officials have also taken to the streets to protest what they regard to be completely sacrosanct — right to retire at the age of 62.

To the historians in our midst, they believe that what we are seeing is reminiscent of the late 60s when numbers of people rose in unison to oppose the war in Algeria. The protests of the late 60s led to the end of the fourth republic and the creation of the fifth republic by Charles de Gaulle.

And should things carry on like this, there’s every chance that the government of the day could fall altogether.

The counterrevolutionary spirit of the left which has long gone missing in the United Kingdom is very much alive in 21st century France.

And what exactly is to blame for this phenomenon?

Is it the lack of a protestant ethic or are the French far too spoilt for their own good?

In citing the protestant ethic, it is only right that I bring the author of this thinking right to the very center…