Dear Stephane,

Thank you for your encouragement. I am glad you did not choose this dreadful caricature.

This is the second time I have read an editorial from AgoraVox and it is a very vibrant site, unfortunately you have many contributors who insult each other and offer emotional, instead of rational, arguments.

It seems the French are locked into using the terms « right » and « left » as though these define reality. They do not.

Human experience is much more nuanced then these categories suggest. Interests and passions overlap continuously. It would be constructive to discard these labels and address the actual issues : work for your population.

It seems obvious that some French must emigrate to countries which need their skills and energy and excellent education.

Also one has to hope that perhaps the prime minister, whom I believe to be sincere and very well intended, will have the imagination and courage to embark on a truly new idea : a Peace Corps, such as the one created by Pres. John F. Kennedy half a century ago !

A Peace Corps for French youth is a very exciting proposition. Thousands of unemployed youth could work in Francophone Africa building water purification systems, hospitals, schools, and roads. Instead of the French government giving money to these nations, they can give their own youth jobs and actually help the poor countries of Africa.

We need new ideas that are workable. Some of your readers suggest a social model such as the one in Nordic lands. But they fail to see that what is feasible in a country of 6 million people, who are very similar, cannot work so smoothly in a nation with 65 million citizens who are very diverse,- (many, quite sadly, do not even speak French, and have never worked a day in their lives because they receive welfare forever it seems...)

So it is my observation that perhaps in your next essay you pose a new question :« A French Peace Corps,- a solution for chomage ? »

I think it will stimulate a lot of positive discussion, and maybe even stimulate real change.

Always remember what Kennedy said when he created the Peace Corps,

"Ask not what your country can do for you,

Ask what YOU CAN DO for your country !"

If only the young French could possess just a tiny altruism...then such a program could have a chance to succeed.

What can the young of France DO FOR FRAMCE ? (Not « what can France do for you ? »)

So, please , Stephane, consider writing an essay on this idea.It is better to present a NEW idea then to restate all the old ones....

I wish you every success, and thank you for your kind words.

Sincerely,

Claire