It has come, the jolly time of harvesting the grapes in the many, many, many vineyards that grow all around Bergerac.
Some started a few weeks ago already, according to the maturity of the specific grapes they need for the type of wine they're making. Others had to wait, and even have to wait a bit longer, because what they want is very, very special. They are looking for what English people refer to when they describe a mean-drunk-violent and conservative aristocrat in a BBC period drama : they're waiting for noble rot.
But it does have a different meaning around here. Even if chasing an overweight middle-aged wigged Duke down the hills with a scythe can seem rather enticing, noble rot refers to the rotten grapes, saturated in sugar, that are used to make Montbazillac. It's a sweet, golden wine served with foie-gras or pudding and generally over-priced in local restaurants. I'm not a big fan but it has its takers.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed my day of harvest, in the family-run Chateau Pintoucat. The owners are more than friendly and the crew they assembled for the harvest rather nice. No youngsters here, but seasoned farm workers and a group of Belgians, friends of the owner. Some of them did not really plan to stay and cut the grapes. They were supposed to head back home on wednesday but the public sector strike shut down our local airport for the week.
It's a become a running gag those strikes, but as one who never went on strike during my salaried life, I'm rather glad some people are holding up the flag for all those who can't... But are they holding up the right flag ?
The current protest, that spread to high school students in the last 3 days, is targeted against the change in our retirement system. The government want people to stop working later. Instead of 60, people will end their career at 62. Two more years when you've worked for 40 years, I guess, it's a tough pill to swallow. But that would imply that one started working at 20. Which is less and less the case considering more and more people go to University and start working after 25.
For those who embarked on a career straight after high-school, it's unfair, it's true, especially as they are more likely to have done physically demanding jobs. The solution therefore is to calculate retirements by months or years of activity, with a discount when the person held a difficult job.
Also, protesters marching the streets in the hope that the government will back down are only looking at their short-term future. They're not putting in the equation the fact that baby-boomers are retiring now and we need a bigger work force to pay their retirements. Oh, yes, because it's the whole group of workers that contribute to paying retirements over here. Private pensions are an oddity in this country, and workers tend to take this amazing system for completely granted, and not as an amazing chance compared to other 'wealthy' nations. But as the pool of retired workers is bound to grow, those in activity will have to work longer, so why not start now. It's a question of principle they say...
Well once again, a Right is taken for granted, without much consideration for the obligations attached to it. Union and political leaders avoid to paint the bigger picture, not showing how privileged this country is compared to others, at least for salaried people. Self-employed people, or farmers for instance have a much tougher deal, and they don't complain as much. Is it because they know that freedom is priceless, even if it can be costly? I guess there must be some truth in this because those two, that we saw during the 'vendange' (grape harvest) didn't seem to be very rich, but must be rather happy to spend a few hours doing that at their age, even if, when you look closer, you'll see that the lady is pulling the motorized digger by hand, like horses used to do. Meanwhile, the airport was on strike.
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