What freedoms does France have that we don’t?

[YourHangryQuail]

Just coming off of the banned baby name thread and seeing that in France they have an approved names list.

I’ve also read on here before about swimming trunks being banned at the pool.

Mumsnet threads seem to say that France has a lot more freedoms than the UK but I’m struggling to see what.

So your argument is that France is not a free country because of a rule about what you can wear in a swimming pool???

My DC dont wear uniforms and wear trainers to school. That more than makes up for having to wear a particular type of swimming trunk in pools....

It dates back to earlier days when labourers, farmers etc would just turn up at municipal pools and go swimming in their work clothes (they would cut the bottoms of the legs off). That's why the French say swimming shorts are unhygienic, because they weren't actual swimming shorts as we think of them.
Personal hygiene in France, outside Paris lagged behind Britain by several decades until the 90s. Deodorant wasn't a "thing" for most until the 80s 😳

Its strange isn't it? I have really strong feelings about ever having a washing machine in the kitchen since living in Europe. Mine is in the cellar, but if I moved home, if I had no cellar or utility room, the bathroom would now make more sense as that's where you strip off and put the laundry basket.

Ask the french farmers..

Yeah, uk law states “underarm hair must be trimmed neatly”

Do we not have this? We travelled around mainland Europe this summer, several countries, moving pretty freely..

Working / residing long-term maybe more demanding but still allowed, with the correct paperwork.

The washing machine thing is because our mains electricity is higher voltage than many countries so most plug in appliances are not allowd in bathrooms for safety reasons.

You can apparently have a washing machine in the bathroom if you get it hard wired in with one of those of those big red on/off wall switches (like some higher voltage built in ovens).

Our voltage is the same as France and I believe most of Europe.

Ahh I see it changed in 2003.

We obviously still have cultural fear of being electrocuted in the bathroom!

When we redid our bathroom, due to having a fairly small bathroom and shower over a bath rather than in an enclosed cubicle the choice of permitted ceiling lights was very limited.

I think the overall tone of the thread is very positive. Things like the crazy parking suggestion are partially a nod to how officious a lot of things can be in the UK.

@Mandarinaduck .... unless your clothes are regarded as un signe religieux. Simple things like long dresses even if tight can be seen as religious clothing

Frances obsession with what women can wear continues. No freedom to cover your hair if you are a teacher, nurse, etc . Get over it France

Same in Portugal with pure bred Lusitano horses. Very useful in calculating age.

This made me laugh! We’ve had no issues getting planning permission here.. and I’ve not gone to anywhere near those lengths 😉
Tbh I think it’s the opposite- I think they’re too lenient and let anything go planning wise even in historical areas!!

@Avocadono it is also our freedom to gently mock our French cousins.

Freedom to drive even if you haven’t passed your test, in a 2 seater car called a sans permis has a weight limit of 425 kgs.

The sans permis thing is absolutely insane. My family live in rural France and you see these cars everywhere - usually people who have been caught drink driving. There's an argument that being so rural people need a way of getting around - but it's so dangerous. I can't believe it's allowed.

In Paris they can reverse down a street as long as it's not too busy, park "by sound" instead of looking to see if they're going to hit another car, red lights are a mere suggestion and once I saw someone driving down the grassy median strip with the tram tracks.

The rule was brought in as there was a fashion for men wearing board shorts as shorts, walking round in them for a day (or two!) then just jumping in an outdoor public pool without changing.

it essentially became “you have to change into something just for swimming then change back” rule.

however it’s pretty much only council “municipal” pools this is rule for. Privately owned pools have their own rules. Most camp sites or hotel pools will set their own rules. Euro camp though did decide to keep the rule. Centre parcs in france you can wear baggy shorts, but they are clear you should put them on clean before getting in the water and try to encourage a pre-swim shower.

That's universal, I think. We got our ridgeback when we lived in Germany. Him and his litter were all registered with I names, his papered name was Ironman

They have freedom of movement - that’s huge

I always notice when I'm in France that they have fewer fences, safety barriers and 'health and safety gone mad' than us in the UK. The French appear to have more freedoms to make their own risk assessments, a lot of the EU health and safety red tape turned out to be UK specific red tape.

No we dont. You need to be wealthy or just to work that job has to be offered first to an EU national. If they then cant fill that vacancy Only then will a brit be considered and then its a short term working visa.

Its too simplistic to say "with the correct paperwork"

True though 🤷‍♀️

Yes, French pools are loads more fun because the flumes aren't all on a traffic light system and closely monitored. French kids genuinely seem to be having a whale of a time with their friends. They generally look fit and well compared to their UK counterparts. Unfortunately, even when you correct for population size, the number of children who drown in France each summer is considerably higher than the UK. I was really shocked when I saw the difference.

All those freedoms that we had taken away by the Brexit posse

But is that French children drowning or children drowning in France? Its horrific I agree but surely in the summer there are loads more people (often tourists) swimming in France (pools, lakes, rivers, seas) than in the UK? So more people taking risks in unknown water... you can't expect the French to police every bit of water.