Monday, May 31^st is Memorial Day.  For some it is the “unofficial” start of summer.  For others, it is a chance to have a long weekend having a barbeque and hanging out with friends and family.  The real meaning of the day has been forgotten.

Memorial Day, or “Decoration Day” as it was originally called is a day to honor our fallen war heroes.  The holiday began shortly after the end of the Civil War as a way to remember those who died in the war.  It wasn’t until after WWI that the day was changed to honor all fallen soldiers.

So when you enjoy the Memorial Day weekend, take a minute to remember those brave men and women who lost their lives fighting for our country.

In France you can retire at 60; really?  Don’t put your house on the market and pick up Rosetta’s program on how to learn to speak French just yet. While it’s true that currently the retirement age is 60; the French government has other plans they are proposing that the official age of retirement be increased to at least 61.  While there is also a more significant change that is getting less press but is also just as important. While today you the average French citizen needs to complete 40 years of working years to receive the full pension the government would also like to raise that age requirement to!  

President Sarkozy’s reasoning: and you’re going to love this…French people are living longer so they should work longer. The average life expectancy for a French citizen in 2007 was 77 for men and 84 for women.

Makes sense right?  To everyone except the French people who are not too happy about the proposed plan and are literally shutting France down in protest! The French people are really not messing around today they walked off the job in every industry you can think of from the air traffic controller to the shop keepers.

So while it seems like the French people have a better life than we do at the moment things could be changing for them! SO settle back down into your cozy American life and be happy that here once you reach the age of 62 you can enjoy your retirement benefits.