Why I hate the French

The Metro has gotten better in the last couple of days, but the French work ethic showed itself anew at the gym today.

All of the elliptical machines were out -- obviously a plug had fallen out, or a fuse had blown, or something simple like that. But of course none of the three employees present thought it was their job to fix it. The best response was from the manager, a lady in her 50s. Now, this gym has a small reception area at street level but the bulk of the facility is downstairs, on two levels in the basement. But its manager is apparently unable to descend the stairs.

(By the way, and contrary to the myth in the United States, it's not impossible to fire French workers. It's just very expensive. Even if you fire them for cause, you owe them severance pay, which can amount to something like 15 months' salary.)