Fr 139
Birth, Death and Taxes:
Reading Questions

Nadeau & Barlow, ch. 18

1.  What types of coverage are included in the French Sécurité sociale?

2.  What are some advantages and disadvantages of France's welfare system?

3.  In what ways is the French pension system for retirement inequitable?

4.  Why is it a bit difficult to compare the exact cost of welfare in France to that of the U.S.?

5.  Do the French get to choose the doctors or the specialists they want to see?

6.  Why do employers typically give their employees so many bonuses?


Gopnik, "The Chill"

7.  Why were many French in favor of a national retirement age of 55?  How does Gopnik compare retirement in France  to retirement in the U.S.?

8.  What does Bill Gates symbolize to the French, according to Gopnik?

Gopnik:  "Like a King"

9.  What are some of the cultural differences that Gopnik notes about pregnancy and the way his wife is treated in France? 

10.  What does "le choix du roi" (aka "the king's choice") mean?