Gonzo
You may well be right but in France that amounts tot he same thing. Civil service positions are well paid and well protected and include all kind of people who were once Civil servants , or at least Government employees in UK.
The miracle of privatisation ended that of course as many many front line jobs were privatised as well meaning there is not the critical mass in UK or solidarity ( the Liberte Equalitie Fraternitie in France;' there's no such thing as Society' in UK)
And as is pointed out an election looms and in France that means Aux Armes Citoyens etc while we have 'Long to reign OVER us)
Different mindsets and I am not really sure how long France can sustain the civil service priveleges but they sure did alot better than we did