In Europe, meanwhile, many of our problems are exemplified by what is happening in France, where President Nicolas Sarkozy’s attempt to recognize demographic and fiscal reality by raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 provoked a wave of strikes and stormy protests from workers and students. Is there not something deeply depressing about 18-year-olds demonstrating about the retirement age?
此外，欧洲的许多问题都因法国国内的混乱而被放大了——萨科齐总统被迫承认人口和财政的压力，他试图把退休年龄从60岁延迟到62岁的计划激起了一浪接一浪的罢工，以及工人学生暴风骤雨般的游行示威。我很难明白，在退休年龄这个问题上，究竟是什么深深挫伤了这帮18岁示威者幼小的心灵？他们又是在哪里养成了如此僵化和保守的思维呢？