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Originally Posted by Crawford
I actually think that France has a brighter future than Germany. Yes, Germany has the better economy right now, and probably slightly higher quality of life, but I think long-term trends favor the French.
For one, the French don't need immigrants; Germany does. And Germany needs TONS of immigrants just to have a stable population. You see lots of kids on the streets of French cities, and not just Arabs or immigrants/children of immigrants. In contrast, Germany may have to choose between identity and prosperity. In the big German cities already 70%+ of school-age children are immigrants or children of immigrants.
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I don´t quite agree, I´m really not a France fan like some in this forum, furthermore not an Eurozone fan either, I think between France and Germany would be a close tie in the long term, but I really doubt Germany will give up its marginal economic advantage in Europe just because its low fertility. France might have high fertility now but that situation might not last forever, the same goes for Germany´s low fertility. On the other hand, Germany is, despite all its problems, more successful attracting and integrating high numbers of immigrants than France, where you have no go ghetos surrounding its big cities (have you walked through those streets too?), much of its population covert immigrants from France overseas territories, not nececsarily culturally related to France
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
And second, the French have clung to their native culture tighter than the Germans. Along with high native birthrates, this means that French society and cultural norms can continue into the indefinite future. I think this, in the long-run, will be more beneficial, as French culture has so much to offer the world. Germans are more globalist in outlook, which I think harms some of their cultural attributes (especially the Protestant sacrifice, thrift and modesty).
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That´s not necessarily an advantage, a changing culture is also an expresion of innovation and success, many immigrants from east europe or elswhere go to west europe to find a better future, better education and to contribute to the economy, if a culture/society is not able to attract them and only has one thing to offer, that´s a limitation