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European Salon de News, Discussion et Klatsch - 25. June | 145 comments (145 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Not only tough in the U.S. (4.00 / 3)

Le Monde.fr : La voiture, et après ?		Le Monde.fr: The car, and after?
A chaque passage à la pompe, Sophie Dreumont a la même sensation. Dès que le compteur atteint les 50 euros, le pistolet se fait plus lourd dans la main. "Avant, 50 euros, ça me faisait un plein. J'ai le réflexe d'arrêter." Mais il faut continuer, continuer, 55, 60, 65 euros, attendre que la gâchette automatique cède enfin et qu'un claquement béni signale que la bête est rassasiée.		Each time at the pump, Sophie Dreumont has the same sensation. As soon as the meter reached 50 euros, the pump handle gets heavier in her hand. "I used to fill her up on 50 euros, so subconsciously I want to stop." But she must keep on going, and going, 55, 60, 65 euros, waiting until the automatic trigger gives and a blessed click finally tells her that the beast has been sated.
Le supplice est quasi hebdomadaire. Infirmière libérale, Sophie Dreumont parcourt chaque semaine plus de 500 km autour de Fouras, en Charente-Maritime. Elle soigne quotidiennement une bonne quarantaine de malades dans un rayon de 15 km autour de la cité balnéaire. Pour une piqûre d'insuline, la Sécu lui octroie royalement 3 euros l'acte plus 2,20 euros de frais de déplacement. "J'en ai parlé à un plombier. Il m'a dit qu'à ce prix-là, il ne décrochait même pas le téléphone."		The ordeal is almost weekly. A self-employed nurse, Sophie Dreumont travels each week more than 500 km around Fouras, Charente-Maritime. Every day she treats a good forty patients within a radius of 15 km around the seaside town. For an injection of insulin, social security generously grants her 3 euros per shot plus 2.20 euros in travel expenses. "I talked to a plumber about it. He told me that at that price, it does not even pick up the phone."
Depuis la flambée des carburants, l'infirmière a tout tenté pour alléger la facture. Elle a changé de voiture, assoupli sa conduite. Elle a testé tous les raccourcis, même un chemin creux qui lui épargne 4 km de bitume. Elle a rationalisé sa tournée, modifié certains horaires, au risque de contrarier des personnes âgées attachées à des rythmes immuables. Rien n'y fait.		Since the run-up in fuel prices, the nurse has tried to ease the bill. She changed car, eased off on the driving. She's tried all the shortcuts, even an unpaved road that lets her avoid 4km of asphalt. She has streamlined her route, rearranging certain schedules at the risk of upsetting elderly patients who are attached to unchanging rhythms. Nothing works.
<...>		<...>
... Comme la plupart des communes, Fouras, 4 500 habitants, s'est développée sur l'idée de la voiture facile. Les classes moyennes ont fui La Rochelle et son immobilier prohibitif. Elles ont trouvé dans la presqu'île voisine un cadre de vie plus abordable, à 20 km de la grande ville. Construite dans les années 1970, la quatre-voies qui relie Rochefort à La Rochelle a encore accéléré l'évasion. Chaque jour, 14 000 personnes empruntent cet axe entre leur domicile et leur travail.		... Like most municipalities, Fouras, 4 500 inhabitants, has developed on the idea of easy driving. The middle classes fled La Rochelle and its prohibitive real estate costs. They have found in the nearby peninsula a lifestyle more affordable, 20 km from the big city. Built in the years 1970, the four-way linking Rochefort in La Rochelle has further accelerated the escape. Each day, 14 000 people borrow that line between their homes and their work.
La hausse des carburants fait vaciller le modèle. "Il faut une révolution culturelle", admet Sophie Dreumont. Mais pas facile de changer les mentalités, d'instiller l'idée que des sacrifices sont à consentir. Avec ses deux associés, l'infirmière a ouvert des consultations à son cabinet. Sur 232 malades, une dizaine seulement acceptent de se déplacer. Quand elle se rend au CHU de Poitiers, Nelly Neveu tente parfois d'emmener deux personnes qui ont des rendez-vous assez proches. "Il n'est pas rare que les gens refusent", constate l'ambulancière.		Rising fuel upset the model. "We need a cultural revolution" admits Sophie Dreumont. But not easy to change mentalities, to instill the idea that one must make sacrifices. With her two partners, the nurse now offers walk-in visits at her practice. Of 232 patients, only a dozen have agreed to come to her office. When she went to the University Hospital of Poitiers, Nelly Neveu sometimes tries to take two people who have appointments fairly close. "It is not uncommon that people refuse", says the ambuance driver.

... all progress depends on the unreasonable mensch.
(apologies to G.B. Shaw)

by marco (cowannar at gmail punkt com) on Tue Jun 24th, 2008 at 11:57:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The rest of the article (4.00 / 3)

also shows the kinds of steps that have been taken over the years to partially alleviate the situation:

frequent communter trains between the two cities: very popular,
carpooling initiatives being set up on a large scale in the region;
one of the main factories in the area offering busing services to all employees.

As the pain of higher prices bites, these can be expanded and will work, because some of the infrastructure is already in place.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Jun 25th, 2008 at 04:43:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

European Salon de News, Discussion et Klatsch - 25. June | 145 comments (145 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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