Inequality, then and now

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, formerly known and the Ministry of Labor, is located in a former stately home called Hôtel Chatelet on the Rue de Grenelle.  The front doors of the ediface have wonderful, polished brass door knockers that look like lions with their feet lazily crossed in front of them.  In 2011, I photographed the door knockers and included them in my journal.  They were in terrible shape then.

Bust of Antoine de Saint-Exupery in the Square Santiago du Chili

Now they look great, but there is always a security guard standing there so I don't feel comfortable photographing them.  Here's a photo of one of them, from TripAdvisor.com.  Such irony -- having lazy looking lions on the front doors of the labor ministry.

Something significant happened here in 1968.  As part of the Grenelle Agreements (named for the street upon which this ministry resides), the minimum wage in France was increased by a whopping 35%!  This was part of the strategy for trying to end the rioting.

I passed by those doors a couple times on my morning walk.  I thought about the man who had the palatial home built, the Duke of Chatelet. 

Looking toward the Eiffel Tower from Les Invalides.

The home was completed in 1776.  The Duke was sent to the guillotine in 1793, so he had only 17 years to enjoy living there  --  while the vast majority of the French people were suffering miserably.

The income inequality in pre-revolutionary France was staggering.  I was doing some research on that topic today when I came across a shocking piece comparing what was happening in 1789 in France with what is happening in America today.  This commentary from marketwatch.com was published in 2015, before the last presidential election.  Now the economy is shaky.  Look out.

The basic cause of the situation?  The rich not caring about the poor.  If only all rich people would do what Jesus said . . . .

More photos from this morning's walk:

Square Santiago du Chili in the early morning light.  That's Les Invalides in the background.

Flowers from the garden behind the Basilica of St. Clotilde (above and below).

The restaurant Le Basilic in the greenery behind the Basilica (La Basilique) of St. Clotilde.

Place Bourbon, in front of the National Assembly building.

More views of the neo-gothic Basilica of St. Clotilde (above and below).