I already admitted that we often watch the 1-o'clock news on TF1.
That counts as an admission since TF1 is - well, let's say a 'popular' channel.
And Jean-Pierre Pernaud's 13:00 news show is universally mocked as being the opposite of 'biting' journalism.
Anyway, we watch just that bit of TF1, if only for the heritage/beauty-spot cameos.
With amazing frequency - it seems like several times per week - J-PP has an article about yet another poor unfortunate who has sold a car but keeps getting parking & speeding tickets.
This can last for years - tickets can run to dozens or hundreds & the accumulated fines to thousands of Euros!
People tend to contest at first, but find they are beating their heads against an administrative brick wall.
Points are lost from driving licenses & fines are stopped out of wages...
There seem to be serious consequences for a lot of ordinary, helpless people.
The problem appears to be (but I can't really vouch for this) that both the seller & the buyer are supposed to inform the authorities about a car sale, but only the buyer's input causes the computers to change names & addresses for fines!
An increasing number of buyers find it is worth taking the risk of not declaring their purchase, to get immunity from speeding & parking fines.
Presumably some of these crooks get caught & punished, but they never get into the 13:00 news, or anywhere else I know of.
Presumably some of the sellers do manage to finally convince the authorities to stop pestering them & maybe even get their points & Euros back, but you never hear of that either.
There was a government reshuffle on Monday & the new Minister has just announced he wants to get the law changed & the computer systems updated by the end of March.
Parting thot: "The nation should have a tax system that looks like someone designed it on purpose." - William Simon
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