I've spent the last few weeks in the south of France while the French government lurches from one crisis to another but here in the Var what they do in Paris is so unimportant it's not even a topic of conversation.

I tried talking to my neighbours about the new book which the spurned ex-partner of Francois Hollande ( Valerie Trierweiler  ) has just published but they couldn't care less... and the mud-slinging has had little effect, apart from Hollande disputing the 'hurtful' notion that he feels contempt for poor people. His government faces a confidence vote next week.

While the French Front National surged to success in recent elections, the socialists are so unpopular that Nicholas Sarkozy is considering a comeback. The socialist cause has not been helped by minister -Thomas Thevenoud - who has been sacked over his failure to pay his taxes (or his rent) for 3 years; that would look fairly dishonest to most of us but he hasn't resigned from the socialist party, claiming that he has a phobia of administration. While psychiatrists have been interviewed on tv to dispel the myth that this phobia exists at all, I can readily attest to a creeping resistance to all things administrative - which overcomes anyone faced with the absurdity of French bureaucracy day in and day out.

For example, my internet signal is patchy although I'm located only 8 miles from a major city. But so far, comments from people like 'C'est ....la campagne... la pluie... le vent... etc' have only added to the frustration of not being able to get online 24/7.  People here don't really mind - the internet is not how they do business. People send each other texts on their phones because it's free or drop round to each other's houses - remember those days?

The patchy signal also means the tv Livebox fails to work. I've taken it in and had it replaced 3 times, but still no tv service, despite paying for it as part of my 'Livebox' (a misnomer if ever there was one) package. Now I use another box with a satellite dish. But of course, the Orange engineer who came to the house after weeks of me phoning a Customer non-service number does not 'do' tv - only internet. After tapping a few numbers into his phone to try and synchronise the signal, he blamed the cable from the telegraph pole to the house - my responsibility, of course - so there's nothing he can do to help - and it's 12.15 so he must get to lunch.

Lunch is another thing that the French still hold sacrosanct. Whereas a hasty sandwich at your desk is the norm in London, the French still take a few hours off work in the middle of the day for real food and a rest. Yet, if you turn up hungry at a restaurant on the stroke of 2pm as I did this week, you'll be turned away - the kitchen is closed, madame. 

As I wandered around the village square looking for a restaurant which would provide something edible at 2.05pm, and failed to find one, it seemed puzzling how any business could survive with the high levels of taxation in France and still routinely turn paying customers away. Not so much as a sandwich on offer anywhere.

Yet, the cafes are often full of people nursing a coffee or a beer for hours, chatting and availing themselves of the facilities, but contributing little in the way of euros to the till. This adds to the relaxed ambiance, and the idea of upselling to a customer, never crosses the waiter's mind.

To protect people's privacy and right to a decent work-life balance, the French Government recently brought in a law which gives employees the right to ignore work emails at night or on the weekend - how wonderful, I thought, but as somebody working in differing time zones, I can't imagine ignoring urgent emails, so this wouldn't really work for me, or many others plugged into a global workplace.

The 35 hour week is also a major cause of France's non-competitiveness but the idea that the government might let some companies off this rule, is decried by the unions. Angela Merkel chides France for not keeping its deficit to under 3%, of GDP but any measures to bring the French economy up to speed are met with loud protestations by the citoyens now used to an incredibly high standard of living, which can only be dreamed of by the majority of people around the world in poorer nations.

The benefits system is another absurdity. The pensionable age is 62 in France, lower than many other european countries. Not only do pensioners receive more than twice the pension in France that they do in Britain, but a person who is made redundant, receives the same amount in benefits for 6 months, as he/she was receiving while in paid work. This system of course, is open to abuse, with people working for 6 months then choosing not to work for 6 months while living well, at the state's expense. How does France afford all this? It doesn't - the country's in debt, but the people are in denial and want to keep on spending. Sadly, it will all end in tears...

But here in the south, the sun shines 300 days a year, wine is cheap, and food is still traditionally home-cooked, when you can find a restaurant willing to serve it... c'est formidable!