the french situation is complicated; i've heard various stories
the original reforms came about around the spring of 2001 (?); they charged a flat tax on all development
previously the french were criticised for channeling funds into prestige projects and ignoring all the little rescue work the rest of us take for granted
then they decided on this tax, which every development would have to pay; if there was little or no archaeology, the extra money would go into a fund to top-off funds for other projects (which would otherwise be underfunded)
someone quickly realised, though, that the fees did not reflect expenses; i think they were calculating at a set fee per cubic meter, without thinking that all archaeology is not created equal: really complex stratigraphy was way more expensive than simple stuff...
then the political climate changed there (as elsewhere), and the added expense of doing archaeology was seen to hinder progress and job creation, etc., so...
i'm also worried about the IFA scheme (hey: i've never qualified for membership, and could never afford to join even if i could), and the french-only situation
i'm very far from being a free-market supporter of globalisation, but i do depend on being able to move from one country to another, following the work
i'm also not keen on gov't monopolies on excavation, either; among other things, i think that tends to be counterproductive, just speeding up developer-led opposition to the work we're doing, then starts the "race to the bottom"
here in germany there are already too many unskilled part-time workers on excavations (400 euro jobs: the maximum you can earn without your employer having to pay any benefits), and there is evidence of an ugly trend beginning: basically working without pay so at least you can get some experience (1 euro jobs)
but next time they won't budget for wages, either
"paul.courtney2" <[log in to unmask]> schrieb:
> AFAN is now INRAP ( http://www.inrap.fr/www/index.html ). Its is a
> sort of government agency for a regionally organised state archaeology
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