- the "wanting to be rich" is a bit of a cliche, but it's still a major social taboo. As a foreigner who came to France, that was a major culture shock. True, people want to be rich, but politicians don't say it out loud. From what I see, much more efforts are put into helping poor people become middle class, than helping middle class become rich.
- I agree with you on the taxes thing. After all, I'm living here by my own will and I like these social securities. Nevertheless, while it may work out well on the personal level, it doesn't encourage people to start companies. It's great that my kids' schooling is afforded by the government, but these high corporate taxes are still heavy on entrepreneurs.
- I completely agree with the bias towards being a manager at a big company. Point in case, I work for a major investment bank. It's also true that failure is not easily accepted here. I know relatively few entrepreneurs (I'd say less than 5% of my graduating class 2 years ago) and those who "failed" (whatever that means) are having a hard time going back to the "regular" corporate path.