The View | Bureaucratic meddling the bane of business world over

Show me a businessperson who likes bureaucrats, and I will conclusively prove that Elvis is alive and living on the moon.

In practically every business everywhere, there is a battle between the people who make things happen and those who throw up obstacles. Sometimes the battle is full on while at other times it looks more like a weary siege.

Over in France, the bureaucrats, who are notoriously hardened regulation warriors, have recently lifted the battle stakes by imposing new rules on restaurants with a fait maison, or homemade, food law, supposedly designed to promote fresh food.

Restaurants will have to tell customers whether they make dishes from scratch, if a dish contains any element of pre-prepared content or if it has been modified, say, by marination; if so, the dish cannot be designated as homemade. However, it is not simple because, for example, vegetables, except potatoes, will qualify if they are cooked from frozen, or pre-cut. Go figure.

My oh my, the bureaucrats that dreamed up this law must be salivating as they contemplate happy days of increased paper pushing and look forward to the employment of even more officials busying themselves to ensure compliance.

Here is a perfect example of how bureaucracy conspires to undermine business. As ever, the plot to complicate began with good intentions. In this case, the aim was to preserve and enhance the reputation of French cuisine and promote food makers who shun mass production.