Grevin' (Greve = Strike)

As you may be aware, France is famous for its strikes. They are much different than the strikes we're used to in the United States. The most prominent in my memory is teachers' strikes, because I would not have school for weeks while the teachers' went on strike until they got their demands or worked out a compromise. In France, at least in the schools, there is more than one union, so its not always a unified movement. Strikes are usually organized for one day, to show the disapproval of something the government has done. In this case, Sarkozy is just screwing things up left and right - he's kind of like Bush. They are reforming the school system here, taking away teaching jobs and trying to get other teachers to work more hours in place of having co-workers (sound familiar?). Usually the teachers' strikes just mean I have no class for a day and then it all goes back to normal...except we talk about the cuts every single day.

Since I've been here there have also been various other strikes, like AirFrance pilots which disrupted many travelers and the garbage men in Orleans, which meant piles of garbage on the streets (those lasted more than one day I believe and therefore in my mind are more effective - because it forces negotiation). On January 29th there was a nation-wide public and private general strike to show the government that the people are not happy. I got permission from the school to not come to school, because I found out that neither teachers I worked with that day would be there. I thought it would be much more interesting to attend the manifestation (protest) in Tours to see what it was all about.

It started around 10, and we arrived to film (Emma is a journalist for her university) and see how they got organized. It was freezing! It was kind of like a parade, with each union/group organizing in the middle street (there are side streets along the main road - for parking and smaller vehicles) and then starting the march towards the end of the main street. It was flat, so it was hard to see how many people were there - but it was a lot. We waited around an hour before heading forward ourselves, with some of the teachers from Loches. And there were lots of people behind us. Many people asked me if this was my first strike/protest or if we had these in America. Christine is from Philadelphia and she said it isn't very often to have a protest like this. I was reminded of my high school days, marching from GHS downtown for different causes ranging from the WTO Conference to the annual MLK Day March. I was proud of my Seattle leftist roots. We left once we reached Place Jean Jaures to go get some lunch and warm up - yes, we were not real activists - we played the "not really French" card and decided we'd done our part. On the way back to Christine's we passed by her school, which had been barricaded early that morning by the students - in an attempt to close the school. If they can't get in, then they're not liable for being absent. We heard one kid that was hanging around the blocked entrance say to his friend who was asking his whereabouts (via cell phone) that he was guarding the barricade. Pretty great day for experiencing French culture.