Living Local #8

Before we began Year 4 here in Paris, we were concerned about the weekly Yellow Vest demonstrations in Paris.  We talked to a few people, including someone who lived in Paris for many years, who said the French protest all the time.  Protesting in France is sort of like baseball in the U.S., the national pastime.  (If it's not one thing, it's another.) It is a tradition going back at least as far as the Revolution in 1789 and most of the French seem to greatly value the right to protest.  

After living here for several months, we better understand what we were told.  For example, after a year, the Yellow Vests are still protesting on Saturdays in Paris, but very few protesters march these days.  We have learned that there are demonstrations somewhere in Paris every day of the week.  A few are large, while most are small.  They are very well organized ... usually.  A website catalogs the daily protests.  You can see for yourself by clicking here.

We have seen Yellow Vest protests, along with union marches, environmental protests, student protests and demonstrations against visiting foreign leaders. 

View from our apartment:  A protest against the visiting President of Cameroon

We also saw a big protest by the firefighters, who were complaining about proposed changes to France's retirement system.  While visiting a museum one day, Susan heard loud explosions outdoors.  It sounded like gunfire.  Others on the guided tour expressed concern.   The guide casually explained that the booms related to a protest and there was nothing to worry about.  We later saw the protest in action.  Click on the video below to see for yourself.

 

The protest in the video occurred at the National Assembly (France's Congress), not far from our apartment.  The irony is that the firefighters were throwing explosive flares toward the riot police, while the riot police were using water cannons against the firefighters.

Another large event was a march protesting violence against women in the home and workplace.  The march was peaceful and well-attended.

This week, the unions arranged a protest across France against proposed changes to France's retirement system, similar to Social Security in the U.S.  The action began yesterday, on December 5, with a general transportation strike and marches in large cities across France.  Here in Paris, most of the buses, subways, trains and planes stopped operating, plus many museums and schools were closed.  A large group of protesters -- thousands of people -- gathered for the afternoon march.  The assembly was peaceful until the anarchists appeared and started smashing windows, lighting fires and battling the riot police.  The march was forced to stop for a couple of hours, but then it resumed after the anarchists left.  There were about 700 anarchists--mostly young masked men called "Black Blocs" and casseurs ("breakers").  The casseurs are opportunistic, appearing whenever another group holds a peaceful demonstration. 

As a result, Paris and most of France is paralyzed by the transportation strike which will likely last for a few more days and possibly longer.  So, we will stay close to home and avoid any demonstrations.