Aux armes, citoyens!
A friend, reading about a French protest, said, "Damn, when the French protest they don't fuck around eh?" friend, reading about a French protest, said, "Damn, when the French protest they don't fuck around eh?"
Indeed not. I was once waiting to check in at the airport in Venice with two young American people aged 15 and 18 who had never been outside of the US before. There was a planeload of French people who started chanting and barricading the check-in desk in protest, in order to shut down the airline until their demands were met. Airport security was involved, but there was only one threatened fistfight (which did not break out, though it was close enough that I suggested to my young companions that we should give those people more space). I asked one of the protesters in French what they were protesting and was able to understand enough of her reply to gather that the airline was meant to fly them to their French town the day before but had not done it and they were insisting they be sent NOW.
My young companions found this fascinating and asked me why they were doing this. "Because..." I said, pausing to wait for words to arise. "Because they are French." That sounds glib but it was honestly the best I could come up with. There seems to be something in French culture that imparts a latent urge to man barricades and if necessary storm the Bastille. They are collectively really good at protest.
(I just realised I forgot to say that the protest the friend was talking about involved angry workers actually assaulting people in management and ripping their clothes off. This is NOT good protest and I do not admire it.)
Indeed not. I was once waiting to check in at the airport in Venice with two young American people aged 15 and 18 who had never been outside of the US before. There was a planeload of French people who started chanting and barricading the check-in desk in protest, in order to shut down the airline until their demands were met. Airport security was involved, but there was only one threatened fistfight (which did not break out, though it was close enough that I suggested to my young companions that we should give those people more space). I asked one of the protesters in French what they were protesting and was able to understand enough of her reply to gather that the airline was meant to fly them to their French town the day before but had not done it and they were insisting they be sent NOW.
My young companions found this fascinating and asked me why they were doing this. "Because..." I said, pausing to wait for words to arise. "Because they are French." That sounds glib but it was honestly the best I could come up with. There seems to be something in French culture that imparts a latent urge to man barricades and if necessary storm the Bastille. They are collectively really good at protest.
(I just realised I forgot to say that the protest the friend was talking about involved angry workers actually assaulting people in management and ripping their clothes off. This is NOT good protest and I do not admire it.)