Last Tuesday there was a Greve Generale (national strike) against Sarkosy raising the retirement age in France from 60 to 62 to pay off the national debt. The teachers I work for were participating in the strike and therefore told me not to come into work either. Don’t have to tell me twice. Tuesday morning I woke up at 10am to horns, chants and cheering outside my window. I live right next to the river and the manifestation was traversing the bridge right next to my house. So, I got dresses and headed out to check out what was going on. Strikes here resemble a parade. There are people singing chants, playing music, carrying banners and signs, and generally socializing. From the manifestations I’ve seen in Rennes and now here, it is more a social event with a tag line than anything. If you did not speak the language and could not understand the words of the chants, or the slogans on the signs, there is nothing else to indicate that people are angry or protesting rather than celebrating. Although one might think that this issue touches only working adults, people of all ages come to “manifs;” – young children carry banners and signs alongside their parents, shouting disparaging songs about “Sarko” as we would a nursery rhyme.
I have spoken with several French people about the issue, both kids my age and adults I work with all sort of laugh, throw up their hands and say welcome to France, we’re known for our strikes. Well, at least they know… One kid told me that he supports the movement against raising the retirement age, but not to the extent that it impedes those who do not wish to protest against it. In France striking is legal, and indeed much a part of the culture here, but blockading public places, such as schools and universities is not. You cannot infringe on others right to circulate and work. However, it seems the two, striking and infringing on others rights, inadvertently go hand in hand here. For example, someone who operates the metro line, or drives a bus, or even a TGV train, has the right to strike just like the next person, but doesn’t their going on strike impede others’ right to circulate? Right now a lot of things are shut down such as pubic transportation and gas stations in order to “make the government listen.” People here accept this disruption in everyday life as normal and necessary for the movement. Personally, I’m getting a little frustrated from places being closed, you may be touching the government by shutting down business and transportation, but you are also hurting other citizens.
I don’t work Wednesdays and Thursday I woke up at a o-dark-hundred to hustle to school 30 minutes away to print some lessons and make some photocopies before my class at 8:15. Au contraire. When I exited the metro and walked up to the school it became apparent that waking up half an hour early had been in vain – the front gates were blocked with trash bins, duct tape, and students. I continued walking around the entire campus (pretty large) until I finally found an opening. By then, I was almost late, I found a back entrance to the teachers lounge in the library where I could print out my lessons where I found tons of teachers congregated discussing the blockage, and whether they, the teachers, were going to continue to strike along with the students. They call a congregation called an “Assemblie Generale” and they formally vote, so the teachers have voted to return to work, the students however are continuing the strike.
The result is the teachers continue coming into work and if the students do not come, they are marked as absent. There have been about 1-2 students in each of my teachers’ classes. I was talking with one teacher who said that the students striking is part of their culture, part of their youth, and she recounted for me her first strike as a high school student. Seeing the solidarity is cool, because when in America have you ever seen a kid try to lock his teachers out of school? However, I think the adults who strike carry much more credence as they are giving up their salaries for the days they do not show up for work, and the issue is far more pertinent to them. I’m not sure if I believe that this 16 year old kids honestly care about the effects of putting retirement off 2 more years, something that is 40 years away for them, but I can clearly see it is part of their culture. From my perspective, it seems to be an excuse to skip school and smoke cigarettes out front.
So now it is Tuesday, a week from the first big greve and I woke up this Morning to another manifestation crossing the bridge outside my house, this time there are fireworks. This whole week I have turned up at school not knowing if I will have any students or not. There have been froggie SWATs stationed outside the high school to prevent the high school students from blocking out those who wish to enter the campus. It’s very interesting listening to my colleagues talk about what is going on because some are against the striking and don’t oppose Sarko raising the retirement age, and others are very much for the manifestations and striking and the student movement. The issue has also caused uncomfortable tension between some professors because of how intertwined politics here are with everyday life.
That’s all for now. Hope you find this as interesting as I do…
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