La Lutte, La Greve, & Life in General

Well, I witnessed my very first French protest.  Actually, that is not true.  My first time in Paris, three years ago, we were lucky enough to be in France during all of the uprisings in the banlieues (suburbs) of Paris.  Cars were being burned, the police were entering previously declared "no go" zones, and there was general discontent.  I got lucky enough to see one of the protests outside the hotel window.  I think it was something about racism, the outrageous level of unemployment in the 18-25 age group, and the fact that Chirac wanted to make firing an employee less difficult.  

You have to understand that a french business cannot fire an employee (except for something like stealing) until after the employee has worked there for two years.  The philosophy behind this is that workers will not have to worry to much about job security.  Instead, this policy has lead to employers being overly cautious when hiring, which has left the younger age group with a poor chance of finding a job. So Chirac had the brilliant idea of making firing employees a bit simpler, which would then help to free up the job market.   As with any change, the French people were in uproar, and there was general mayhem.  It was for this reason that Parisians were protesting, but the greater problem was within the banlieues. 

For all their claims of being modern and forward-thinking, France is still caught-up in issues that should have been dealt with generations ago.  One of the main issues is racism.  Its hard to describe the banlieues of Paris as suburbs, because in American terms, a suburb is a beautiful grouping of single-family homes, full of bicycles, picket-fences, and general domestic bliss.  The word banlieue, in French, has a more negative connotation.  It is in the banlieue that all the immigrants live, because of the lower cost of living.  It is extremely difficult for immigrants to find respectable jobs, even for the second-generation immigrants.  It was the unemployment due to racism in the system that lead to a sort of revolt in the areas outside of Paris.  There are still "no-go" zones in the banlieues and there is still racism in the system, but for now, there has been a general declaration of peace for the moment.

So because it is the French way of life to always revolte against something or someone, and because the problems in the banlieues have settled down, they have turned their attention to the education system.  Seventy universities in France are now on strike.  My friend's university in Pau was barricaded shut by some of the students.  I have been lucky enough not to be affected by la greve (the strike), but it has been extremely difficult for some of the other, less fortunate students when their professors refuse to teach.  

Mostly, they are fighting against the French public university system in general.  They want more housing scholarships, more university residences, and they want more equality in diplomas.  What that means is that there are some universities in France that are extremely renown, and that, if you are lucky enough to get into one, you will be set for life after graduating.  It's kind of like Harvard on steroids.  The students and professors are fighting for more equality among the universities, so that graduating from one or another will not help or hinder them in their future employment. 

Today, I witnessed the protest that was filing down the main road in Aix.  There was quite a bit of yelling, both from the students and professors, and from the crowds surrounding them.  I heard one man yell, "Go back to work!" while the students and professors were yelling, "Resistance!"  I wasn't too worried about safety.  It is required by law to inform the police before a protest, so the event was very well covered by men in uniforms (although French police don't have the same kind of freedom to use force as they do in the States, but that's for another post).  Anyways, the most interesting part of the protest was the volume of everything.  Having spent the last two months with French people who whisper on their cell phones so as not to disturb those around them, it was quite a statement to have them raise their voices to that level (somewhere in between a normal, American conversation, and a yell).  

I have yet to see the results of this action, but, as one French man once told me, "The only way to get anything done in France is to strike." So I sincerely hope that this will make a difference, or else I'm afraid every student will have to take another semester of classes to catch up after this little episode.

From Flappable France,

Elise