OK, the transportation strikes are behind us but, wait, there is more! Now the students - and high-school pupils! - want to be in the picture too. They have started demonstrating and picketing in several universities to protest a recent law. One of these demonstrations gave me the occasion to take this photo, that I find pretty funky! The guy in the picture is Kamini, a famous French singer and the stickers that the demonstrators glued to his poster say: "No [need to] claim" and "Let's block everything].
I can see that demonstrations are a norm in France and people see it liberally as a way to express their opinions. Although strikes happen in all parts of the word, it's still quintisentially French.
ReplyDeleteHaving just come back from Paris (in the middle of a long transport strike), I could see that Parisians take it naturally. Although moving around the city was difficult, I still found it fun and eye-opening.
Sigh, I still Paris so much, qu'est-ce que dois-je faire? :)
That is a strange photo, Eric. I had to look at it three times to get my head around it. Neat capture!
ReplyDeleteAnd the car from yesterday is quite amusing. What wonderful color. If not terribly good at function, it is great at form!
Thanks,
Wayne
Yes ME, I had the same reaction. It looked so real for a moment until I integrated the stickers. "Funky" is a good word Eric.
ReplyDeleteOr is that "let's blog everything"? I've been invited to sign up with Facebook. Thank you for the invitation. Surely I need all the friends I can get, blogging and otherwise! I've got some repairs to attend to, and when I'm up and running again, I'll check into it. Meanwhile, I'm glad Paris is running again. With the dollar/euro situation, it's looking bad for a visit in 2008. I don't blame the students for blocking it, though!
ReplyDeleteVu de la province la semaine dernière a dù être infernale. Bonne semaine et bon courage.
ReplyDeleteHe he love the expression on the face of the chap on the right!
ReplyDeleteI'm a year old today Eric, and have enjoyed every minute. Er... in Daily Photo age that is. lol.
Lynn congratulations for your daily blog anniversary!!!! many happy returns!!!
ReplyDeleteThis shot is fantastic Eric! I´ve been reading about the riots and protests... still I hope everyone who´s in Paris or anywhere else in France now is having a great time.
Boy I´ve been watching a french movie marathon in the last days... Paris me manque trop... wish there was a french equivalent word to the mot Saudades.. to express how much I miss it.
I bet Lorraine knows what this portuguese word means!
While I was off most of last week celebrating Thanksgiving I see from looking back at your posts that Paris also had reason to celebrate with thanksgiving--the end of the strikes! I am so happy for you all. And Eric, what a fine man you are, doing a post especially for les americains last Thursday. This is why, although I did not log on at all, I spoke about PDP to several people I met up with during the holidays. Even to a couple that has lived in Paris for many years up until a month ago. You know, Walt Disney once said, “Do what you do so well-and so uniquely-that people can’t resist telling others about you.”
ReplyDeleteMonica, Querida, “Saudades” is one of the coolest words in your language, and totally lost in translation, for sure. No way to adequately describe in English what you are feeling but let’s get you back to Paris, tout d'suite. It’s the only cure. ;)
The photo is interesting, though I must admit I am a little under the weather[pas en forme]and just can't keep up with all the latest protests at this moment.
ReplyDeleteSaw a very interesting program on TV5 last night about the "ghettos" en France...ghetto does not have the same translation in American English. The first segment was on Neuilly sur Seine and the discussion centered on the people that lived here and their former Mayor[M. Sarkozy]...it was really quite interesting..found out his son has a page on "facebook"...LOL!
Eric...Just noticed the boutique!! Formidable!! You have one of my favorite photos on a mug! The two for coffee...and there is a 5euro note on the table...something I need right now if I ever want to go to Paris again..LOL. Thankfully, I never change my euros back into dollars when I travel..just stash them away for the next time.
When people protest, their voice is stronger as one. I recently came across a revolution I knew very little about. The Singing Revolution is when Estonia revolted against Russia. In 1991 Estonia gained their independence through what is known as the Singing Revolution. I just saw a website about it – http://singingrevolution.com
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to realize these are "bubbles" like in a comic book. The students have absolutely no leverage, do they? This is mostly part of their education in civil disobedience :)
ReplyDeleteLoraine I knew you'd know what I meant!!
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