Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tractors' invasion


Those who follow me on Facebook have probably seen the photo I posted this morning. It showed a bunch of tractors on the Périphérique (the motorway that goes around Paris). They were heading to a meeting point before taking part in a big, unusual demonstration of farmers who protest against their living conditions. About 1,000 tractors invaded the streets of Paris between Bastille and Nation, and believe me, it was quite impressive. The Parisians were quite supportive even though, this triggered a giant traffic jam! See more photo in this Animoto.

16 comments:

  1. Farmers are important. I hope they get what they want. I'm all for demonstrating and demanding better conditions, but I'm not too cool on creating traffic jams. Yes, it gets attention, but it also keeps parents from picking up their children on time and the unemployed from getting to crucial job interviews. You guessed it, both of these things happened to me, and it didn't make me more sympathetic to the causes.

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  2. What are the living conditions of farmers in France (Paris) like?

    Are they not properly compensated for their work or is it some other grievances?

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  3. Suzy, that's the whole point of a demonstration: "Notice THIS." Without disruption, nobody notices. Like it or not, that's why people do it.

    So, I wonder, were they tracked...or not?

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  4. Interesting... I thought the city limits would be off for heavy vehicles during peak hours :)

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  5. Big tractors!...I feel like a big boy in a big sandbox!

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  6. Yesterday evening, I saw hundreds of them on the motorways, back to their campagne !! Long lines of tractors, at 30 km/h, with lots of police bikes everywhere, to secure the traffic... quite unusual and impressive ;-)
    My parents-in-law were farmers, my brother-in-law is a farmer: I do support them, ... even when they - peacefully ;-) - block the roads !!

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  7. My wife just looked at your animoto: she recognized all the tractors brands ;-))
    She says: "thank you for this post, Eric!"

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  8. They're probably not making enough money to pay the overhead—including the cost of a tractor like one of these! Cool photo (and animoto), Eric. Do you have a telephoto lens, or did you risk life and limb to get this shot?

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  9. It is sad that someone growing FOOD for people, a necessity, can't make enough to live on while those making decision on how to make food more unnatural make millions.

    I don't particularly like traffic jams, but if they got their point across...I wonder how many more times they'll have to do it before things change though.

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  10. I saw these tractors in the news at France24 yesterday, and wondered if you would photograph them. I like your video too. Merci for the extra.

    The farmers in the US are suffering too. They also said that debt-ridden farmers committing suicides is on the rise. This is horrible. It brings to mind "The Grapes of Wrath".

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  11. Wow I love this photo Eric. How can you make a tire look so cool. A few disruptions with people arriving at work late but c'est normal!

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  12. Except for The Revolution, has a street demonstration ever solved a problem?

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  13. I have not much to say because I'm only a girl! I mean : I've never been so keen in cars, trucks or tractors BUT I always catch up with you. Thank you. Merci.
    That is sooooooo comforting ;)

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  14. @Photolicious "What are the living conditions of farmers in France (Paris) like?" Well from what I read, on average, in 2009, they would make 14 500 € a year. Which is really not much in France.

    @Aathira "I thought the city limits would be off for heavy vehicles during peak hours :)". Yes, but it was a demonstration, so they had a special permit.

    @Thib "My parents-in-law were farmers, my brother-in-law is a farmer: I do support them, ... even when they - peacefully ;-) - block the roads !!" That is what a lot of French people think! (I'm glad your wife enjoyed my tractor exhibit!)

    @Alexa "Do you have a telephoto lens, or did you risk life and limb to get this shot? It's not a "or" it's a "and"!

    @Lois "The farmers in the US are suffering too. They also said that debt-ridden farmers committing suicides is on the rise. This is horrible. It brings to mind "The Grapes of Wrath"." Same thing here: the rate of suicides among the farmers is higher than among the rest of the population.

    @Michael "How can you make a tire look so cool" Thank you, that's nice to say ;-)

    @Starman "Except for The Revolution, has a street demonstration ever solved a problem?" Good question! I have no idea of what the answer is...

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