Anyone who has learned some French history knows that manifestations and strikes are such a big part of their identity that it’s almost a normal occurrence of their daily lives. There was of course the French Revolution, which led to many other revolutions in the world, and from the last century, the strike of 1968. Last year HC students did not go to class because there was a massive university strike. It is just who the French are, and in all fairness, it is a right bestowed by all democracies. Last Thursday I witnessed a relatively small manifestation of farmers. Yes, because Strasbourg is the capital of Alsace and because it was October 1, all the farmers rolled on their tractors into Strasbourg and manifested in all of Centreville (right where I live).
Normally this would have been amusing, and it was, but it was also very inconvenient. It just so happens that that morning I was not aware of the manifestation (my fault for only listening to economic and international news) when I calmly took the tram from my house to my internship at the IIHR. I was so clueless that I did not think twice when I saw trucks and trucks of the French ‘gendarmerie’ around the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and all the other very important institutions close to my internship. It was not until I left my internship at 12h and I walked (with my injured foot) to the tram stop that I read that ALL transportation was cancelled due to the manifestation. Thus, I had to walk (with an injured foot and ZERO sense of orientation) for almost two hours to get to a tram stop that worked and that would take me to my lovely CIEL classes. I was NOT amused. In fact, I am going to call it the worst experience here so far.
However, it was only awful because I could barely walk and because I was late to my class, not because there was a manifestation. Given that it was all happening in centreville, that is, between where my internship is and where my CIEL classes are, I found myself in the middle of huge tractors with signs that complained about how globalization and the free market are killing the farmers (you don’t say!) Also, I managed to see tons of sauerkraut – a critical ingredient of Alsacian cuisine – being towed by the tractors on the streets. This part was an enriching experience.
It was a very well organized manifestation, the kind I had only read about. Back in my little island you cannot really go out when there are strikes, because let’s face it, if the police don’t function on normal days they cannot be expected to handle a strike. And afterwards, I realized that cutting transportation is really nothing in comparison to how strikes go on in many other corners of the world.
The strike was over at the scheduled time and by the time I left my English student everything was back to normal.
Friday Malou took us to the Modern Art Museum in Strasbourg and I must say it is quite amazing. I have been to some awesome modern art museums (the Tokyo Modern Art Museum being the best so far) and I must admit this one is pretty impressive. The reason why is because Strasbourg is a very traditional city, and the region takes so much pride in their Franco-German history that you would not expect it to also have a museum with Picasso’s, Rodin’s, and Kandisky’s for you to appreciate free of charge. But indeed it does.
This week will be VERY busy for me, and, like I said last time, I will hop on the train Thursday night and visit Geneva for the weekend. So I shall write once again in a week!
A bientôt!
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