Bells, bells, bells! It's the big inventory time at the end of each year~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Today, let's talk about the most characteristic performance art in France - the strike march. I believe that in recent times, many small partners have seen the "power" of the French strike. And this super-large-scale "cosmic-level strike" has also made France once again the world's topic traffic king.
(© Xinhua News Agency)
You know, last year's "yellow vest" and "SNCF strike" won the 2018 "Google Annual Hot Search List" and became the favorite keyword of the French people to search that year. This year, the French people have relied on their indomitable spirit to push up wave after wave of strikes and marches.
On March 16, the Marché du siècle (Marché du siècle) calling for the protection of the environment took to the streets, with thousands of people taking to the streets to accuse the government of its lack of initiative in environmental protection. According to independent agencies, the "March of the Century" gathered 45,000 people in Paris; according to police figures, the number was 36,000; and according to the organizers, it was 107,000. In addition, 220 cities across the country participated in the parade, with a total of 145,000 to 350,000 people.
（©AFP）
On July 3, many trade unions, represented by the French National Union of Teachers of Secondary and Higher Education (SNESUP), announced the postponement or even refusal to submit students' college entrance examination results in order to oppose the educational reform initiated by the Ministry of Education, resulting in 30,000 test papers still not submitted on the day of the release of the French college entrance examination, the BAC test. Subjects that were ultimately missing due to the teacher strike needed to be replaced by the candidates' usual grades (Contrôle Continue), while the Les Oraux de Rattrapage (Oral Exam Supplement) was held from July 8 to 10.
During the march against education reform, the Minister of Education pledges to release the results on Friday (©Twitter@BFMTV)
RATP Paris traffic strike indefinitely
On September 13, in opposition to the Macron government's upcoming retirement reform system bill in 2025 (la réforme des retraites), it advocated the merger of France's existing 42 complex multi-track pension systems into a unified, fair and equitable points system. The Paris Public Transport Company (RATP), which has been violated, joined forces with the major transport unions in the Paris region, UNSA, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC and SUD, and the largest paris traffic strike in 12 years kicked off the "Black September" and continued until December...
（©Twitter@pibzedog）
One of the platforms of Metro Line 4, heading in the direction of Montrouge. At the entrance of the subway, a staff member reminded everyone that the subway will close at 10 o'clock and reopen at 17 o'clock. Vehicles come every 6-10 minutes, and the station keeps broadcasting the imminent closure of the line.
Elderly people march in "red vests"
On September 21, the eighth day after the start of the "RATP Paris Traffic Indefinite Strike", the WORKERS' power union FO also held a large march against the reform of the pension system. Unlike the traffic paralysis of the "RATP Paris Traffic Strike Indefinitely", the main force of this parade is mostly the elderly. At the parade site, each of the marchers wore Little Red Hats, little red vests, and held up small red flags with the word FO printed on them.
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SNCF "Surprise Strike"
Perhaps affected by the general strike of the Paris Public Transport Company (RATP), on September 24, the French National Railways (SNCF) also staged a strike drama. At 8:04 a.m., the length of traffic jams throughout the Paris region reached 430 kilometers. Less than an hour later, the length of the traffic jam soared to 475 kilometers. The impact of the SNCF strike on public transport in the Paris region was obvious, with capacity reductions on several RER lines and Transiliens lines. But why exactly did the strike? The official did not give a clear reason, but said on the official website: This is a sudden strike without a preview.
Of course, the strike did not "give up". On October 18, SNCF railroad workers once again staged a "surprise strike" by driving the "right of withdrawal". In contrast to the SNCF strike in September, this "surprise strike" was mainly aimed at TER (Transport express régional, public transport connecting the major districts of France) and intercity traffic in Greater Paris, including several lines of the RER. The scale was not limited to Paris, but spread to all the regions of France.
（©Tweet @kev）
On October 6th, Paris held a super-large parade! Organizers claim that more than 600,000 people began a demonstration from the Jardin du Luxembourg that day. This group of people is all against the draft PMA adopted by France on September 27, 2019. The draft stipulates that the PMA will be open to all women, including single women and same-sex couples, all of whom have the right to enjoy the joy of the world. However, after the draft was released, there were many objections, especially for "Children born with assistive medical technology are not orphans at birth?" "The discussion has also been very active.
On November 8, a student in Lyon set himself on fire outside the school aid center building to protest his difficult financial situation, sparking a mass protest by French university students. On November 12, university students protested in support of self-immolations in Lyon, Paris, and Lille. In Lyon, hundreds of people gathered outside student aid centers to protest demonstrations; in Paris, protesters forcibly opened the doors of the French Ministry of Higher Education, demanding that Minister Vidal step down and writing graffiti on the wall that read, "An unstable life kills students."
Farmers march against France's Agriculture and Food Act (Egalim).
On November 27, in response to calls from the National Federation of Agricultural Operators' Trade Associations (FNSEA) and the Young Migrant Workers' Union (JA), French farmers came to Paris from all over the world to block normal traffic in the suburbs to express their dissatisfaction with the French Agriculture and Food Law (Egalim), which was enacted earlier this year. According to the statistics of the Migrant Workers' Union, a total of 800 to 900 tractors came to Paris from other provinces on the same day, not only taking "snail action" on the highway, but also playing the slogan of "Macron, answer us", which was intended to shout to the president.
Farmers confront riot police (Image: AFP)
Of course, the strikes above are just the tip of the iceberg, and the list of small-scale events that take place across France is too numerous...
First, farmers dumped hundreds of tons of manure on the street and sprayed it on government facilities in protest of the decline in the price of agricultural products; then dairy farmers organized collective protest marches and used high-pressure milk guns to attack the police at the scene due to the price limit policy, and even more farmers heard that the government intended to protect the wolves and drove the sheep directly to the city hall. Flock: You humans are so cruel!
Just like a saying about the French: spring to work, summer break, autumn strike, winter holidays. The French have long been accustomed to strikes.
After the Macron government announced the "La Réforme des retraites" bill in September, France embarked on a series of massive strike marches. First the "cross-industry indefinite" strike movement that broke out on December 5, followed by the RATP Paris traffic indefinite strike on September 13, which directly brought the confrontation between the unions and macron's government directly into a white-hot situation. Today, the anti-"retirement reform" march continues, and it also affects the passage of citizens during the Christmas period.
On the afternoon of December 18, SNCF announced a statement on December 20-24 to "suspend the service of accompanied travel with children". As guardians are unable to take leave, children travelling alone could have arrived safely at their destination under the supervision of a staff member. Now, the business of striking has been canceled, which has prevented thousands of children from being reunited with loved ones they haven't seen for a long time at Christmas. The move also triggered many French netizens to post online condemning the SNCF's practice.
(Photo source: Photo by Ma Xingjian, a reporter of the European Times)
During the December 10 demonstration, CGT union protesters posed with posters of "Monarch Macron" with the slogan "Let's send Macron to retirement."
"Strike without a word" Why are the French so willful?
According to the Swiss Bank, Parisians work only 1,604 hours a year, the shortest in the world's largest cities. That is, the French Parisian works about 35 hours a week, in addition to the normal double holidays, there are 29 paid holidays. Living in such a high-welfare state, why do people still take to the streets at every turn?
1. A culture of "strikes" rooted in the heart
For the French, strikes are more of a culture. This is related to the French people's pursuit of freedom and equality. In particular, the French thinker Rousseau's idea of the social contract ignited a series of democratic revolutionary ideas in France. In their eyes, "strike" is a way to pursue the liberation of individuality. "Just like on a rainy day, protest demonstrations are a regular feature of everyday life in the French capital." Canadian journalist Jean-Benois Nadeau said in his book Sixty Million French Can't Be Wrong.
2. The right to "strike" granted to citizens
As a country founded on the basis of the Revolution, the "right to strike" was an important principle in maintaining the energy of the French social movement. This concept originated in 1864 and was written in article 7 of the Preamble to the Constitution (Le Préambule) in 1946, which guarantees, at the constitutional level, the right of the salaried class to express work-related claims to employers by collective and complete cessation of work. That is to say, "strike" has become a "fundamental right" of the French people and cannot be shaken. "Le Monde" has counted that among many countries, France ranks first in the world in the number of strikes, which can be called the "strike champion" in the world!
(©statesman)
At the same time, the Labour Code is very lenient on strikes and on the rights of workers in the event of strikes, and in practice, employers rarely punish them, and employees may only be unpaid for absenteeism.
3. Strong popular empathy
It is undeniable that strikes sometimes bring great inconvenience to people's daily lives, and traffic paralysis and flight cancellations are common. Nevertheless, the French people have shown great tolerance and understanding, as we often hear " I do not agree with you, but I respect your right to strike " . Don't look at the French people usually like to complain, but in the face of the strike is unusually calm, even if they complain twice, they all silently endure in their own ways.
(© Circle of friends of his friends)
Merchants also found business opportunities in this 12.5 strike wave and advertised their products overwhelmingly.
Bicycle companies have changed the "subway-work-sleep" life model of the three-point line into "cycling-working-sleeping".
The French masses sang and danced at the strike site, could it be that I had messed into the large bungee nightclub???
To this end, the "Liberation" also did a special poll, 62% of the French expressed support for the December 5 strike, "Macron may not really understand everyone's difficulties, how can not support?" Must be supported. "
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It is undeniable that France has a sound democratic system, and the French are proud of this system, but this "pride" was bought by the predecessors through the violent French Revolution. Similarly, the right of The French trade unions to strike was won through long struggle. It is this historical experience that teaches the French that "there is no pie in heaven, and their rights can only be fought for by themselves." "Strikes are their last resort to winning power.