Ladies and gentlemen, we are under siege. Retreat to the safe house, recon, and wait for reinforcements. In the meantime, somebody set up watch at the perimeter to monitor the enemy.
Ok, ok. So I've watched one too many war films in my young life. Not-at-all-serious melodramatics aside, France is so totally on strike. And not just a "hello, let's march a bit, chant, let them know we're here and go home" kinda deal, but the whole country. And what's it about? Retirement, people! Read all about it here on the world socialist website: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/fran-o15.shtml
Interesting read (English, too), but the jist is that Sarkozy's upping the minimum retirement age for full pension by two years, and people are totally up in arms. Aside from that big demonstration I mentioned a few days ago, there have been more. And more. No joke. The tram lines are constantly being interrupted and redirected by random masses of people (manifestations), there's probably going to be a gas shortage if oil workers continue to strike, and train services are becoming sparser and sparser (they're "perturbed," according to French jargon- oh, the new vocabulary!). I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. As long as I'm not caught in the middle, I continue to be mildly amused. It's almost like watching some kind of sideshow.
Like, for example, I took the tram this morning to go to my appointment with immigration. I, being the prudent person I am, got on extra early, figuring I'd get to my appointment way ahead of time and get out quick. The tram services have been in and out all week, which I've noticed as I ride merrily by on my bicycle (haha). As it turns out, I needed that extra twenty minutes, and I arrived at my appointment just on time. Halfway between Point A and B, the tram is forced to a halt by a solid mass of young people just standing in the way, and all around. Trying to understand the method behind all this madness isn't entirely working out, but hey. Pas de souci (no worries!).
I did have plans to take the train to Marseille for the weekend, but they got derailed. (Ha ha, get it?). There are trains departing and returning, but they're a lot less frequent than normal and at cruddy times. And the last thing I want to do is get stuck, so here I am. Disappointing, but why complain, right? It's not like I'm the only one inconvenienced by this, and I'm here for nine months. That old French city on the coast ain't going to get up and move anytime soon. If it does...well, then, life just doesn't make sense anymore.
So we'll see what happens in the weeks to come. There's a chance of classes being canceled at some point next week due to all this mess, so perhaps a mini vacation is in order. Who knows? Until next time, fight the power.
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