Zach and I celebrated his 24th birthday yesterday. It's hard to believe it's already mid-October though it feels like December outside. We went out for a nice dinner and then enjoyed some delicious homemade cheesecake (my first cheesecake attempt in France without real cream cheese). We've postponed more celebrations for next weekend after Zach finishes the six exams he has this week...
Apparently the French don't believe in giving up after three strikes. Last year while I was teaching, I became used to the occasional symbolic strike that occurred once every two or three months. But this fall has been different. I'd lost count of the strikes that were called since the beginning of September. Then last Tuesday the unions called for a greve reconductible - a renewable or limitless strike.
Just to explain a bit, the French are up in arms over the recent law that was passed that raised the retirement age from 60 to 62. There are, of course, concerns over various nuances, but that is essentially it. Nearly all the other countries in the European Union have a retirement age of 65.
While during typical strikes, elementary schools, post offices and transportation lines close for a day while people march in the streets for their cause, what France is now experiencing has come to a whole new level. Notably, high school students have joined in the chaos, claiming that they will be the ones most affected. They have built actual barricades in front of their schools to prevent them from opening. Also many gasoline refineries have closed, and access to gasoline has become scarce in some areas. Zach and I have even seen a local daycare claiming that they are closing shop in order to strike 'for the children'. With no end in sight, life carries on as usual for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment