Protests in France *pics of protest inside*

taku · Kickflip Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 2868 City: Central FL

Labor Unions in France are really making history. Members of French public sector unions have gone on strike, protesting against government plans to reform pensions and the 35-hour working week.

"The government is making the wrong choice. Messing with the 35-hour week is an unacceptable challenge to our social rights," Myriam Carasco, a secondary schoolteacher in Marseille told Reuters.

Two French unions - CGT and CFDT - had called for the demonstrations against plans to make employees work an extra year before being entitled to a full state pension.

Copy/paste this url for details:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7459879.stm

Union leaders claim as many as 2.5 million people took to the streets as France saw its first big strike triggered by the global credit crunch. French police put the number at just over one million.

Large numbers of strikers thronged the Old Port at the heart of Marseille, the biggest city in southern France.

In Paris, tens of thousands marched from Place de la Bastille to the centre of the capital, some carrying lighted flares.

Platforms at St Lazare station, Paris, and elsewhere stood deserted as rail services were hit by strike action.

This demonstrator in Nice carried a placard calling for President Nicolas Sarkozy to resign.

A protester in Paris donned a Sarkozy mask and held a placard reading "Hello - Beat it, loser" - words the president famously snapped at a hostile member of a crowd during a walkabout last year.

Other demonstrators in Lyon "mourned" the loss of civil liberties and the privatisation of hospitals and postal services.

In Paris, some of the protesters threw stones and set fire to rubbish bins.

Police had to use tear gas to dispel the crowd of youths.

Lollar · 360 flip Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 8253

Who cares

Its France

taku · Kickflip Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 2868 City: Central FL

What do you think about this? What if our government decided to change our 40 hour work week to 45 hours... do you think it would lead to protests here? How far do we have to be pushed to hit the streets?

taku · Kickflip Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 2868 City: Central FL

jonnyUTAH · Backside 180 Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 1951

The US anti-France Rhetoric makes me laugh. So what....they decided not to partake in an unjust and (in my mind) illegal war? That makes them jerks. To me, that makes them strong-willed free-thinkers.

I also admire the French because they are not afraid to take their issues to the streets. Some people would rather just eat "Freedom Fries" and blog about their issues than do something about it.......IMO.

Lollar · 360 flip Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 8253

jonnyUTAH, All the french people I have met have been douche bags. There were french people on the plane when I was coming home on leave from Iraq that we were pretty sure were swearing at us in french.
Left a bad taste in my mouth for french people after that. Im sure there are some decent french people out there, but I have only come across 1.

buenos · Posted: Jan 30, 2009 2:22 pm Post subject:

why dont we we ever do shizzle like this in america, i guess its too big of a nation

CGA PFD · Posted: Jan 30, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject:

Lollar · 360 flip Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 8253

CGA PFD, Dammit. Forgot Kevin was French. Ok I come across 1 decent French guy.

taku · Kickflip Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 2868 City: Central FL

Lollar -- if those french people on the plane were actually swearing at you.. do you think it was at you as a person, or your government which unjustly started a war in Iraq. Just my .02.

Verbally attacking France is like doing the same to Canada. It's fun, but at the end of the day it's unjustified. All the french people I've met (while on vacation) were totally awesome. Unnaturally friendly even. Like stop in the middle of the street and helped me with directions, ask how my trip has been and even tell me cool places to visit, friendly. Could you imagine your average American being that helpful to a tourist? Most wouldn't be I think.

Anyways when did we Americans really stop our big protests? I mean it still happens on really small scales from time to time, but back in the late 1800s and early 1900s we killed it protesting in the streets for justice and what's fair/right for the american worker and citizen. What the duece?

Lollar · 360 flip Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 8253

taku, Your interactions with the French were obviously very different from mine. So Agree to Disagree.
Everyone bashes everyone and thats what is so great about living in a country where we can do that.

edrex · Backside 180 Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 1020 City: NorCal

jonnyUTAH, the sentiment to the French people has been around much longer then the Iraq war.

Not all French people are bad. But, all the ones from Paris that I had to interact with for 4 days were cornholes. I've heard great things about people from the smaller towns and villages throughout the countryside. So, just like the whole cop debate, its a case of some of them giving all of them a bad name.

taku · Kickflip Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 2868 City: Central FL

Yea, not every frenchie is a sweetheart because a couple were nice to me in paris, but by the same token, 65 million frenchies aren't cornholes just because 2 or 3 might have cursed at you once. I didn't post this thread to debate that though, or living in a free nation (french have more civil liberties than we do) I posted it to show how when they felt wronged by their government, they took to the streets and I think everyone can respect standing up for yourself like that.

uidzero · Kickflip Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Posts: 3839 City: Casselberry

How many people do you know that are part of a union? They're the only ones that can protest anymore... We're getting bent over corporate style and I don't think protesting would do anything but get a bunch of people fired and more jobs outsourced. Execs are buying 20k trash cans with the bail out money for their recently remodeled 2 million dollar office while laying off thousands of people Crazy Eyes

No accountability in this country at all. Even if we just let these failing businesses die the same bastards will pack up their office, hop in their corporate jet, and take another CEO/CFO position somewhere else because obviously they're doing such a great job! They'll keep getting raises and a bonus every year either way too.

Lollar · 360 flip Joined: 19 Jun 2007 Posts: 8253

taku, Not all Cops are bad but I still dont like Cops. Why is this? Even though I have only dealt with a few cops in my life they were douche bags to me so now I dislike them. Same thing goes with the French. I know that its impossible for the whole country to be douche bags but I dont care since all that I met were asswipes. The ones I came in contact with left a bad taste in my mouth and that is why I now feel the way I do about them. Yes, I am close minded about French people excluding Kevin Calvez.

taku · Kickflip Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Posts: 2868 City: Central FL

It's understandable, I feel that way about die hard republicans :p

mr robotto · Backside 180 Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 1052

jonnyUTAH, French people just hate us in general... and we just kinda hate them... not really hate, more like play hate

like we're gonna talk shizzle about em but if something serious goes down we'd help em (or they'd help us but idk how they could Laughing

)

Guy · Backside 180 Joined: 14 Jul 2006 Posts: 842 City: Orillia

I wish we would do this in north america..

the people should run the government, not the government run the people

Le Jalapeno · Guest

french people are chiillll

jonnyUTAH · Backside 180 Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 1951

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/world/europe/01russia.html?_r=1&hp

MOSCOW — Protesters held demonstrations throughout Russia on Saturday, offering largely subdued, but pointed criticism of the government’s economic policies as the country continues to sink deeper into an economic morass.

You can't tell me you don't love Russians.