To the streets, again

It’s protest time in France, y’all! The next several days may just be interesting enough here in the land of the Gauls to get on the news back in the States. Maybe not, though. You guys have a lot going on right now.

The protest is nominally about retirement reform, but it’s expanded to cover other topics, as well. Check out this infographic below, originally posted by a leading French politician on Twitter:

I reckon you can translate that on your own, but I’ll give you these two: grève means strike, and mars means March. The other words all mean exactly what you think they mean.

I talk a lot about the French form of protest on this blog, and I talk to French people to take their pulse on it. But I never hear from Americans! So consider this blog post a call to action: I want you to tell me, either in the comments or on the Contact page, why YOU think it is that the French protest and Americans don’t.

I want you to consider these key details: French people protest a lot more, they often get what they want out of the protest (meaning changes in legislation, etc.), and there is widespread support for protests, even if they turn violent. The opposite is true in the United States, generally speaking.

Think I’m wrong? Let me know! Consider this a prod to share your opinions.

I know I have a lot of student readers, and I’m eager to hear what the next generation thinks about all of this. Pretty soon, kiddos, it’ll be your choice to take to the streets or not. Which avenue of political change do you think is best? Of course, adult readers who are students of life are just as welcome to chime in.

Sorry if this reads like a writing assignment. Can’t help it; I’m a teacher. Anyway, time for me to go to work. I may be the only faculty member there today, since so many of my colleagues seem pretty jazzed about the grève. I’ll keep you posted.

Bises,

Allison

P.S.: For those of you who signed up to participate in the penpal exchange, my students here have sent out their first emails. Check your inboxes and spam! They’re super eager to talk to you.

3 thoughts on “To the streets, again”

French people definitely protest more than Americans. I feel like this is the case because the US seems to be more divided than France. The more people who are involved in the protest, the more of an effect it’ll have on the legislation or whatever they are protesting. In America, I feel like there is so much division (between the left and the right) that sometimes it is very hard to find something that both sides think should be changed. Especially since they are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Not enough people can gather, united under one purpose, to actually make a difference. It could also be that a lot of us don’t care enough to get out and protest for things we believe in, or we just want to stay home. I could be wrong about this, but I feel that these are the most plausible explanations.

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I think a big part of why there are more protests in France is that people in the US simply don’t know how to protest. Almost any US protest I’ve seen has involved blocking roads which inconveniences people who have nothing to do with the protest, and it can put an unrelated person’s life at risk if an emergency vehicle is blocked. This leads to people not supporting the protest even if they support the cause because they don’t want to associate with a group that’s seen as a public nuisance.

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I think the difference in 𝙝𝙤𝙬 Americans vs. the French protest is why the French do it more. If the French usually get what they want out of a protest, then I can see why they would keep doing it if they want changes. In the U.S., there is usually little to no change made after protests occur. I also think this is because in America, protests are usually smaller and less violent, unless it is a HUGE matter to the people.

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Sabrina says:

March 8, 2023 at 1:10 pm

French people definitely protest more than Americans. I feel like this is the case because the US seems to be more divided than France. The more people who are involved in the protest, the more of an effect it’ll have on the legislation or whatever they are protesting. In America, I feel like there is so much division (between the left and the right) that sometimes it is very hard to find something that both sides think should be changed. Especially since they are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Not enough people can gather, united under one purpose, to actually make a difference. It could also be that a lot of us don’t care enough to get out and protest for things we believe in, or we just want to stay home. I could be wrong about this, but I feel that these are the most plausible explanations.

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Kain says:

March 8, 2023 at 4:03 pm

I think a big part of why there are more protests in France is that people in the US simply don’t know how to protest. Almost any US protest I’ve seen has involved blocking roads which inconveniences people who have nothing to do with the protest, and it can put an unrelated person’s life at risk if an emergency vehicle is blocked. This leads to people not supporting the protest even if they support the cause because they don’t want to associate with a group that’s seen as a public nuisance.

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Cadie says:

March 8, 2023 at 6:49 pm

I think the difference in 𝙝𝙤𝙬 Americans vs. the French protest is why the French do it more. If the French usually get what they want out of a protest, then I can see why they would keep doing it if they want changes. In the U.S., there is usually little to no change made after protests occur. I also think this is because in America, protests are usually smaller and less violent, unless it is a HUGE matter to the people.

LikeLike