Strikes in Paris!
21 Février 2023
Strikes in Paris and throughout France have been impacting my studies and travel since I arrive here. In the past few weeks, large, organized, national strikes have been happening at LEAST once a week and are projected to continue.
Why is Paris striking…?
France's current president, Emmanuel Macron has decided to raise the pension age in France from 62 to 64. One major reason why people are frustrated with this change is people President Emmanuel Macron decided to use his constitutional powers and push this divisive doctrine through without a vote from parliament. This pension reform has triggered a massive upheave as organized strikes are continuing to happen across the country. Some implications of the strikes are limited travel within France (metros, trams, and RERʻs have restricted schedules and many people are protesting in front of airports like Charles de Gaulle), trash all over the streets of Paris since rubbish collectors are participating in these protests, some museums have been shut down on strike days as the worker's protest, etc.
The hot spots of these strikes usually have massive amounts of police detail that are well-weaponed and prepared for any disorderly behavior. Something interesting to note is that news and media coverage is less censored than in the USA or even in Hawaiʻi. While searching for updates and video coverage on the protests, I was able to see many current accounts of what is happening. Some of the biggest demonstrations I have seen thus far include large marches and rallies, barricades set on fire, exterior glass windows shattered, spray-painted graffiti, long stretches of trash piled high on the streets, etc.
As a student from Hawaiʻi, I have never experienced coordinated and organized strikes that have had an impact this large. I have also never experienced seeing firearms of this degree being casually carried by law enforcement. At home, the political protests at home are usually smaller and not as structured as these national strikes. It is now a common trend for me to have Zoom meetings on strike days since I have limited mobility. My IESEG instructors and school administrators have made online classes accessible to those who are unable to attend. It is difficult to enjoy Paris on certain days of the week due to these public demonstrations. My host family and school instructors have warned against going to these strikes in person, as a safety precaution, so I have only experienced them through videos and updates on social media.
In addition to having insufficient public transportation on these strike days, I actually found that I prefer to stay home for classes. Due to the stress that many students have dealing with the strikes and all of their implications, the professors that I have are usually way more lenient about our online classes. We are given more flexibility and freedom in regard to our education and learning the class content. In fact, in one of my classes, we discussed communication styles in-person, online, and hybrid, and were able to apply our learnings to our online classroom environments. Although I nor any other peer of mine actively favor these strikes, we have all learned to adapt to online learning much like during quarantine. It is important to make the best out of these situations and learn to adjust.
