Anyone living in France knows that one of the most inevitable parts of life here is the infamous grève: a strike. The French love to strike. Whenever. And wherever. Transport strikes, civil servant strikes, student strikes, even teacher strikes. Currently, most major museums in Paris are closed due to a museum worker strike, including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Versailles palace, and the Centre Pompidou- pretty much all the major museums you’d visit on a trip to Paris.
Ever since I started teaching, I’ve been receiving mass notices in my mailbox at school about an education reform the Minister of Education and President are trying to pass. As it were, teachers across the country are not happy about this. In a situation like this, first come the “manifestations”, or gatherings to discuss and show early dissent for whatever is going on. That happened both last month and yesterday. Then come the mass-mailings to the responsible party expressing dislike for a certain idea and threatening to oppose it. That happened today. The final step is the grève, which was hinted at in the latest notice I read this afternoon. In the form letter addressed to the Minister that the teachers’ union urged all of us to send, they said:
“We ask you to immediately renounce this reform, and we declare that we are prepared to take any action necessary to stop it, including a strike lasting until its withdrawal.
Hmm, a strike lasting until the federal government gives in? Could be fun… I’ll be tracking this one closely.
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