French elections May Day Part 2

Well the May Day rally was huge.

Here in Paris there were 60 000 people who marched through the streets it was incredible, I had never seen such a large May Day rally. The rally stretched along a very long French Boulevard that went from Republique to Nation. There were not only unions represented but also politcal movements from around the world there as well. A lot of the rally sentiment was of course Anti-Sarko as it was the Thursday before the second round elections. I was overwhelmed by the number of people as well as bu the fact that we were going against the current s we were coming from Place de la Bastille ( after the Segolene Royal rally).

It was very colourful and unfortunately I didn't get a good enough shot of the sea of people ( short people.......) that surrounded us. It was a lot of fun and hard work as the day was very hot.

I have been really inspired to see that people are very politcal and socially aware here. When I was in the library I could here the librarians arguing the merits of Royal vs Sako, in the streets or in the cafes.

In spite of Sarko winning I think there might be un uphill battle for any major changes to come through. The new Prime Minister François Fillion put together a proposal that all young people could be paid less when offered work for an indefinite time period, the student movement protested until the then Prime Minister recanted because of ongoing student pressure

Back at the Sego rally I was very proud to see that the Chilean President was being showcased. could imagine. So excited that I had to take a picture too bad I got a bald head in the way it would have been a good shot.

The stage was ful of women, and only women were speaking to say why they supported Sego for president. Go girrrrls, boys were there but they were in the supporting role.

These are some friends, Cristina and Mariama ( some of you may know them from Australia they are now living in Paris) and Silvana and Viviana 2 chilean girls that we met here, they are studying in Paris.

Till next blog

Cazuela xxxxx

French Elections and May Day Part 1

Gee the French don’t do things by half. Well Nicolas Sarkozy has been duly elected and France enters into a new era of conservative politics. He has already set up the Ministry for National Identity and Intergration and he is on a tour of meeting and greeting at the moment.

Well the last days were frenetic. A group of us got together to watch the debate between Sarkozy and Royal which went for 3 hours. We attended a rally with Royal supporters who later that day participated in the May Day rally, very colourful, lots of noise. In fact throughout the campaign you would see supporters in street corners singing and calling their support.

On election day things were very tense you could feel it, as we biked our way down to the Place de la Bastille there were busloads of cops already getting ready for the problems (that did eventuate later that night), as well as the swarming international media it was incredible.

As we hanged out with our friends waiting anxiously for the results I looked at the window and I could see all televisions on through the living room windows with people also waiting. When we found out the results (47% Royal, 53% Sarkozy) it was very anti-climatic.

We all decided to head out to the local gay friendly bar near George Pompidou in Le Marais which is cartier with a strong Jewish and gay flavour to drown our sorrows.

As we rode along the road you suddenly looked around and see that the cops had shut down all the streets that lead to the Place de la Bastille, and you could see smoke (tear gas) in the background.

It was a very surreal night, as Sabrina and I rolled home to Republique you could hear the shouting from afar. As we got closer there were cops and people clashing throwing bottles and tear gas at each other.

Later that night our friends Cristina and Mariama decided to take a tour and they were tear gased. They saw some cops being overly aggressive with a young guy and they stood there to watch and put pressure on the cop to stop, the cop gave them 3 seconds to move and then pulled out the tear gas.

I expect that there will be lots of disquiet with Sarkozy, and I must say that unlike how the international media has potrayed it, it was not a whitewash for Sarkozy there are many against almost 50% so it will be an interesting year to say the least.


Cazuela

Canal Saint Martin

OK so here I am (or rather we) in Paris. So what the hell happens on a daily basis well the same as anywhere else really, but Paris in Spring is great.

I think the place is very bike friendly compared to Sydney, I am enjoying going to school and getting around in the open air. The metro can be a bit smelly (it is very old and I think centuries of smells have accumulated in the place) as well as being hot and stuffy. Cycling rules.

The Mairie (council) of Paris is introducing a system where there will be bike stations around Paris and you can pick up a bike at one station and trundle along and drop it off at another station and I think they are planning to do it for free………

We live just near Canal Saint Martin, it was built during the time of Napolean . It was built to join the Seine and some other river. Every lunchtime and after work people hang on the banks of the canal to have a beer or eat their dinner or lunch. Now with all the blossoms and lots of sun it is great just to be there.

The canal itself is quite long it starts at Bastille (where the Seine is) right up to outside of the periphique. Near us is the Bassin de Villete which is like a King St Wharf some cafes, cinema , restaurants and from there tourist boats leave and go down the canal.
There a series of bridges and when a boat comes along all traffic stops and the bridge opens up to let the boat through very cool.

Along the canal are a series of tents though less these days. There has been a strong camapaign that has been spearheaded by Les Enfants de Quixote about the rights of homeless people here. Homelessness here is very visible and the homeless got organised and were given tents and they have been camping along the canal. You can see them all up and down the canal. There has been some success and some people have been housed.

Lots of things happen along the Canal , Sundays they block the road and it is open to pedestrians, roller bladders and bikes. People hang by the Canal and try to get a tan, though swimming is not recommended, though I did see someone do some fishing the other day (mmmmm tasty).

It is nice to be near water OK so it is not the beach, but it is liquid and gives a sense of space which is all important in a town like Paris where people are all over each other (literally and metaphorically).

It has taken us a while to get used to everything here. But slowly it is coming together. The one thing that I love is the fact that there is sunshine till really late, it really is beautiful. The sunset seems to go forever…………………. lush

A bientôt … Cazuela

POLITICS FRENCH STYLE 2.1

So it is April/May and France is in the middle of presidential elections. Will it be the first female president, or some right wing philistine (you know what my sentiments are)?


The French express their feeling through street art or visible presence of ‘militants’ supporters of one candidate or another. At the moment it is all a bit tense, people are on tenterhooks, people know that whichever way they vote that France will change.

The De Gaulist era is over, Chirac is the last of the era. Sarkozy and Royal are the second generation that were formed in the 60’s & 70’s not during the 2nd World War.

Sarkozy reminds me of Howard , I call him the little Napolean he even has that look about him. His slogan is ‘ If you don’t love France you can leave’, or more like it I can’t wait to kick you out when I get into power.

Sarkozy has already shown his racist and anti-immigrant sentiments as Minister for the Interior. He had no qualms in having the National Police raid schools and drag away the children of the ‘Sans Papiers’ (illegal immigrants) and force them to go home so that he could round up the family and deport them. There have been many instances of when the National Police rock up to the school the other parents/teachers and principal get into a fight with them to protect the children. Many schools here have banners hanging out asking for justice for the ‘Sans Papiers’

Many of the Sans Papiers have been for a very long time and have formed their own families here. Sarkozy doesn’t care they can all leave as far as he is concerned.

Ségolène Royal is the Socialist Party candidate here, and there really is a socialist discourse. When you here them talk they talk about Neo-liberalism and social justice openly. I don’t think that a Labor Party leader has uttered those words since I am not sure when, Gough ?, Hawkey with tears of a clown, certainly not Mr Rudd, the self-made man.

When the ‘premier tour’ happened last week they all came out ; Communist Party, The Revolutionary Communist Party, The Greens, The Workers Party and of course the Socialist Party, UMP (right wing), FN (extreme right wing). We went to a friend’s home to watch the results. The Revolutionary Communist Party got 4% the highest of all the left (aside from the Socialist Party). Imagine that in Australia ????

Subversive art is such a good thing thank the goddess there are so many creative people out there. Throughout my stories I will try to share some of the amusing things that I find along the way.

Until my next blog…….. Cazuela

Cazuela In Paris

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my blogspot. This will be my way of communicating with the world. Enjoy

My first challenge so far have been to learn french it has so many articles and gendered nouns that even the French have to simplify it.

I have chosen cazuela as my nom de plume because as you may or may not know, the cazuela is a traditional chilean soup made with a mixutre of things. This is what I am a mixture, and whenever you add a new ingredient it adds a different flavour.

The spectrum of flavours is what you will experience here on my blogspot.


Love
Cazuela

Every challenge leads you down a new path