Thank you for such a thoughtful comment. You’re right that France’s earliest strikers were fighting for basic survival, and many of those rights are taken for granted today. What’s interesting to me is that even in the 1830s, the canuts were accused of endangering Lyon’s prosperity by pressing their demands, and that tension between what is seen as “essential” versus what is seen as “privilege” has been part of the story of strikes from the start. My goal here wasn’t to weigh in on today’s disputes but to show how deeply rooted the practice of striking is in French political culture. Whether over survival or over standards of living, strikes today are still a major avenue through which France negotiates its future... for better or for worse.
I like that the French go on strike twice a year like clockwork. I like that every French person has a passionately-held political opinion. I like that French farmers use muck-spreaders to redecorate their local Mairies!
I have even heard a group of a dozen teenagers discussing politics for a couple of hours in a terrace bar in Nice, those old enough making a small beer last the evening, the under age ones sipping colas. Never happen in Britain!
But right now I think France, and French voters, need to respond to the wider threat of war. I'm not actually sure if the majority of them are able to lift their eyes from the small political squabbles.
Thank you for such a thoughtful comment. You’re right that France’s earliest strikers were fighting for basic survival, and many of those rights are taken for granted today. What’s interesting to me is that even in the 1830s, the canuts were accused of endangering Lyon’s prosperity by pressing their demands, and that tension between what is seen as “essential” versus what is seen as “privilege” has been part of the story of strikes from the start. My goal here wasn’t to weigh in on today’s disputes but to show how deeply rooted the practice of striking is in French political culture. Whether over survival or over standards of living, strikes today are still a major avenue through which France negotiates its future... for better or for worse.
I like that the French go on strike twice a year like clockwork. I like that every French person has a passionately-held political opinion. I like that French farmers use muck-spreaders to redecorate their local Mairies!
I have even heard a group of a dozen teenagers discussing politics for a couple of hours in a terrace bar in Nice, those old enough making a small beer last the evening, the under age ones sipping colas. Never happen in Britain!
But right now I think France, and French voters, need to respond to the wider threat of war. I'm not actually sure if the majority of them are able to lift their eyes from the small political squabbles.
We shall see.