What's Happening in Lyon...

You know when your son sends you a link to a picture regarding ‘events’ in the city you are living in that it's time to mention them in the blog.



Mark sent us a link to this picture.

Yes, there are strikes going on in France. Yes, there is some ‘excitement’ in Lyon.

Why the strikes? The government has voted to change the retirement age (for full bennies) from 60 to 62. There are lots of other related issues involved, but that's the biggie. Essentially, the French government is facing the same dilemma the US government is facing – how to pay retirement benefits for a growing, aging population. (As you no doubt remember, the age for full Social Security benefits in the US went up years ago, and we still are facing financial challenges in this area.) So far the strikes have involved a variety of workers (periodic transit strikes, for instance), and the one that’s getting people’s attention is striking oil refinery workers. The French are just as dependent on their gasoline (“essence”) as we are!


So what about the ‘disturbances’? Seems to be largely students and is somewhat reminiscent of our days at UC Berkeley in the 60s. They started by burning “poubelles” (doesn’t that sound much better than “trash cans”?) and have escalated to overturning some cars and burning a few. (insert picture) There has also been some vandalism, unfortunately. According to one poll quoted in Le Progress, the local paper in Lyon, 2/3 of French citizens support the protests. Everyone seems to understand that something must be done about the social security system; it’s the “what” that’s the problem.

One thing that is very impressive is the CRS (Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité). This body was established on December 8, 1944, by the French Provisional Government essentially to keep order. They report directly to the Minister of the Interior (which is what Sarkozy was before he was elected President). They arrived in Lyon in large numbers, well equipped, well trained, and seem to be very disciplined. They are a formidable force - their presence has acted as a great deterrent to further vandalism.

There was some talk about potential attacks on the Part Dieu Shopping Center near us (one of the largest in France). However, there’s been no problem. This photo taken from a helicopter will give you an idea why. See all those vans and trucks? They are CRS vehicles.

Picture of street outside Part Dieu Shopping Center taken from a helicopter.

Recently we walked past the Hotel de Ville (City Hall), which has been a logical and popular target for demonstrations, and saw no demonstrators – just lots and lots of CRS personnel and vehicles. Today we were at Place Bellecour in the heart of Lyon, where much of the vandalism occurred, and all was calm.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this all shakes out. And, kind of reassuring to realize this is a world-wide problem. Misery loves company??