And the Strike goes on…and on…and on

SURVIVING THE PARIS STRIKE…OR NOT

At the risk of being boring, or looking like I’m whining (which I probably am!), I feel I have to make at least one more posting on the transport strike, as it is so severely impacting our life here in Paris. On the one hand, it has been quite informative to live here during such a disruptive time and to see some of what goes on. But, mainly it is so negative that it can’t help coloring how we are feeling about the country right now.

Different parts of the city are affected in different ways, depending on what train/bus lines they are close to. We live in the outer SW suburbs, served by line RER B—the only line here—and the RER B ‘syndicat’ (union) is one of the most militant. So, for 9 straight days now, we’ve had no trains at all. Our station is locked, there are no lights, no personnel, no trains. NOTHING.

Some say that the strike is losing momentum, that 40% of buses are running today, that 2 of 4 metro trains are running, that RER C has 2 trains an hour. One web site even says that RER B has 2 trains running. Well, that’s a complete fabrication, at least out here. All lies.

Unfortunately, we are not close to any other train line, or any of the major buses or trams, so we are stranded, except for being able to walk to our little local supermarket (thank goodness THEY’RE not on strike too). It costs around 40 euro to get a taxi to the nearest car hire place, so that’s only an option in am emergency. Yes, we can walk around the neighborhood. Yes, we do have a ‘boulangerie’ up the road. But, still we feel like we are being kept hostage here in our neighborhood. Rod hasn’t been able to get to the lab—way too far to ride his bike—but tomorrow a co-worker will come and pick him up.

Some of the strikers have also become saboteurs, and there has been some dangerous damage on some TGV lines. Here in the city, there are reports of the militant strikers making fires on the tracks to stop other train drivers from driving the trains. It seems that People Power, or rather the Mob Mentality, is still alive and well here in France. The country has a history of rule from the streets, with the storming of the Bastille as a supreme example. Many strikes, protests, riots, and demonstrations over the years have dictated to the government, and one wonders if the same will happen again here.