Paris in May

There are two things to remember about May - it is the ideal time for strikes and vacation.
On May 1st, (Worker’s Day), bouquets of lily of the valley are given to friends to bring them luck. With a little luck, most Parisians hope to get out of town.
This May, I’m not in Paris, but Rochester, New York and yesterday, Rochester earned its status as Paris’s ’sister city’ (in my humble opinion) at least regarding demonstrations.

There were at least two demonstrations in town on Tuesday, May 24th. The first demonstration held at a local union headquarters was to protest outsourcing of local jobs overseas. The outcry went like this: “Local jobs for local people.” (This is the type of protest that would be very likely to gain a sympathetic ear in France.) Because of the rain, there were not too many people, probably under fifty people in total. But the loud music made up for the lack of numbers.
The second protest in downtown Rochester drew a larger crowd of approximately 750 people according to the local newspaper. These protesters were voicing their disagreement with President Bush’s plans for revamping Social Security to coincide with the President’s visit to Greece (the town, not the country) which is located in the western Rochester Metropolitan area. During his visit, a nun was arrested for’disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration (she laid down in the road at the entrance to the Greece high school). She was released the same day.
Usually in Paris (which obviously has a much larger population than Rochester’s 230,000) a protest march attracts a much for substantial crowd. However, two protests in one day must be a world record for Rochester. Will it succeed in being ranked as a sister city to Paris, or will it rest happy with its status as sister city to Rennes in Brittany? Does Paris need a little sister?

By Parisgirl | Permalink

Related Posts

• Sister Cities: Rochester Riots vs. Paris Suburban Riots
• In St. Germain-des-Pres
• RTW Starting in Paris
• Rembrandt and the New Christians
• Fitness Motivation from Rochester

Subscribe Paris RSS Feed

Print

Share