I've been working at the University since september last year. The other morning, I was confronted by a huge pile of chairs in the reception area. At first I wondered if they were repainting classrooms, however the haphazard pile suggested something else. Was this, then, some form of modern art? As I passed classrooms I realised that all the furniture had been removed. A fellow teacher informed me that it was the 'Printemps des chaises'(The spring of chairs)! Now, I have been in France for 8 years and I am married to a French woman, but I have never heard of this particluar celebration. I asked my colleague to explain. The emptying of classrooms and piling up of chairs, is a student protest at proposed government reforms called the 'Printemps des chaises'.
The French government wants to reform the education system in France. I shan't go in to details here as I am sure to get things wrong. Suffice to say the teaching unions are opposed, and they are supported by the students. The removing of furniture is designed, therefore to disrupt teaching. Unfortunately, the furniture in the lecture theatres, where most French teaching takes place, is fixed in place. The protest is therefore symbolic.
The big test will come this Thursday the 19th March, when a general strike has been called. Once again, we will see whether there is massive support, or whether as the President has said nobody notices when there is a strike.
Monday 16 March 2009
Monday 9 March 2009
Skiing in Chamrousse
Okay enough about the crisis, already!
I went to Chamrousse (www.chamrousse.com) this weekend. It's almost three years since a friend of ours sold his house there, so we haven't been back since. What a surprise! The station has changed, alot. Lots of new developments and it is looking quite refreshed. True, there was a ton of snow, perhaps masking the usual graffiti and dog shit. However, it has become a real ski station.
We arrived Friday night in a snowstorm. This has been a great year for snow. I apologise to those friends who were transfered overseas last year. We had a hard time going up, even with the snow tires, luckily we didn't need the chains, that we had forgotten at home. We spent the night in a pleasent Gîte, the "Fanfoue" (www.corole.com). Nice rooms, a jacuzzi, and a hearty breakfast. We had dinner in the station, and discovered that the Chamrousse welcome remains as unpleasent as ever. First time we had seen 'vin chaude' made from carton wine heated by the steamer on a coffee machine! Rather expensive too!
The next day we headed for Lac Achard, a relatively easy walk. As I said there was a lot of snow, and few tracks, as it had snowed all night. There were a few people with us to begin with, but by the time we arrived at the lake, we were alone. We had a quick lunch in the sun and headed back down, as it was quite cold.
We met a lot of people coming up, in various states of exhaustion. The quantity of snow made the walk more challenging than some were clearly used to. Some foolhardy souls were doing the walk without snowshoes, sinking up to their knees every few metres.
When we got back to the station, I was amazed to see the number of people, cars , and particularly coaches from all over France. Chamrousse has clearly invested a lot and taken off as a station. They offer a range of activities from motor scooters to ice diving, that didn't exsist before. If the shops and restaurants can work on thier communication skills and welcome, they might become a great station.
I went to Chamrousse (www.chamrousse.com) this weekend. It's almost three years since a friend of ours sold his house there, so we haven't been back since. What a surprise! The station has changed, alot. Lots of new developments and it is looking quite refreshed. True, there was a ton of snow, perhaps masking the usual graffiti and dog shit. However, it has become a real ski station.
We arrived Friday night in a snowstorm. This has been a great year for snow. I apologise to those friends who were transfered overseas last year. We had a hard time going up, even with the snow tires, luckily we didn't need the chains, that we had forgotten at home. We spent the night in a pleasent Gîte, the "Fanfoue" (www.corole.com). Nice rooms, a jacuzzi, and a hearty breakfast. We had dinner in the station, and discovered that the Chamrousse welcome remains as unpleasent as ever. First time we had seen 'vin chaude' made from carton wine heated by the steamer on a coffee machine! Rather expensive too!
The next day we headed for Lac Achard, a relatively easy walk. As I said there was a lot of snow, and few tracks, as it had snowed all night. There were a few people with us to begin with, but by the time we arrived at the lake, we were alone. We had a quick lunch in the sun and headed back down, as it was quite cold.
We met a lot of people coming up, in various states of exhaustion. The quantity of snow made the walk more challenging than some were clearly used to. Some foolhardy souls were doing the walk without snowshoes, sinking up to their knees every few metres.
When we got back to the station, I was amazed to see the number of people, cars , and particularly coaches from all over France. Chamrousse has clearly invested a lot and taken off as a station. They offer a range of activities from motor scooters to ice diving, that didn't exsist before. If the shops and restaurants can work on thier communication skills and welcome, they might become a great station.
Monday 2 March 2009
Crisis, what crisis?
I am a bit perplexed today. Last night, I watched a scary documentary about a small company in France which makes parts for the major car manufacturers. It was scary because it showed the mountain of stock the company had, and the lack of orders coming in. This situation had forced the company to stop production for three weeks, during the first three months of the year. The employees were obviously worried about their salaries and their jobs. What perplexed me is that, during the protest marches they organised, I heard them shouting Sarkozy's name. Of course, it is natural to try and blame someone, but Sarkozy? Surely it is the names of the heads of the major car manufacturers or the banks who should be solicited.
In France, when a company has problems, and needs to slow down production, they are obliged to use up holidays and RTT days (the famous days used to recuperate for weeks over 35 hours) first. So in the immediate, employees salaries are not touched. Once these days have been used up, the employees enter what is called 'chomage technique'. This means they only receive a proportion of their salary, worrying of course. However, they are entitled to money from social security. Finaly, if they are made redundant, France has a range of measures to help the unemployed back to work, as well as paying them benefits. Sarkozy has not touched any of these. His, and his government's (he doesn't act alone) objectif is to create jobs in response to this crisis.
Surely this is common sense. There is something else that bothers me. It seems to me that the car industry has been in its death throws for some time. We are encouraged to buy new cars by the marketing men, and the car is a symbol of our wealth. However the price of fuel, and environmental concerns, announce the end of our car culture. The industry has been slow to adapt, for example producing electric cars. At the same time, industrial production is cheaper overseas, so we should have seen delocalisation coming. Especially since we all want to pay less for more.
Now, I'm no expert of production methods, but producing parts for theoretical orders, as the company in the programme did, seems rather dangerous to me. Perhaps I am missing something.
Unfortunately, this crisis represents a shake up of our economy and it is not for nothing that the old industries have been hardest hit. While the workers have my sympathy, I think that they should be preparing to retrain and take advantage of the opportunities the government in France offers them.
There is, however, another aspect to my confusion. On saturday, I went skiing with my family. The ski station was packed. It was a nice day and a large number of families were picnicing on the piste. I don't wish to deny people their pleasure, but if times are as hard as people say perhaps skiing, an expensive past time, is not the best way to save money. A recent trip to a local shopping centre led to a similar conclusion. People say they don't have money, but the spending hasn't slowed down.
I think there is a major economic change taking place, it won't be easy but the negative, critical attitude that pervades our society won't make things any easier. We are nowhere near as poor or vulnerable as our grand parents were in the 30's and we should be thankful for that. We need to stay positive and optimistic, this way the crisis and doomsayers won't bring us all down.
In France, when a company has problems, and needs to slow down production, they are obliged to use up holidays and RTT days (the famous days used to recuperate for weeks over 35 hours) first. So in the immediate, employees salaries are not touched. Once these days have been used up, the employees enter what is called 'chomage technique'. This means they only receive a proportion of their salary, worrying of course. However, they are entitled to money from social security. Finaly, if they are made redundant, France has a range of measures to help the unemployed back to work, as well as paying them benefits. Sarkozy has not touched any of these. His, and his government's (he doesn't act alone) objectif is to create jobs in response to this crisis.
Surely this is common sense. There is something else that bothers me. It seems to me that the car industry has been in its death throws for some time. We are encouraged to buy new cars by the marketing men, and the car is a symbol of our wealth. However the price of fuel, and environmental concerns, announce the end of our car culture. The industry has been slow to adapt, for example producing electric cars. At the same time, industrial production is cheaper overseas, so we should have seen delocalisation coming. Especially since we all want to pay less for more.
Now, I'm no expert of production methods, but producing parts for theoretical orders, as the company in the programme did, seems rather dangerous to me. Perhaps I am missing something.
Unfortunately, this crisis represents a shake up of our economy and it is not for nothing that the old industries have been hardest hit. While the workers have my sympathy, I think that they should be preparing to retrain and take advantage of the opportunities the government in France offers them.
There is, however, another aspect to my confusion. On saturday, I went skiing with my family. The ski station was packed. It was a nice day and a large number of families were picnicing on the piste. I don't wish to deny people their pleasure, but if times are as hard as people say perhaps skiing, an expensive past time, is not the best way to save money. A recent trip to a local shopping centre led to a similar conclusion. People say they don't have money, but the spending hasn't slowed down.
I think there is a major economic change taking place, it won't be easy but the negative, critical attitude that pervades our society won't make things any easier. We are nowhere near as poor or vulnerable as our grand parents were in the 30's and we should be thankful for that. We need to stay positive and optimistic, this way the crisis and doomsayers won't bring us all down.
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