Eric Cantona the 'enfant terrible' of French football and sometime movie star has given an interview which has caused quite a stir. He suggested that rather than protesting the pension reforms on the streets the French would be better off removing their money from the banks, thereby causing a run on the banks that would bring the whole system down. His comments have led to the creation of a campaign urging people to remove their money from the banks on the 7th of December. He has also been criticised as irresponsible by various commentators.
However I think that most people are missing the point. It is not realistic to expect people to really remove their money from the banks. In the first place banks won't give us our money just like that. Then there is the fact that most of us owe the banks more than we owe them, through our mortgages and other credit. Personally, I think Catona was making a comment on the inutility of protests against a system into which we are all tied. While it sticks in the craw that our governments bailed out these banks to the tune of billions and are now cutting back on services, it cannot be denied that if these banks fall so does our society. A bank collapse would lead to events unseen since the 1930's and which only saw a recovery after a global conflict which killed millions. What Cantona was saying is that if people are serious about change then we must be prepared to accept the consequences. A run on the bank is perhaps the only way to really change the system but do any of those protesting in the streets really understand the consequences of such a run. It's much easier to shout and smash up a few McDonalds or Starbucks than really attack the system and see our lifestyles radically transformed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzJplZccaWQ
