{"id":4221,"date":"2009-05-02T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2009-05-02T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/2009\/05\/02\/french-fun-with-protests\/"},"modified":"2013-01-21T14:19:25","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T19:19:25","slug":"french-fun-with-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2009\/05\/02\/french-fun-with-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"French fun with protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The French are renowned or notorious, depending on one’s point of view, for their public protests, getting huge numbers of people out on the street at regular intervals to\u00a0 force their government to back down on unpopular initiatives.<\/p>\n

With a new round of protests against university reforms, it seems the French are also showing themselves to be remarkably inventive at coming up with new ways to protest government policies in public spaces<\/a>. One group is staging a permanent, 24-hour group walk around the square in front of Paris’ city hall that has lasted two weeks so far, and similar protests are taking place in many other cities too.<\/p>\n

The Guardian<\/em> newspaper describes some of the other new forms of protest:<\/p>\n

Protesters have also staged 10-minute readings in landmark squares, such as Place St Michel in Paris but also in city centres such as Strasbourg’s Grand Place. Warned by SMS, students and professors gather at a precise time and location. All they need to do is bring a book and, at a signal, start reading aloud for 10 minutes. Suddenly, the place fills with words drowned in very loud humming. The effect is arresting, almost surreal. Ten minutes later, everybody falls silent and leaves.<\/p>\n

A marathon reading of a classic of French literature, La Princesse de Cle`ves<\/em>, a 17th-century novel which has become a symbol of resistance against [French Prime Minister] Nicolas Sarkozy’s crassness after he complained about having to read it for an exam that he failed, took place in Place du Panth\u00e9on in Paris.<\/p>\n

The list of pioneering protests is long: lectures by university professors have been given in public places such as L’Arc de Triomphe, in trams and in the metro. There have been public trials of government members and auctions of philosophical concepts. The web has played a key role in allowing associations of students to exchange ideas and information and attract the public.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a way, these protests build on the event-based non-political interventions of groups such as New York’s Improv Everywhere<\/a>, adding a political dimension to them.<\/p>\n

What’s particularly enjoyable is how the protests reflect the nature of the issue, university education. I like the idea of public lectures in streetcars and subways. I wonder if some of these events might not be interesting things to try or adapt even when there is not a reason to protest, just to publicly celebrate the idea of learning and reading.<\/p>\n

Photo from Universit\u00e9 de Paris 8 en greve<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The French are renowned or notorious, depending on one’s point of view, for their public protests, getting huge numbers of people out on the street at regular intervals to\u00a0 force their government to back down on unpopular initiatives. 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