The
Gilets Jaunes
There's
been quite a bit in the English as well as the French press about the
«gilets jaunes» protesters in France and the disruption they are
causing. Let it be said right at the beginning that there is nothing
the French love as much as a protest; they have more practice at it
than most and generally do it better. In this case the protest is
supposedly all about the tax on car fuel but it goes rather deeper
than that. There is widespread underlying unrest at what are
perceived to be fat cat public servants too and the wealth gap that
is growing in France as it is in England.
The
initial protests were mild and benign ; stopping motorists so
the protesters could make their case, disrupting but not totally
stopping traffic flows and also, on occcasion, line dancing across
roads: a marked protest but non-violent. In Mollan they had a
barecue at a road junction. The big mistake the French authorities
have made, in my view, is to engage the CRS (a big French mistake in
itself in my view) to disperse the protesters. I can only describe
the widely hated CRS ae a kind of rent-a-thug organisation that has
official backing. It is a volunteer force, quite heavily armed,
whose rôle is to curb and prevent civil unrest. What type of person
do you think is going to volunteer for that? Intervention by the
CRS virtually ensures violence. I asked friend Daniel about why
France had the CRS and he could only answer that the French
authorities were always sensitive to civil unrest in a negative way,
perhaps with the historical example of the Commune in mind.
There
is another historical precedent. During the wars of religion in
France in mediaeval times the king François premier licensed bands
of thugs to beat up protestants and take their possessions. But,
being thugs, these bands didn't generally ask too many questions
about religion but took what they wanted anyway. It helps explain
the nmber of villages in my region plastered on hillsides or in other
difficulty accessible places. But France is supposed to be civilised
now. Whatever. Macron has given a few inches, a 6-month moratorium
on rises in fuel tax, but also faces the problem of somehow reducing
the over-generous terms of employment of public servants.
We've
discussed the «gilets jaunes» in our English conversation classes
and also the translation in the English press. Yellow vests? That's
a hopeless translation. Literally a «gilet» is a waistcoat, wnich
would not be a good translation but neither is replacing it with an
undergarment. Maybe some confused journalist thought that the
«gilet» is really a jacket and jacket in French is «veste» and
somehow mixed them up. For the benefit of any journalist (????)
reading this, in English we call them high-visibility jackets.
Birds
Disappearing
I've
been puzzled by the lack of birds feeding on my balcony. The feeders
are full of grain, sunflower seeds and fat balls and have been since
the latter part of the summer but I haven't yet had to refill them
once, as against once a week formerly. Now only one or two great
tits come regularly. The probable reason has only just occurred to
me. Last summer some heavy (and very noisy) machinery was used to
flatten the bed of the river opposite my house and clear it of
shrubbery. This was no doubt in anticipation of a probable wet
autumn and as a flood prevention measure. However, the birds that
come to the feeders on my balcony come primarily from across the
river. They alight in the lime trees opposite, then fly onto the
grape vine over my balcony and then onto the feeders. It's a bit
like watching planes in a stack coming into Heathrow. The heavy
machinery obviously will have disrupted the birds' environment but I
fear it may also have destroyed many nests. I wonder how long it
will take for the birds to recover confidence and return.
Christmas
Lights
The
coloured Christmas lights are up in all the villages around. In
Mollans, I am pleased to report, the village council has eschewed the
normal Christmas colour of red and instead our lights are all blue
and white. As a Chelsea supporter, albeit one in the glooms at the
moment, I find that most tasteful.
