Life in France Demonstrations, Strikes, and Bossnappings

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz:

It’s springtime in France, and it’s also strike time. I’m just setting off on a trip across the country by train and I’ve had to adjust my travel dates because of the rail strikes – at least they put out a schedule.

This spring/summer the transportation workers are planning to strike two days out of every five from April through June with threats to go through August, if necessary.

When the French are unhappy about something, they don’t keep quiet – they draw attention to their cause. And there are three main ways they do this: Demonstrations, Strikes, and (if things get really desperate) Bossnappings…

…Continue reading here about the reality of French unions and working culture when it comes to dialogue with management = strike first negotiate later. If you live in France you learn to understand quickly that être en grève (to be on strike), manifestations (demonstrations) and bossnappings are just the way it is.

Via:: The Curious Rambler

Margo Lestz

Margo is a British/American who has lived in Nice, France for the past nine years. She loves digging into the history of an area and discovering the tales behind local customs and traditions. She blogs about her discoveries on The Curious Rambler . She is also the author of two books, French Holidays & Traditions, and Curious Histories of Nice, France. Click here for Margo's books.

She describes herself as a perpetual student and is always taking some kind of course or researching a moment in history that has caught her fancy. She’s curious by nature and always wondering who, what, why, when, where, and how.

Margo shares her adventures (and her questions) with Jeff, her husband of many years. She enjoys travel, history, observing cultures and traditions – and then writing about them, of course.