Après L'Election, Le Déluge
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Featured Stories | Foreign Affairs — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Most people in France, I am sure, respect the election results and are willing to give the new Sarkozy government a chance. Unfortunately, the culture of riot and meaningless protest is not dead yet.
Read on . . .
Hundreds of students at Paris university went on strike on Wednesday to protest at the plans of president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy to reform France's higher education system.
Around 500 students voted to support the strike action and protesters immediately blocked access to the Tolbiac annexe of the Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne university.
"There were no courses and pickets have been set up after the vote," said a spokesperson for the student union.
Conservative leader Sarkozy was elected president on Sunday, promising economic and social reforms that have alarmed many trade unionists.
The higher education minister, Francois Goulard, called on the head of the Paris I site to make sure university courses continued and to guarantee access to the Tolbiac buildings.
"It is totally unacceptable that an extremist minority, showing their scorn for democracy, should try to oppose the enactment of the president of the republic's program," Goulard said in a statement.
Unacceptable, but sadly, altogether predictable. Sarkozy's impressive win notwithstanding, the majority in France who back his reforms ought to make sure that they speak up loudly and often in favor of their man and his program. Otherwise, a boisterous (I'm being kind here) minority will make sure that the Presidential program goes down in flames.
Oops. Shouldn't have mentioned "flames." Alas, there are much too many flames in Paris thanks to the sore loser riots that have engulfed the city in the wake of the election.
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Après L'Election, Le Déluge 4 Comments (0 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
should deal with the mob the same way another short immigrant French leader did. By giving them a "Whiff" of grapeshot.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
"During my lifetime, all our problems have come from mainland Europe, and all the solutions from the English-speaking nations across the world." - Thatcher
more and more like a third world country, shown by the less orderly transition of power, and the use of violence to achieve internal political goals. I'm afraid France might be lost if the protesters are successful because violence may become the preferred method that all groups will use to get what they want.
Psh...what a bunch of losers.