Springtime in the police state

Spring has sprung! Warm weather, blue skies and sunshine have hit Paris. The trees are leafing out, sidewalk cafes are bustling..... and Paris is locked in demonstrations and riots over the CPE law. Students are going bonkers over a law intended to encourage employers to hire young workers because the law also makes it easy to fire the workers.

We spent the weekend walking the streets, enjoying the sunshine. We ended up closer to the Sorbonne than I had thought we were, and saw the street that's barricaded off by police, and kept noticing the large number of policemen on the streets. Police headquarters across from Notre Dame looked ready to launch large riot patrol with vans lining the streets. Tuesday is another mass transit strike.

This afternoon we discovered that the opera singer has returned to Place des Vosges. The square was packed with people, but no one was on the grass yet, since it's off limits until April 15. On the way back from Place des Vosges, we ran into a counter demonstration, people who are demonstrating against the people demonstrating. They feel the demonstrations have gone too far, and want the schools opened back up. I ran out and grabbed one of their stickers "Stop la Greve" (Stop the Strike). There were hundreds and hundreds of people, we didn't hang around to see just how many. Suzy is pretty whimpy, since she keeps getting emails from the US Embassy warning us about the demonstrations, and telling us to stay away from large groups of people.

We're estatic about the spring weather. I think living most of my life in Texas, I didn't gain a proper appreciation of just how wonderful it can be when the cold grey clouds finally break up, and you finally need a pair of sunglasses.