We
all know that the French like to protest. Within my first six weeks in France I
had come across at least five such protestations: a noisy and heated one
against job cuts within the ‘Credit Immobilier de France’, a silent, motionless
but very powerful stand against the methods involved in making fois gras, a
large, compelling and booming manifestation by the “ultras” football fans, a
peaceful protest by tram workers to highlight their poor working conditions,
and one by local business leaders against tax rises. I think it is fair to say
that the French are generally more engaged in their society than the English.
From where I stand, it seems they have more opinions, are more aware of
politics and its meanings, and generally have a stronger desire to have a real
say in their future. In France protesting is a perfectly normal activity: it’s
odd if a municipality goes a week without some form of noisy show of unity
against a potentially threatening law. In the UK protests are rare, extreme, a
last resort. If you go out marching and shouting in the street you could well
be considered a bit of a hippy, a radical, a weirdo. Whilst protests in the UK
do happen, and perhaps increasingly so in the current climate, it is often just
small pockets of society, sporadic and irregular displays of discontent that
rarely seem to cause the politicians to stop and listen. Yesterday there was a
student protest in London against rising tuition fees and lack of employment
for young people - something I imagine most young people feel quite strongly
about. How many students turned up? An estimated 3-4000. That’s not even 1% of
the UK’s Higher Education population. Needless to say, that number of people is
not going to have a significant impact.
Before
I go any further I think it is important to address whether protesting can
actually work. Does protesting in France achieve anything? I hear you
wondering. Well, apparently it does. The mere fact that protests continue to
happen on a very frequent basis suggests that they do work. I have also been
reliably informed that local and national French authorities do often make compromises when
a community comes together and makes its voice heard. Protests are often backed
up by meetings, petitions and real people pressure. People organise themselves
and they make an impact. When I taught as an English assistant in a French
middle school two years ago, I experienced this in action. The Government was
threatening to make cuts that would have a seriously detrimental impact on pupils
and teachers in this ‘priority zone’ school. So the teachers organised a
meeting, they held a strike, and they forced the authorities to listen to them
and to meet them halfway.
Now,
before you think I am all for all types of protesting, I am not. I think
strikes that cause innocent people huge problems, the cancellation of holidays,
or the inability to get home in time for Christmas are far from ideal or fair.
I also, like many, think violence and extremism are never the answer. I do,
however, think that engaging in society and being prepared to publicly stand up
for your rights is a positive and important aspect of democracy, one which does
not manifest itself enough in Britain. When it comes down to it, too many
people are apathetic in Britain.
So, if
protesting works in France, why doesn’t it work in Britain? Or why do citizens
so infrequently participate? Why are we so apathetic compared to our French
neighbours? First we must remember that the French have a history of rising up,
coming together and fighting for better: the 1789 Revolution, the Second World
War, May 1968. We of course are yet to have our national social revolution
(there’s time yet…). The French Revolution was when rights replaced privileges
and when participatory politics was installed in the French mentality. History
therefore plays a strong part. I think, however, that this difference goes
deeper still, especially when considering modern day France. According to my
outspoken (and lovely) landlady, the French have been spoilt by their
comprehensive social system, and so they always expect too much. Perhaps... but
surely a country that looks after all its citizens as well as France does
should be commended for that, and long live the protesters who wish to maintain
that system. Could the modern day protesting French nature have something to do
with their ‘social’ political system? The system which aims to take care of
everybody, and therefore engages everybody more? The system which rejects
obscene levels of wealth next to unacceptable poverty? Let’s remember the
slogan that was born out of the French Revolution of 1789, and that is now
written on the exterior walls of every school, town hall and community centre
in France: “liberté, égalité, fraternité”. This social system can be put in
opposition to the British ‘liberal’ system, which (in a somewhat exaggerated
form) lets market forces determine the economy and lets individuals compete for
a better share in the country’s wealth. The free market, not quality of life
and equality for all, is the driving force behind Britain today. I would argue
that people have become apathetic largely because the free market has left them
without sufficient control over their destiny. People feel that they are
helpless in the face of the inevitability of the dominance of big businesses
such as Tesco. I would also argue that people have been numbed by the banality
and greed of commercialisation and material wealth. Among many people in the
UK, and many young people in particular, it feels like the desire for material
goods has stamped out any awareness or consideration for the good of the
community, for the good of those less well off, for a say in the way things are
done in society. There is a sense of individualism, selfishness and most worrying
of all, of disengagement with society. This week David Cameron said: “the
pursuit of economic growth should have precedence over all other
considerations.” He also recently made it clear to all French millionaires that
they are welcome in England, where they won’t be taxed as much as they are in
the all-too reasonable French system. He has basically sent out the message
that making money is the most important thing in life, that people should be
allowed to make as much money as possible, and that this is harmfuless
activity. He is saying that material wealth is more important than everything
else, be it quality of life, care for the environment, human rights, happiness,
equality... I find this so difficult to accept not simply because his system
allows the perpetuation of the growing gap between the rich and the poor, but
because it has been proven time and time over that being rich does not make you
any happier. Letting people get unnecessarily and harmfully wealthy is
therefore pointless. As my wise French friend says, and as I imagine most
people might agree: “The world is not a market, but a place to have a quality
of life”.
Sadly
enough, it would seem that as capitalism and materialism tightens its grasp on
France, young people, as in the UK, risk becoming increasingly disengaged with
politics and unlikely to vote. Stéphane Hessel, (a 96 year old French diplomat,
writer, concentration camp survivor, former Resistance fighter and contributor
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948) published a very short book in 2010 called
“Indignez-vous!” or “Time for outrage!” as it was translated into English, with
a view to reversing this dangerous trend. The basis of the book is an appeal to
young people to wake up and get angry at the injustices in society. He covers a
brief history of French uprisings and boldly warns the French youth against
becoming apathetic. “Carry on the relay!” he says. “Society must not be
brainwashed or disengage itself in the face of the current financial markets’
international dictatorship, which is threatening peace and democracy”. My
favourite quote is: “L’indifférence : la pire des attitudes”. Indifference: the worst kind of attitude. With the
dangerous unravelling of free market realities, I am inclined to agree with
him.
The
basis of the French state’s expenditure is health, education and child care.
Its motto is liberty, equality, brotherhood. When decision-makers threaten to
compromise these promises, the French have had a tendency to rise up and stop
them from doing so. Tant mieux I say. And long may it continue.
Grumpy Young Lady
