In France when a group of people is disgruntled, goes on strike or protests publicly, it is always described as en colère. In a Paris restaurant I often go to, there used to be a dish called Merlans frits en colère (whiting, fried angrily). Here is who's en colère today.
The routiers (truck drivers).
They are angry because French social taxes and regulations, as well as the high price of fuel, cause them to be much less competitive than trucking companies from other European countries, like Belgium.
One thousand trucks from all over France will converge on Paris on Wednesday, 24 November (good day to be out of town). "We don't know yet what the consequences of our action will be," said the delegate of the truckers organization. "We do not approve of these methods," said the Transport Ministry.
All the same, it is 100% sure the government will keel over and do whatever the truckers want.
The Cauliflower Growers
Recently a cauliflower grower in Brittany was so upset about the Eastern European competition that he kidnapped two gendarmes. Of course he went to jail, but the cauliflower growers, en colère, demonstrated in his support. "The assembly dispersed peacefully," though.
The Winemakers
"Ladies and gentlemen, you have before you a criminal, a man with blood on his hands," said Bertrand Devillard, a leading representative of the winemakers, yesterday at the famous wine sale of the Hospices de Beaune. The winemakers are angry about the government's new anti-alcoholism campaign, which includes a poster showing wine as dripping blood.
A Supporter of Laurent Gbagbo
Today I met a man who is a member of the Bete tribe of the Ivory Coast. He is furious at the French and thinks President Laurent Gbagbo is just trying to wrest control of the country's riches away from the colonial power (France) so that the Ivoiriens benefit from their own oil. "The media here tells nothing but lies about what is going on there."
He also said that the late President Sékou Touré of Guinea was just defending himself from assassins when he threw people into prison and executed them. "These assassins were sent by France. But they never say this. They just say he was throwing people into prison for no reason."
He also said he can tell someone from the Ivory Coast just by looking. Senegalese are much darker, taller, and even the palms of their hands are dark.
Comments