The airport of Lyons is closed. Planes are taking off from Paris CDG three hours late. Lines at the security checkpoints are madhouses.
It must be Christmas in France!
This year and last year, it was the agents de sécurité, subcontractors hired by Brink's, complaining that salaries are higher in Marseilles than in Paris. Another year, it might be Air France, or as threatened this year, the cheminots of the SNCF or French national trains, who have issued as many as 400 strike threats a year, almost always during holidays and school vacations.
But their technique is always the same. Make the crowds of travelers suffer to put pressure on their bosses to give in.
The French are extraordinarily tolerant of this misery. Maybe they're just used to it, or can put off their travel more easily. Not so the foreigners taken hostage by this craziness that they have nothing to do with.
In the early 1990s, I knew a foreigner in Paris who loved France so much that he got his company's board to consider moving their headquarters there. The day the men arrived, there was a huge transport strike and the roads to Paris CDG were blocked by demonstrators. The board members had to drag their suitcases all the way to the autoroute to get a taxi. Needless to say, the headquarters went elsewhere.
Yesterday I spent five hours at CDG in lines and waiting on the plane for the missing passengers still in line. The lines were very well managed and the crowds for the most part civilized although you can always count on a few obnoxious people pushing their way to the front, harangued by the Americans and Brits. Passengers were called forward in the order their flights left, but there was still an advantage to getting to the airport very, very early.
Once I was on the Air France plane, it was a haven of calm. The flight attendants were kind and attentive, the food was good, the entertainment system excellent. On Air France, your first glass of champagne is free and they still hand out pillows, blankets, eye masks and earplugs even in economy. I fell asleep in my comfortable seat with its supportive headrests and slept all the way to the U.S. It was a good example of the two sides of French life.
Great post, all very true. What always baffles me (and you mentioned it) is how tolerant the French are of strikes... I could not get my mind around that even when I lived in Paris -- and I am French! ;-) My mother in law is on her way to Seattle as I type this. Like you, she is traveling on Air France. I hope her experience is a good as yours! Joyeux Noel! Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
Posted by: Veronique Savoye | 19 December 2011 at 17:17
How do you sleep all the way to the US? Are you three feet tall? I was disappointed by the food on Air France last November because I love bread and their bread is definitely different in a bad way. I would still never fly on any other airline because the class of Air France is still above and beyond any other company I've flown with. And when you are on a plane for ten hours, that extra money is worth each and every penny.
I respect the strikes in France because they give the power back to the "little" people and we don't have that power in the US. To me, it's just part of travel, like the weather. Not enjoyable, but part of the adventure. When I first moved to Paris the strikes were a lot of fun. Street food, free souvenirs (the stickers the unions hand out) and drinks from the back of moving trucks. And a great walk in the middle of the street, which gives you a view you normally couldn't get.
reviens bientôt!
Posted by: Emily | 19 December 2011 at 18:19
Hi Emily,
It's true I slept better than usual because by chance I got a bulkhead seat with more room in front for my legs. Also I always order a special meal so it tends to be better than the usual fare (flight attendants have told me it's what they do) and you also get served first and can then go to sleep!
As for thinking the constant anti-passenger strikes are fun, we'll have to agree to disagree.
Posted by: Sedulia | 19 December 2011 at 22:06
Salut Véronique, Joyeux Noël to you too!
Posted by: Sedulia | 19 December 2011 at 22:08