Only yesterday I read about Paris transport being set to return to normal after a 45-day strike. 45 days. It's a long time. For part of this time, we were in France too, and there, we learned about why these strikes are important to so many people. Despite my faltering, rusty French, we spoke about the gilets jaunes, about the importance of protests and the effect of the proposed pension reforms on teachers, rail workers and others.For many, Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020 were perhaps the worst times to visit France. The country witnessed the longest strike in decades and of course travel plans went awry. A co-passenger on my flight to Paris told me of a friend who visited France for just a day and could not even see the Eiffel Tower because of the strikes.As for me, I realised once more how lucky I am. What began with an exchange programme between Fergusson College and a … [Read more...]