Early
Sunday afternoon I started out for the rassemblement,
the rally, in Bordeaux as part of mass demonstrations all over France for,
well, unless you've been in a coma for the past week you'll know why.
Unfortunately I never made it past the tram station. The Prime Minister here
(not Hollande, who is the President) had appealed to every citizen of France
(except Marine LePen) to join the rallys this weekend as a means of demonstrating
that France wasn't going to be cowed by terrorists. As a result, traffic into
the tram station park and ride was backed up halfway to the Medoc, mostly by
people who probably never go near public transportation and so couldn't figure
out how to work the gate into the parking lot. Many of these same folks were further stymied
by the operation of the tramway's ticket dispenser so it was slow going from
the beginning. The first tram that came by was already packed as
full as any Uptown Manhattan subway at rush hour. As an American and a visiter here I wanted to be with them but it was looking like I might have to find
another way to show my support. For the moment, this post is the best I can come
up with.
