“What do you think about Trump?”
This question has emerged from the lips of most of the French people I have spoken to, usually within the five minutes of the conversation beginning. I have also received strangely specific questions about the workings of the electoral college and the popular vote. Although it is cathartic for me to explain my passion for politics to other people, I can imagine how off-putting it may be for Americans who do not appreciate upfront demands about one’s personal political opinion by strangers.
However, these questions are more than just social conventions rooted in curiosity; instead, they reveal the French affinity for participation in political debate and public demonstrations. For instance, during the first class of my language and culture course, my professor displayed a graph that demonstrated where European workers go on strike the most often. According to the graph, France lost 171 working days per 1,000 employees due to industrial action from 2009 to 2013, coming in second place after Cyprus. I cannot imagine a similar statistic occurring in the United States, where unions are weak and strikes are rare.
In fact, I learned of a recent example of the French passion for demonstrations shortly after that class when I talked to some French students about protests that rocked the country a few months ago. At the end of the spring semester, students occupied universities throughout France in opposition to plans that would have made university admission criteria more competitive. In a country where most universities are public and extremely affordable, President Macron’s plans were seen by many as an affront to the principle of accessible education for all. Riot police were called on some schools’ campuses and others had to postpone final exams because the students refused to end the sit-ins and blockades.
Moreover, in a conversation with my host family a few days after, they told me about months-long strikes launched by French rail and air workers over low wages that are still making travel difficult. They advised me to avoid Ryanair, a popular budget airline, because it is currently being hit by waves of strikes that have made flights unreliable in some cities. This was particularly shocking to me because I have not heard of unions in the United States with the power to lead such prolonged demonstrations in industries that are so widely used by the public.
Even though I have only been here for two weeks, the disparities between the willingness of French and American people to actively participate in the political arena are evident. It seems to me that there is an expectation of French citizens to undertake frequent action to ensure that politicians meet their demands. On the other hand, many Americans I have talked to seem unenthused about political participation, especially in local and congressional elections.
I believe there is an underlying assumption in the United States that politicians on both sides of the spectrum are so entrenched in bureaucracy that they are unable to relate to the realities of their constituents. While huge demonstrations like the Women’s March, Black Lives Matter marches, the March for Our Lives, and many others draw substantial crowds, it is challenging to stoke the flames of political passion when the public feels consistently ignored by policymakers. This sentiment has begun to plague me as well, and I hope to reinvigorate my passion for activism while witnessing l'esprit révolutionnaire that molds the contemporary French experience.
Laura Serban (C'20) was an undergraduate student majoring in government and minoring in French. For the fall 2018 semester, she studied in Strasbourg, France, at Sciences Po's Institute of Political Studies and shared her experiences with others through the Junior Year Abroad Network.
