Riot (noun) - A violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd
What can I say other than it has been quite a hectic few weeks for all my college fam out there. With research papers and finals fast approaching, the past few weeks have been tiring to say the least. Well here I am, back at it again with the blog posts and this time I thought I would talk about something that has been going around the news lately in my neck of the woods.
As a resident of Paris, it is hard to shy away from the ongoing riots that have been happening for the past two weeks here. These are not protests or peace like Women's March or March for Our Lives, but rather violent uprisings, starting on Saturday mornings and lasting well into the early dawn of Sunday. People dressed in yellow worker jackets have been setting cars ablaze, and destroying businesses within the famous Champs Elysees.
There is honestly a lot that has led up to these violent protests, but the main thing the French people are protesting is the newly added tax on gasoline. Gas prices here have soared to nearly $6 (USD) per gallon, and people are not happy about this increased tax. This added on gas tax, adds on to a laundry list of taxes that Macron has imposed upon the French people, including massive tax cuts for people of the upper class. Sounds familiar doesn't it?
With all of that, the yellow vests have taken to the street without permit, and demanded that President Macron resign even though he has chosen to take away the gas tax. Paris has become a dangerous war zone every Saturday and I have gotten numerous phone calls from my school telling me not to leave my apartment on Saturdays. I personally am lucky enough to live over 2 miles from where these protests are happening, but I have many classmates who live in the heart of the chaos. They have told stories of simply walking to the super market, and quickly being chased out by tear gas, and even stories where people had to run from mobs of people in order to find safety.
This Monday, my French professor sat our whole class down and explained to us how dangerous these riots were. She told us about why they were happening, how rare it was to have major protests like this in Paris, and how these had spiraled into becoming some of the most violent uprisings in the modern age. The scariest part is that she had to explain to us what we should do if we were stuck among the riots. She explained to us that the police would not be able to tell if we were protestors or not, and that the only thing one can do, is run. It was a scary conversation to have, but I am glad that I have professors caring enough to be willing to take the time to explain these things to us.
It is scary to look at the news and see pictures of places I walk by all the time, seemingly in ruins. I try my best to stay clear of those areas as the week looms closer to the weekend. There was once a small restaurant in front of the Marriott that my parents stayed at when they came to drop me off here. That restaurant no longer stands. I'm glad that my parents didn't come for Thanksgiving because they would have very likely been caught up in all of the madness, and I am grateful that no one I know has been hurt. It is times like this that make someone realize how much they miss home. For once in my life, I think I'm ready to come home to the OP bubble, but definitely not for too long.
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