vivement les grèves!

Today there is a strike. I'm in Paris. That's not unusual. But I'm always amazed by the attitude of some Parisian commuters during strike time. I'm English so maybe I have the old stiff upper lip thing going, but to use a cliché, we're all in the same boat, so why be crabby about it?

An example: so this morning the RER was crowded. No worse than a bad rush hour train but it was crowded. So everybody stayed just near the doors, with a metre of space behind them and refused to move. Because, dammit, they needed to be near the doors! Then the people wanting to get on the train got frustrated because of all those people near the doors.

"We want to be near the doors!" the people on the platform cried.
"No way José - we got here first!" the choir on the train answered.

Okay, they didn't really but you see what I'm getting at.

I saw people holding the pole (see previous post for my thoughts on this) and refusing to move. Really refusing. One woman tried politeness ("Excuse me, could you just take a step back?"). When that had absolutely no result (people gave her the non-look, usually reserved for people begging) she tried pushing. She was only little, so still no result. In the end she tried the plain rugby thrust movement, which made enough room for her to get on the trian without getting her bottom sliced off by the doors as they closed.

I was on a train of goats (the escaltors must be a bitch on their hooves - do goats have hooves?) - everyone had their place and were not going to budge.

The train finally pulled away with half the carriage comfortably spaced near the non-platform doors and the other half virtually standing on top of each other.

I did consider crying: "Why can't we all just get along? There's space for us all!" and hoping that someone somewhere would break out into song : "The sun'll come out tomorrow!!!!!!!" but instead I stuck with my mp3 and held onto the pole like everyone else.

Maybe I'll try singing this evening on the return trip...

damn the electric fence!

Last night I ran for the train. I should emphasize that I never run for trains unless they're international ones or TGVs. Running for a metro is mad, as there is always another one in about 3 minutes. Exception to this is running for the last metro. There, you should run your little feet off.

Anyway, last night, it wasn't a last train but I didn't have another train for half an hour (RER A Cergy line ... sigh) and so I ran - I ran like the wind! Zoom! Through the corridors at Nation! Whish! Down the stairs (almost faster than the escalators as no-one uses them). Whoosh! Down more stairs to find myself on the platform for line 6.

Dammit, that's not right.

Down more stairs, along more corridors.

I saw the screen with "Cergy - train à l'approche" and ran faster. By now, my lungs were starting to fill with fire ants. But I didn't want to sit at Nation for another half hour as I'd already done that the night before. I just wanted to go home and go to bed. Down the escalators, past the people getting off the train, who no matter how fast you're running, or how clearly desperate you are to get on the train, DO NOT MOVE. Being English, I just say 'pardon! pardon!' very politely, instead of screaming 'Get the hell out of my way! Can't you see I need to get this train!'

So, I dodged everyone and leapt onto the train in triumph.

Only to realise that it was the train for Vincennes, and my train was next to me, at the other platform. Which involved two escalators and a corridor.

Half an hour later I got the train home.