Manifestations and strikes are a regular part of the Paris landscape–especially if you live in the 6th arrondissement. Paris doesn’t have a monopoly on the topic, but, when I lived abroad, I remember feeling, when flying into Paris Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) airport, there was always some or other component of the public service on strike. Transportation services are typically front and centre.
Anyway, today, we were graced with a new one: the Roissy airport’s cleaning personnel went on strike. It was a right old marching band. Trumpeting with the utensils of their work, the strikers paraded through our terminal (2C) for some 30 minutes. The deafening drum beat and strident screams caused a major scene and a disruption of the check-in procedures.
It was highly disagreeable just as a passenger, much less as an employee. The strikers certainly did not gain my sympathy. I suppose others might be more supportive. Personally, I found the disruption an imposition and it should have been disallowed.
After thirty minutes, they walked on to another terminal–another set of destinations, and another set of tourists and travellers who got a whiff of the strike. I balk at making any other baseball allusions here.
