Originally published at: Garbage piles up in Paris as collectors continue to strike | Boing Boing
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I lived in Paris for a while, and had the good fortune to arrive in the middle of a strike by the street sweepers and the garbage collectors. What I remember most vividly were all the bits of crumpled newspaper and used paper napkins piling up outside the Gare du Nord, with the wind sweeping them into huge snowdrifts of torn and soiled paper against the walls of the station.
The other fun thing about the garbage collectors in Paris (aside from their tendency to go on strike periodically) is that it’s customary to tip them at Christmas time. If you happen to forget, they will show up to remind you. One afternoon when I was the only person in the office, I answered the front door to find myself confronted by two very large men. Seeing me looking perplexed, they helpfully explained “C’est nous les éboueurs,” which didn’t actually clear things up as much as they might have hoped, because the word “éboueur” was decidedly not in my vocabulary. Smiling all the while, clearly convinced that they were dealing with an imbecile, they slowly and patiently explained that it was nearly Christmas and they were there to collect their tip.
When I finally pieced together enough of what they were saying to figure out that they wanted money for something, my first thought was that this was some form of complicated shakedown. I eventually stammered that our administrator handled all that and that they should come back tomorrow. I don’t know if they ever did, or if they decided that they’d stumbled on some kind of group home for the intellectually challenged and gave it up as a bad job. I was careful, however, never to answer the door again from early December until well after New Year, just to avoid any further awkwardness.
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Macron the Magician makes watch disappear
And the illusionist later made a tourist trip vanish
I was idly wondering if the sans-culottes would recreate earlier interactions with aristos.
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He should be thankful the only thing he had to take off for the French people was his watch. They’ve been known to go after heads.
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We had weeks of refuse collection strikes here in Edinburgh last August, right in the middle of the world’s largest arts festival. There were a lot of unflattering photos in the news, etc, etc… and then, a little further north, the Queen died.
I appreciate the advice won’t really help in Paris, but I’ve seen that nothing cleans up your streets like preparation for a royal coffin procession. Cheers, your majesty!
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Thank you for focusing on garbage, while ma€ron puts people lives in jeopardy. Not kidding, this is al la game for him, he takes pleasure in others suffering.
You should have a look at how his “police”, fascists brainless beasts, are “keeping peace” in the streets. ma€ron IS the chaos.
There are way too many examples here :
Alexis Poulain tweeter account (journalist)
Yvan Le Bolloc’h (actor, musician)
Just look, easy to find, free police violence everywhere.
The same “official journalists” who were calling out police violence in Tunisia, Honk Kong or anywhere else, are now saying that “out poor policemen are victims of protesters violence”
Please call United Nation and ask them to send forces to recover peace, and capture the crazy terrorist in the Elysée.
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The trash collectors have created an appropriate monument to Macron’s diktat, complete with fat rats gorging themselves as everyone else suffers.
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As an aside, we need a better way of dealing with garbage. More recycling, composting, etc…
If this carries on Paris will look like New York.
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From the 1st clip “Health authorities suggest the public wear masks…” Get the labour to strike and people ro wear masks, all part of the WEF plan 
or i’m sure a few placards have gone up with that mesage on them.
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