That article is from Thursday, but it happened again today. Saturday is a common protest day in France. In Montpellier, early afternoon was the largest protest march I have been in. It was peaceful, and a lot of fun. The police were present, and professional.
Later, as evening fell, I went out to run an errand. The shop I wanted to go to was on the far side of the central square. I could hear the helicopters overhead, and knew there was likely to be enhanced activity. My walk took me past cordons of riot police, who were still being professional as far as I saw.
It seems I was there moments after something was broken up on Place de la Comédie. I walked through the most dense clouds of tear gas I have experienced so far, though not the densest I have seen. Nasty stuff; at the worst I couldn’t see momentarily.
I’m happy to walk through tear gas, and buy a bottle of wine with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down my cheeks, if it means enjoying the benefits of living in a society that stands up for what it believes.
As an Englishman, is it faux pas to want to visit and observe a French protest or even join in? We don’t do protests as well over here as the French and I’d like to see one in person. But I don’t want to ruin the vibe if my presence would do that.
You’ll improve the vibe as long as you behave like a leftist or a journalist~
Those things are hodgepodge from the get-go