Tuesday 20 October 2009

en greve

the French railways are on strike today, ho hum

so are Servisair, who look after a number of airlines including easyjet and Air Maroc. French workers go on strike All The Time, though oddly they are the least unionised in Europe, and they do it with style. They kidnap the bosses sometimes, obviously they drive sheep along the Champs Elysees, that's old hat, but I was taken by Servisair. They arrived at the checkout desks at Orly airport on the baggage conveyor belt, dancing and singing, then they danced on the checkout desks, grabbed the luggage labels and tore them up and scattered them as confetti over the heads of the people trying to check in, some of whom were disarmed by the spectacle.



Their performance was clearly influenced by the video for the current Charlie Winston hit "In Your Hands", which is set in a dole office,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nOd5_Bdc8I (you'll have to paste this link to watch it, sorry)

and which in its turn was influenced by the 1997 British film "The Full Monty", which is about a group of unemployed male workers in Sheffield who turn to stripping:

now that's the kind of multiculturalism I like

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any truth in the ruour that 'The Full Monty'was inspired by Malcolm 'Three Tits' Powers?The story,or so it goes,has TT working in the Reading Dole office and entertaining people with his special gift[i.e. exposing himself].As one would expect various accounts of his exploits found their way round the national job centre scene...the rest became cinematic history..I only ask..

dreamingspire said...

The autumn French rail strike is getting earlier each year - rushing faster and faster towards the end of civilisation...
Normally they have the strike in the week when I go to Paris for a big trade show in early November, but I didn't go last year and am not going this year, so there! (I have a choice of easyJet or via London and Eurostar, so you Frogs are trying to get me both ways this time - sorry, you missed - anyway, Eurostar ignores you.)