Yesterday, Paris began its Velib' program (velo + liberté = velib'). A program where eventually over 10,000 bicycles will be available to Parisians for their daily commute at 750 different points throughout the city. All it takes is a 150€ deposit, and, while the first half-hour is free, one also needs to sign some sort of rental agreement, depending on needs. The best deal seems to be the annual 29€ rental.
I don't know if that would work in SF, because of these.
But what a great idea! Although not everyone's happy. The reaction of one bicylce store owner, was "not everone wants to ride a communist bike." («Tout le monde n'a pas envie de rouler sur un vélo communiste») (from la lib)
This kind of flew under the radar. Although nowhere near the size or intensity of the riots in Paris in 2005, on March 27, the gare du nord became assez chaud when a man without a ticket was contrôlé, and a full scale riot ensued. Given the disenchantment of the suburban youth, it is not surprising that this would happen at this station which connects the RER with the Metro and would be a major stop for those coming in from le neuf-trois. I'm trying to avoid the word racaille, but can't. Apparently, this riot is now becoming an issue between presidential candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal. Something needs to be done, before Le Pen capitalizes on the fear this will cause.
It has been about a year since the suburbs of Paris and other cities in France were burning. This blog didn't really exist then. So I will take this opportunity to comment on it. Lucky you.
In the U.S., we think of the suburbs as being nice and safe while the downtown area is usually the depressed and dangerous part of a city. Paris is the opposite. Well, that's not totally true, there are some nice suburbs of Paris in the west, but central paris, especially the 16e arrondissement, is exceptionally nice. The suburbs to the north are really the "ghetto" of Paris. I spent some time in Seine-Saint-Denis and let me tell you, it is scary. Unemployment among the young ranges from 50 to 80% in these areas. Crime and drugs are rampant. This is where a lot of Maghreb immigrants ended up several decades ago when manufacturing jobs were plentiful, and now their children find themselves jobless and disenfranchised in the french modèle social. Marseille, in a similar fashion, is also known for being une ville chaude.
It is a sad situation, similar to our own ghettos. I think these riots were a wake-up call to the french, who had grown accustomed to thinking that the their système social could solve all problems of poverty. Not that we're doing much better, mind you. Sadly, it seems that the french authorities, Sarkozy at the front, are reacting in a rather american fashion, by focusing on police enforcement rather than opening a dialogue on what needs to be done to get to the root of the problem. Le Monde article. I mean, I know people can't just run around burning cars, and laws must be enforced, but there's a bigger problem here.
Anyways, here's a great track from a French rap group from Seine-Saint-Denis called NTM. This is from a while ago, but I still like it. I'm not going to tell you what NTM stands for. Ask a french friend :) Bon week-end à tous!
photo courtesy of Dizzy Atmosphere on flicker
