Study Abroad students in midst of strikes

For weeks now, GCSU study abroad students have seen firsthand the political unrest in the heart of France.

Kristen Brown, a senior French major, is currently studying abroad in France and has had to alter her everyday life due to what the French are calling La gr?ve-a series of riots and strikes in protest of current political movements in France.

The university where Brown is currently taking courses, Universite de Rennes 2-Haute Brertagne, has closed its doors as a result of La gr?ve. Most classes at the university have been out of session since the second week of February, she said.

“The school buildings are all blocked by chairs, tables and students. The only program in session is the French as a Foreign Language Program,” Brown said.

Although some protests have resulted in violence, Brown said she is not generally afraid. However, she said there have been many instances when she was afraid of getting caught up in a protest.

“It definitely affects my everyday life,” Brown said. “For example, (March 28) I went jogging as normal, but ended up having to change my direction rather quickly because just as I got downtown, the police decided to mobilize against a group of protesters there, and I didn’t want to get caught up in the center of it. I have seen several riots first hand, although I do my best to avoid them. Tear gas, after all, is not a fun thing to experience.”

According to Brown, using common sense and staying away from protests that could become violent is important, but does not prevent her from being afraid at times. One of Brown’s biggest fears is that the French police will mistake her for a protestor.

“One night while I was waiting for the bus, a group of protestors being chased by the police came running right to where I was waiting,” Brown said. “I got a face full of tear gas, and had to run for safety because the police won’t bother to ask whether you are a protestor or not. I had to wait until everything died down in a nearby caf? because I had no other way home but the bus. That night seven students were arrested and 22 were injured.”

Liz Havey, Study Abroad adviser, said that most protests do not end with violence, and that she does not fear for the two GCSU students who are currently studying in France.

“I just don’t want a panic to arise over this,” Havey said. “Kristen is pretty much at the heart of (where the protests originated in Rennes). There has been some rioting as a result of the strikes, but for the most part it has been very peaceful throughout the country.”

Havey also said that in a way, the students are actually getting more of a taste of the French culture and politics because of La gr?ve.

“In the U.S. a strike is a last resort for desperate people; in France, it’s the first resort for frustrated people,” Havey said. “It has been a challenge and there isn’t much distinction between our students who are studying abroad in France and the students who are protesting.”

Dr. Hank Edmondson, a GCSU professor of government and sociology, has taken students on trips abroad with the statewide study abroad program- The European Union Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow- for four years and is the current director of the program. He said protests such as these are very common in France, and the inconvenience that is oftentimes felt the most is the affect the striking has on travel in France.

“I think the concern is with public transportation-when it becomes interrupted or becomes unpredictable,” Edmondson said. “The last several years in France we’ve had to dodge strikes-even with AirFrance. Last year there were a lot of flights cancelled and we weren’t sure if we’d get out on our scheduled flight, but we did.”

Most of the current striking is occurring in protest to a new law the French government has proposed that would make it easier to both hire and fire young people in France. Edmondson said, however, that the protests symbolize the disenchantment of the nation’s people over the French government’s attempts for reform.

“What’s going on, broadly speaking, is that France is trying to move away from socialism-and they have to,” Edmondson said. “The government is trying to make the changes but the citizens don’t want them to. France is going to have to move more toward capitalism and farther from socialism if they are going to continue to be a prosperous country and a leader in Europe.”

Edmondson will be on a study abroad trip based in France this May, but says he expects the situation to have calmed by that time. Because France is the most popular tourist destination in the world, Edmondson said he does not believe the situation will continue much longer.

“The French do have a history of street riots and of public strikes-the students have a chance to relive history,” Edmondson said. “The French are getting worried about the tourist season-they’ve got to get this resolved before tourist season.”

Despite the current situation in France, Havey said neither of the GCSU study abroad students have made plans to return home; although students are not able to attend classes at this time, they are encouraged to follow their syllabus in preparation for an exit exam at the end of the semester.

Brown, who has been on study abroad for the entirety of Spring semester 2006, said she hopes La gr?ve will not deter students from studying abroad.

“My situation is a very unique one, and something that almost never happens to study abroad students and I could only hope that it would never hinder a student from studying abroad,” Brown said. “Despite what’s happened here so far, this has still been an absolutely wonderful experience.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 14 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry