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| Pont D'Alma: The Zouave measures the level of the flood |
Your emails suggest that you have been concerned about the news of flooding in Paris. The rising river was the result of three weeks of intermittent rain, at the end of which we had a gully-washer for four straight days. As those of you who know Paris will understand, the levies here are very high. The river is channeled initially by a low wall along which are trees, walkways and even a roadway. Beyond this barrier, the levy wall rises quite a bit further. This flood was a 100-year event, according to some reports, and the worst in 30 years. The river crested over 16 feet. The Zouave at the Pont d'Alma was up to his knees in water. and the river was closed to boat traffic. But the city was relatively little affected except for the river roadway and some basements and metro stops close to the Seine. As the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay are both quite close to the Seine, they closed for a few days to focus their efforts on preserving treasures stored in their basements.
But flooding is only one of the plagues visiting France this spring. Demonstrations, often violent, continue against the labor law reforms being proposed by the government of François Hollande. Opposition within his Socialist Party was so strong that the reform law passed the Chamber of Deputies by means of a constitutionally permitted decree. It is now about to be taken up by the Senate and so the unions are increasing their efforts to stop its passage. The CDG, France's most powerful union with deep roots in the communist party, is engaged in a kind of dance with the public and the government: make everyone's life miserable enough to make their anger felt, but not enough to produce a strong counter-reaction, either in public support or in the measures taken by the government. It is, however, a dance that has no clear end or outcome. Life is most difficult for the longer-line commuters, where every third or fourth train doesn't run and there have been strikes at fuel depots that have caused gas shortages in some parts of the country. The latest has been a shutdown of the transfer stations so garbage is piling up on the streets.
This comes as the terrorist threat remains high because of the upcoming European Cup soccer finals, which will be staged in stadiums all over France. The government is still operating under the emergency decree put in place after the November attacks. Such measures raise concerns in some quarters about the abandonment of civil rights since the government can conduct searches without benefit of a court decree. We hear many of the same concerns in the U.S. about enhanced surveillance practices instituted after 9/11.
I understand that tourism is down some 30% but I certainly haven't noticed it. The big museums are full and I hear as much English as French in the streets around my apartment. I avoid the large squares like Nation and Place de la République where most of this is going on and listen daily for the sound of garbage trucks coming at last to collect the trash. I will report soon on some of my own adventures as a tourist.
