xmas decorations and the electric company

Paris is fun at xmas time. All the streets and many of the stores are lit up in lively ways, colors, shapes, small cities of blinking lights. I am not sure if it is the business associations or the city responsible for all these festive decorations, but knowing the French, my money is on the local government. Unlike what I am used to, until my walk to the internet cafe tonight, I had not yet seen a decorated home. But just now I saw a sort of xmas twig in someone's window across the tiny Montmartre street. Maybe Americans live there, but no one else in this catholic country seems to have the slightest interest in decorating their home so that it is visable from the outside.

I met Mido for lunch today. On my way over, she called to warn me that there was a protest outside her office building. She works for the electric company (and defends nuclear power). However, we think the protest was about benefits -- the workers are upset bc they don't get 100% of their salary after retirement or maybe because when they sell their homes to non-EDF employees (who don't get free electricity like EDF employees do) their adaptations so that everything is electric powered actually reduces the property value. You can imagine that I do a lot of smiling, lips closed and wide eyed, when she tells me these things.

The office was completely locked down. No one was allowed to enter or exit. About 25 protesters had built a very small fire in front of the main entrance. I called her on my mobile phone to explain that I had arrived, but could not enter. However, my battery then died. We could wave at each other through the window, but not actually speak. The crowd quickly dispersed and they put out the little fire without much ado. After a short while, they started permitting people to leave the building, and about 5 minutes later, people were allowed to enter it. It was 12:20 (we had arranged to meet at noon).

Mido needed to check me in at the front desk, and once we found her on her mobile phone again, I was able to enter. She had gone ahead to the cafeteria and began her lunch. When I told Jennifer this story, she said "and we wonder why we are tired all the time!" France seems so familiar in so many ways, but the culture, at least to me and Jennifer, is really different.