Cicilie among the Parisians

A day at work…: I was about to get outside (its freezing, but sunny). Unfortunately, it was time for 12 o’clock news before I managed to escape.

Oh, here we go again. La ligue de droits de l’homme and MRAP (Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l'Amitié entre les Peuples) are interviewed concerning the expulsion of troublesome foreigners with or without their residence permit in order. Ok, that’s certainly very interesting, but it’s not news to me.

But then the journalist mentions that a gathering is to take place at Champs de Mars tomorrow. That I’ve not heard before. I’ve got to search the Internet. Nothing on the sites of MRAP or Le ligue de droits de l’homme, but on Paris.indymedia I find something interesting. It starts right on: “Putain, are you all in front of the TV-set or what?” Then he(?) goes on to recount to the indymedia radicals his voyages in cyberspace of a very different France, skyblog. (See for instance cites2france.skyblog.com . Skyblog has, for some reason still unknown to me, become the site for the banlieue bloggers.) Obviously, this guy(?) is mad at his commerades at indymedia: « banlieues, villes et campagnes tous ensemble » et personne n'y répond… But now we’ve got the chance, he says, and reveals the news he found on skyblog about the upcoming gathering. For this indymedia-blogger, the event is already inscribed in the revolutionary French history (he refers to the fight for one week paid holiday in 1936, 1968 and of course the commune…). Ok, that was sociologically interesting, but I still don’t know much about what will take place tomorrow. I try google: “rassemblement tour eiffel”.

And what do I find? Great, I’m doing a whole sociological la distinction tour d’internet here. Le Weblog du 7ème Arrondissement (a posh district indeed…) refers to another blog, the Parisist. The Parisist asks if Paris will burn on Friday, since les banlieues are planning to pay us a visit, - with reference of course to messages circulating on skyblog. On the 7th Arrondissement blog one can read this: “There are good reasons for organizing such an event for all the honest citizens who have had enough of all this violence. On the other hand, certain others seems to want to use this gathering in order to throw gunpowder on the fire." And it cites: ON VA CRAME PANAME COUSIN ON VA VENIR ENCULER SARKO CHEZ LUI (we’ll burn Paris (cousin= cousin or police informer), we’ll go fuck Sarko at his place). The Parisist one the other hand, seems a little less sensational as it drily comments the same citation; “evidently, we prefer the second suggestion.”

It’s already two o’clock. I still don’t really know what will happen tomorrow. So what should I do now; continue searching or finally manage to get out of here?