Nantes Students = Pissed Off

Today I had the pleasure of witnessing a real-life French strike in an unexpected place: my university.

I was expecting to have a written exam, but instead I was met by an old man meticulously locking all of the classroom doors. He informed me that I would not be having class today. I was confused until my professor finally approached the confused huddle of my classmates and explained that every time somebody tried to unlock a room, the French students would forcibly enter, steal all of the desks and chairs, and force the professor out of the class.

I waited for over an hour. I tried to keep my mind focused on the forthcoming exam, but with hundreds of French students carrying pilfered articles to be used as barricades, I had a hard enough time restraining my bewildered laughter.

After intense negotiations, the students finally agreed to temporarily cease hostilities for one classroom so that we could have class. The only stipulation was that we vacate immediately at 5. Class proceeded as usual, except we made certain not to finish late this time. As I made my way past the hundreds of chairs barring the doors I could not stop grinning. I wish we did this kind of stuff to make people listen to us back home.

If I can find some pictures I will post them. Today was definitely one of the more humorous representations of French culture at its best.

(More blogs about our trip are in the works. Keep checking back; comments are appreciated and an account is not required to post.)