Yes, Please Get This Out of Your System Now

So B and I are going to spend Christmas in Paris this year (it sounds really sexy until you realize that airfare is about the same as Seattle to Oakland on Southwest), and as you may have heard there is open rioting in the streets, primarily in Lyon, the second largest city in France, as well as a Paris suburb. The reason these folks are protesting has to do with the French Senate passing a bill that will raise the official retirement age from 60 to 62. The reason the rioters are largely younger people (plus the hooligan element who are using this as an excuse to trash cars and buildings) is that the unemployment situation in France is pretty high, and the kids feel that this situation will make jobs even more elusive. Certain labor unions are performing sympathy strikes as well, blockading fuel refineries and making gas and jet fuel scarce. The situation appears to be easing today, but we'll see about that. My knowledge of France is far from comprehensive, but like the Italians, strikes and protests are quite routine and normally short-lived. I doubt that anything will be resolved anytime soon, but here's hoping for a Festivus miracle.