This afternoon I was walking to the laudromat when I ran smack into a social movement — or make that several. Parisians were out on the street today in the tens of thousands to voice their opposition to the European Constitution, which will be voted on in a country-wide referendum on May 29 (as described in a previous post).

It was quite a spectacle. There were enough flags to arm several dozen color guards — from rainbow-colored ones calling for “Peace” to martial-red ones printed with Che Guevara’s mustachioed face. There were banners with slogans in angry capital letters, inevitably with a “Non” slipped in somewhere between big, scary words like “délocalisation” (outsourcing) and “impérialisme” (imperialism). And there was an endless procession of flatbed trucks, each with its own sound system, broadcasting anything from anti-Chirac, anti-Bush chants to festive reggae music.

I waited nearly two hours — through pre-wash, wash, rinse, and dry — as the protesters filed by on Voltaire Boulevard. Every time I thought I could go back to folding my underwear there was another brigade of flags and banners, another eardrum-rattling chant, another left-wing group with a cause to publicize.

The CGT, a confederation of unions aligned with the French Communist Party (a relatively mainstream political faction here in France), seemed to have the largest delegation on the streets. The trade unionists were there mainly to protest the privatization of public services, which some believe will be imposed on France if it cedes more of its sovereignty to the European Union. There were also plenty of signs — some held by a group of Armenian activists — declaring that Turkey should be kept out of the European Union (another popular rallying cry for the anti-constitution crowd).

That said, a whole set of grievances unrelated to the coming referendum were also being aired. Workers were outraged at the cancellation of a national holiday. Students protested educational reforms proposed by the French government. Immigrants rallied for the rights of the undocumented. Hindu nationalists voiced their support for the Tamil Tigers, a pro-independence group responsible for terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka. Communists hailing from “Turkey and northern Kurdistan” railed against the Iraq occupation. Expatriates from Togo decried the lack of attention being paid to their country, where violence has broken out since last week’s disputed presidential election (“After Rwanda, Togo,” said one sign).

There were plenty of unflattering references to American foreign policy. The majority of protesters stuck to the kind of anti-Bushisms one finds back in the States, but near the end of the procession I saw a truck drive by dragging a puppet on the ground behind it. It was Uncle Sam, wrapped in an American flag.

I suppose it should be expected that every lefty (and not-so-lefty) organization under the sun comes out for the big May Day march. As academics like to say, today’s media-savvy protesters often “shop around” for the best venue to get their message across. Still, I was surprised by how international the demonstration was, especially for one ostensibly about strictly European affairs. Many of these protesters dislike the globalization of markets, but they represent the globalization of protest: local issues become global, global issues become local.

The one sign I saw in English, as it turned out, mentioned someone I used to hear a lot about back in Philadelphia, near where I grew up. Nestled among the anti-neoliberals and anti-imperialists was a small group of protesters with a banner that read: “Free Mumia Now.”

[UPDATE, May 2, 2005, 1:33 p.m. GMT: Added mention of the May Day and Whit Monday themes of the protest.]  

Victor Tan Chen Victor Tan Chen is In The Fray's editor in chief and the author of Cut Loose: Jobless and Hopeless in an Unfair Economy. Site: victortanchen.com | Facebook | Twitter: @victortanchen

In his new book on globalization, The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman talks about how the growing integration of the world’s economies is overturning our conventional notions of political right and left. “Social conservatives from the right wing of the Republican party, who do not like globalization or closer integration with the world because it brings too many foreigners and foreign cultural mores into America, might align themselves with unions from the left wing of the Democratic Party, who don’t like globalization for the way it facilitates the outsourcing and offshoring of jobs,” he writes.

We can already see some evidence of this political reshuffling across the Atlantic. In France, left wingers and extreme rightists have joined together to say “Non” to the European Constitution (“joined together” is perhaps too strong a phrase given how much the two sides detest one another). The May 29 referendum is being closely watched across the continent. Polls show the No vote in the lead — with support in the low- to mid-50s, percentage-wise — and even a determined effort by French President Jacques Chirac to roll back those numbers has, so far, made little difference.

I won’t attempt a summary of the 60,000-word European Constitution (here is a rundown of the juicier details), but basically it strengthens the various institutions of the European Union, from the parliament to the presidency, and allows its member countries — representing a total of 450 million people — to speak with a more unified, potent voice on the international stage. Before its provisions will take effect, however, all 26 member countries need to ratify it. Most have chosen to do so through parliamentary votes, though ten countries, including France, are putting it to a vote of the people by next year.

France’s vote in May is the focus of so much attention because it is the first binding referendum on the constitution: If it fails here, all 26 countries must go back to the bargaining table. The European Union will still exist, but its long and steady path toward further integration will suddenly be halted, perhaps permanently. What French voters decide is also important because France is home to one of the largest populations of “euroskeptics” on the continent. On the left, opponents of the constitution are using the vote as a way to express their disgust with Chirac’s government and their outrage at certain free market policies supported by EU officials, including recent proposals to open the services market to competition from Eastern European countries with laxer regulations. On the extreme right, nationalists fear the loss of French sovereignty as well as an increase in immigration — already a topic of heated debate in France, where immigrants are blamed for high levels of unemployment and strapped public services. (At the center of this right-wing backlash is Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the National Front, who shocked the nation with his second-place finish in the 2002 presidential elections.)

In a televised debate earlier this week, these strange bedfellows made a rare public appearance together, and soon enough unflattering comparisons were being made. Michel Barnier, Chirac’s foreign minister, remarked that the anti-constitution stance of the French communists had led them to the “same vote as Monsieur Le Pen.” Marie-George Buffet, the national secretary of the French Communist Party, loudly objected to Barnier’s “insult,” declaring that the French left was dedicated to fighting the “right and extreme right.” The only thing that all camps could agree upon was that they distrusted the United States. The communist decried the Chirac government as a “puppet of Bush;” the rightist declared that a No vote would lead to a weakened Europe vulnerable to the “influence of the United States.” And the right-wing extremist, Le Pen, declared that France itself was in danger. “If you believe in the nation and the homeland,” he said, “vote no.”

Victor Tan Chen Victor Tan Chen is In The Fray's editor in chief and the author of Cut Loose: Jobless and Hopeless in an Unfair Economy. Site: victortanchen.com | Facebook | Twitter: @victortanchen

For those who despair at the state of Franco-American relations, I have three words for you: Walker, Texas Ranger.

Yes, flip on the tube in France and you might find yourself watching the exploits of Texas Ranger Cordell Walker — “one of the last old-fashioned heroes of the West” — played by martial artist Chuck Norris. (This is French network TV, mind you — I don’t have cable here in Paris.) You can also catch the X-Files, watch the French version of The Bachelor, and see Andie MacDowell hawking makeup and speaking perfect (dubbed) French. From my scientific analysis of two weeks of French TV, I’d say that — oh — 26.7 percent of their shows and televised movies are French-dubbed American programming.

France and America have had a love/hate relationship for centuries, with highs during the Revolutionary War (French save Americans) and World War II (Americans save French), and lows … at all other times. Things got particularly bad in the run-up to the Iraq War, when French politicians declared their vehement opposition to an American invasion and U.S. lawmakers retaliated in kind, replacing “French fries” with “Freedom fries” in government cafeterias. (Did any of their aides point out that French fries originated in Belgium?) Since then, relations have remained sour. For the documentary Does Europe Hate Us?, which recently aired on the Discovery Channel, Thomas Friedman toured France and other European countries and found plenty of reasons for dislike, ranging from mere disgust with George and Dick’s Not-So-Excellent Adventures Abroad (“We miss the America that made us dream,” one woman put it) to professed admiration for Osama bin Laden. I didn’t see the documentary — did I mention I don’t have cable? — but here’s a nice summary by The Link:

In it you will see young Germans comparing the current state of America to 1930s Germany, French political science students sitting around a large table in McDonald’s intelligently asserting their positions, anti-war activists calling Iraqi police “collaborators” (and implying justification for insurgents targeting them) and French Muslim youth extolling the virtues of Osama bin Laden. While most of those interviewed were critical of the U.S., they also exhibited a hopeful tone. They seemed to really want to like America.

I’ve only just arrived in France, but I’ll let you know if I spot any America-Haters (which, I’m told, can be distinguished from Blame-America-Firsters with a trained eye). In the meantime, I am encouraged by the knowledge that American and French viewers enjoy the same TV garbage. If anyone can bring together these two cultures, it is Cordell Walker.

In a time when legends are scarce, Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris) is one of the last old-fashioned heroes of the West. Drawing on the customs of his Native American ancestors and the rugged traditions of the Old West, Walker is on a relentless crusade for truth and honor …

Bon courage, Walker!

Victor Tan Chen Victor Tan Chen is In The Fray's editor in chief and the author of Cut Loose: Jobless and Hopeless in an Unfair Economy. Site: victortanchen.com | Facebook | Twitter: @victortanchen