Demonstrations - There's a Website for That! - Tuesday, 24 September

You have probably heard that strikes and demonstrations of various kinds are held in Paris and disrupt life (and, in some cases, safety) for people who are near them. And you might have been worried that they would affect you on your vacation. Well, I have good news – there’s a website where you can find out!

As I was enjoying a light lunch at a café on the corner of rue des Filles du Calvaire and boulevard du Temple (a major thoroughfare), I suddenly noticed that there was no traffic. Looking down the boulevard, I saw police turning vehicles around which were trying to head up the boulevard. Bicycles and some motorbikes and mail trucks got through, but that was about it. Should I be worried? How long might this last? Searching for answers, I found the website  paris.demosphere.net  and yup, there you can find your answers – who’s protesting, what for/against, what their timetable is, details of their grievance or issue, etc. I assume that this relates only to officially registered events (not spontaneous ones), but the amount of info is impressive. Here’s the listing for the event that affected me:  https://paris.demosphere.net/rv/71842

After a while, I saw probably a dozen vans full of police officers going down the boulevard, and I thought the demonstration might be over, but nope. As I was leaving, I looked up the boulevard and saw that it was empty all the way up to Place de la République, which was the location of the demonstration.

A half-hour or so later I noticed that the traffic was totally jammed on rue de Bretagne a few blocks away. Aha! Traffic from boulevard du Temple must have been diverted there. It was a mess, and horns were blaring even more than normal. C’est la vie!