There were massive demonstrations in France on January 29, 2009 including a large march in Chambery France. The town has only 70,000 people but the demonstration attracted 16,000 participants. The demonstrations were the largest anyone can remember and were organized by the public service sector folks such as the train and bus unions. They were marching for job security and higher salaries, which are in direct opposition to Sarkosky’s new policies. Here’s a video of Chambery’s demonstration (or manifestation in French).

Did you attend any demonstrations on the 29th? If so, share your experience.

Roanne is located in central France, about 1.5 hours from Paris by train. When we visit my fiance’s parents there we always take a morning to walk around the boat canal to look at the boats and barges and feed the ducks. It’s a lovely walk and on many occasions we have had conversations with the boat folks, many of whom come from the U.S., Britian and northern Europe. They are a fairly rugged and adventurous bunch and have some interesting stories to tell.

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When it comes to music I must say I’m pretty darn Americanized. When I lived in Italy for 2 years I rarely came across an artist whose music I liked. I finally found Zucchero who has since become more widely known and popular in America than in Italy. I do love his music and even saw him in concert at the Blues House in Los Angeles before his concerts became too expensive. So when I arrived in France I began my search for music that I could enjoy in my newly adopted home. I found Jean-Jacques Goldman who was big in the 1980′s but has since retired. Then my Frenchman gave me a CD of Raphael. It was love at first listen. Raphael played a concert in Lyon a few weeks ago. Since Lyon is only about an hour drive away, we bought tickets and headed out for a night of music. We bought the cheap tickets so we didnt get a good view but we could hear the music just fine. I took some video of the concert on my camera and compiled it in a video as an introduction to the artist, Raphael. So if you want to expand your musical horizons and hear one of the most popular pop/rock musicians in France, have a listen. He’s not for everyone but no artist is.

Do you have a French musical artist you love? Tell me about her/him so I check it out!

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I’m sure I sound like Scrooge but I’m so glad the holidays are over. It was my first holiday season away from family and friends and I sure felt it.  For 32 years I lived away from my family but always managed to make it back for either Thanksgiving or Christmas or both. Given the distance, this year I couldn’t make the trip.  My Frenchman had to work, which meant spending most of the Christmas week alone. My family has a terrible history of people dying or ending up in the hospital for the holidays so we go through the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas holding our breaths. We squeaked by this year with no tragedies, thank heavens.

It wasn’t all bad, of course. We managed a nice New Year dinner with my American friend, a visit to Chambery’s Christmas Market, and a trip to Roanne in central France to see my Frenchman’s parents where I took some photos and video of the canal barges. I’ve enjoyed seeing the Christmas lights during our drives and we took a walk in the mountains which included beautiful views of the snow-capped peaks.

It’s back to work and life as usual now. I hope your holidays were joyous and full of love, friends and family. Happy New Year and let’s hope for peace, prosperity, wisdom from our leaders, and greater compassion in 2009.