Anti-globalisation activists met in central Paris one evening last month to debate ways of “scaring” the government. They had recently forced it to water down reforms to France’s notoriously rigid labour market and wanted to keep up the pressure on President François Hollande and his socialist administration, reports The Financial Times.
Their answer? Stay up late discussing the ills of the world.
Every night since, under the banner of “Nuit Debout” or “Up all night”, thousands of people have gathered in Place de la République after sunset to protest, defying a post-terror attack state of emergency ban on mass demonstrations.
“I was surprised it lasted so long,” said Noémie Peyrel, a 32-year-old social worker who attended the first meeting. “Now I think it’s going to go on until we’re pushed out.”
Each night, people of all age groups and all social backgrounds assemble to debate wide-ranging issues such as the environment, freedom of speech or feminism, in “commissions” and “general assemblies”. The meetings are peaceful and so far the organisers have been careful not to align themselves with any political party. The gatherings have attracted the curious as well as the militant, enthusing Parisian intellectuals and captivating the media.
Emulating protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street in the US or the Indignados in Spain, the gatherings are the latest political manifestation of the discontent stirring a nation afflicted by high unemployment, weak growth and a continung terror threat.
Lacking a leader or clear agenda, Nuit Debout has nonetheless unsettled a political class that sees signs of the populist wave sweeping other parts of southern Europe. With its revolutionary history, France is still in awe Parrainageof the power of “the street”.
By mobilising against the socialist government over its shift to pro-business policies, Nuit Debout is also a blow to Mr Hollande’s chances of re-election next year, since he needs every leftwing vote he can get to make it through to the second round run-off.