Those crazy sirens

We live across the street from the Ministre de Sante (Department of Health).....and therefore we have seen our share of strikes from all sorts of medical workers, including doctors and nurses. They occur at least once or twice a month, like this first one I witnessed in March from the physical therapists. They are usually relatively quiet and peaceful. Until today....



We had returned last night from a weekend trip to Normandy. We both wanted to see the D-Day beaches, as well as to take a small break from all of the noises that a big city like Paris can give you.....like sirens going off all day long. (But more on that in the next blog). What we noticed in the country was the QUIETNESS......no sirens! Can you remember the sound of the European sirens from the movies? Well, we hear them countless times a day here and we so enjoyed getting away from them for awhile.


What did we wake up to this morning back here in Paris? At about 6:45 A.M. , sirens were going off everywhere. After incorporating them in my dream for awhile, we both figured out that this is not a dream....but occurring right on the street below us. It was another strike (or "manifestation" as they call them), this time by the ambulance drivers. This group has a weapon....their sirens! So, they have been lined up on our street and around the block and turn on their sirens every hour for about 5 minutes! Then they shoot off firecrackers! This has been going on ALL DAY! My French tutor told me that they are not just from Paris but from a lot of other towns....there must be 100 of them, along with media and police. Life gets pretty exciting in the 7th arrondisement sometimes! I am including a few pictures, but to get the full effect of the cacophony of sound that is not easy to describe, I shot a sound video of it and will try and attempt to download it.



Of course Lyle asked me how to say "Get back to work" in French so he could yell it out the window. I told him "Non, je ne sais pas! Vive le France!" I don't think he buys it.