My friend Amy and I went out shopping that day and made it back to our apartment to watch the inauguration on CNN. It happened at 7 pm here, so for once the time change was not a big issue! I had to take a few pictures of the memorable event....from the TV:
The CNN reporters and the French stations couldn't believe the crowds and kept zooming in on all the people.....
Afterwards, we walked to church (the American Church of Paris) where we met her husband and Lyle for a prayer service for the new President. The church was packed for an upbeat service, complete with a rocking Gospel choir from Paris! We heard that many French people came to the service.
It appears that they are happier with Mr. Obama than their own President Sarkozy. This past Thursday, hundreds of thousands of public service workers staged a 1-day strike protesting his policies and cuts. We all braced for the worst.....buses, metros, and planes cutting service. About 30% of the teachers also joined the strike. However, the "Black Thursday" did not make the impact as they thought it would. Most of the population here are tired of these strikes, especially at this time when so many are out of work. How many were in the streets here in Paris depended on who did the reporting. The police said about 65,000.....the Union people said over 300,000! Across France the figures ranged from 1 to 2 million. All I know is that it seemed to me that bus service was not really disrupted much, but people did have problems getting into the city from the suburbs. At least the ambulance drivers weren't on strike this time!!! (See blog from last year regarding their blasting their sirens all night for a week!!!)
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