American writers ZZ Packer and Nafkote Tamirat join co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell from Paris to talk about recent mass demonstrations across France. They explain how the movement originated at the start of the academic year, with high school students protesting the state of education, and subsequently snowballed to include broad agitation with trade unions and others over poor socioeconomic conditions.
Packer and Tamirat discuss the history and structure of the French education system and trace how students came to contend with crumbling buildings and old textbooks. The writers reflect on narratives around property damage versus harm to people and share stories of navigating teargas and confusion amidst the protests. Packer, who was on a brief stint at the American University of Paris, and Tamirat, who is also affiliated with the university and lives in France full-time, also talk about the role of the police in escalating violence.
They respond to questions about the protests’ potential impact on spring elections and assess the possibility of real change. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below.
Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan, Whitney Terrell, Eric Thong, Archer Walsh, and Elizabeth Willis. The Parking Lot Attendant • Teret Teret (forthcoming) Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 7, Episode 29: Jen Silverman on Generational Divides in American Politics • Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 9, Episode 45: Aruni Kashyap on India’s Cockroach Youth Movement • Hundreds of Thousands Join Another Round of Protests in France | The New York Times • The American University of Paris EXCERPT FROM A CONVERSATION WITH ZZ PACKER AND NAFKOTE TAMIRAT Whitney Terrell: I have one thing I don’t understand about the French system that maybe you can clarify for me.
At least I think I understand, [but] I want to make sure I’m right about this. My understanding is that there’s not a private school and then public school system like there is in America. And that’s one reason why I think, when I say it’s less expensive, I imagine that you can send your kids to the public schools.
You don’t have to pay for them. My child goes to a private school here in Kansas City, and it’s very expensive, and I would prefer not to pay for that. ZZ Packer: I want Nafkote to speak to this, but I will say that one of my first encounters with the French system is just the understanding that the suburbs of France, which we in the United States kind of think of “the suburbs” as being the place where you have the high property values, et cetera, et cetera.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
