Paris: Street Protests against Education Budget Cuts

Last Sunday the protestors filled the streets of Paris, demonstrating against the decisions of the French Government to cut the education budget, while using public money to subsidize banks, using the financial crisis as an excuse.

Numerous leftist political parties, unions and groups took part in the protest. For me as a visitor it was interesting to whiteness the diverse demographics of the participants, both in regard to gender and age. I tried to document the various message spreading techniques by this small video made with a mobile phone:

Such tools included disseminating lyrics from protest songs and slogans on paper (leaflets), groups of drummers using professional drums or plastic cans, while using balloons as effective placards was a novelty to me. Concerning logistics, the march included vans selling sandwiches to the participants, and other logistics. The walk took many kilometers, through several main Paris boulevards.

In fact, the most effective noise-making tool available to individual persons seems to be the cowbell, like those on the photo. Their sound travels very far with high quality.