A shrug of the shoulders and a sigh

Living in France has certain advantages. Living in France while there are student riots has none. Despite the fact that I've been living here for over 8 years, there are still some things I just don't get. All the students will go on and on about how sacred the right to strike is but when you mention that the right to be able to pick your kid up (Boy1) from school and drive back home in under an hour (we're talking about a 10 minute trip that I would've made on foot had Boy2 not had a fever) is just as sacred, they look at you like you're a stupid American. Which I am, but still. Most of the people not rioting are pretty philosophical about the whole thing, which is equally as maddening. Really. They take it like bad weather. Oh it's raining today, oh half the streets are blocked today. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Or maybe not, they're not the most optimistic people. And so, with a shrug and a sigh, they just accept it as part of the national landscape.