La Manifestation (29 janvier)
It's not a great picture, because you don't really get the full view of the whole crowd marching (or ambling, really) down the street, but you get the idea. The white and blue sign says "Sarkozy n'aura pas la peau de l'université," which, as the metaphor is sort of cross-lingual, means "Sarkozy won't have the hide of the university." Quite a lot of students were protesting. The ones from the Sorbonne had a nice banner — understandably, since manifestations happen frequently in France. I'm sure the above red flags of CGT (Confédération générale du travail) were also specially made for demonstrations.
Strangely, the general mood of the marchers seemed to be fairly happy, even if their posters and handbills were strongly worded (la destruction de notre avenir — destruction of our future, etc). One of my classmates from Brown even said there was a barbecue further down the street.
Off-topic: being in Paris has the same effect that working in a women's clothing store last summer had on me, only much stronger: fashion (la mode!) is one of my primary interests, behind food. I discovered there's a mall two metro stops away from me. I've been hankering after some ankle boots, lacy tights, and a smart coat...
(And that's how Robin spent all her rent money.)