Pass me a gun! (or maybe just the laptop)
After 6 years in France, I feel that I am fairly well assimilated into the culture, and am extremely happy to be here. However, sometimes something happens that makes you realise that, in fact, you are a foreigner in a foreign land. Such an event is happening right now outside…
As I drove through town this morning, I pulled into the traffic at the same moment as a beat-up, bright yellow Renault van from at most 1960 pulled in behind me. I had heard loudspeakers from a distance, and now they started again from behind me; from, in fact, the said yellow van. What he was blaring out was that the circus was in town! Excitement from the kids in the back of the car, “Can we go? Please, please, go on dad”.
I’ve never been to a circus, but have been tempted in the past by such things as Cirque du Soleil. However, as we turned the corner and the van blared its way onward, we got to see into a second bright yellow lorry following behind. The back of this lorry had beened turned into a cage. In the cage, looking as forlorn as any decrepit animal that I have ever seen in any run-down zoo, was a lion. This lion was obviously past caring. It didn’t move and stared without seeing at the passers-by, unable to escape the sound of the loudspeakers proclaiming the wonders of the African savannah, right there in front of your eyes.
I am no animal rights activist (I did have a vegetarian phase, brought on mostly by economic realities, fear of mad cow disease and a crush on a vegetarian girl at university), but I was appalled at the sight. I am certain that such a scene would not be tolerated in Britain (and surely by most other countries). It was truly something that I thought (and hoped) belonged to another age. This is obviously tolerated in France, as I can still hear the guy blaring, and the town hall has let them take over the town centre for the event. How can they let this happen? Shame on you France! I am intrigued to know whether it is my anglo-saxon roots that have made me feel this way or if I am just a big old prude. I will run a survey at work next week and let you know the results.
As I am sat here writing, I am fighting the unachievable urge to go out and let the lion out in the hope that it would jump out and turn on the guy. However, I am sure the drugs mean that it has no energy and it would look at me wondering what the hell I was doing before swiping me with its paw with its claws removed. Being a coward, instead, I take out my animosity on the keyboard. Thank you blog.
