Lost in the City

Labor Day is on May 1st in France not in September. It also is a traditional day of marches all over the country. This year, Labor Day had a special flavour given the proximity of the presidential election's second round. This is why I didn't go marching. I preferred going to Segolene Royal's last Parisian meeting at Charlety Stadium. This was the biggest political meeting to date in the 2007 campaign, gathering 40,000 people in the stadium while 20,000 were outside, the gates having been closed. The atmosphere was unbelievable. Young people mostly, cheering for Segolene Royal. She wasn't alone on stage though: actors and singers were by her side, voicing their support to her campaign. They spoke, they sung, offering to all of us left-wing hopefuls a very nice and inspiring afternoon. It was important for me to be there, close to political friends, to bask in a left-wing atmosphere in those gloomy days.