La grève

This week I worked with the second graders again, and I got to present a wonderful PowerPoint on Maryland to the classes. The students loved seeing pictures of the White House (okay so it is in Washington, DC, but Maryland donated land to make DC) and learning that there are wild horses on Assateague Island. Unfortunately, class was canceled on Thursday because of the teacher strike.

That's right- it was only a matter of time before I got to experience a grève (strike) in France. The right to strike is very important to the French, and they are not afraid to use that right. The primary teachers only had a one-day strike to express their discontent with several proposed changes for the next school year. Starting next school year, elementary schools in France will have a half-day of class on Wednesday. (The past couple of years there has been no school at all for elementary students on Wednesday.) Furthermore, there has been a salary freeze for teachers the past two years and their taxes have increased during that time. Not all of the teachers in the Nancy area participated in the strike, but there was only two classes held at my school the day of the strike.

Today I got to visit the lovely town of Lunéville, which is only about 17 minutes away from Nancy by train. I visited the Château de Lunéville, known as the "Versailles of Lorraine", which is still under restoration after a terrible fire ten years ago. I hope to go back in the spring when the castle gardens are in full bloom. Lunéville used to be an industrial town with many nearby factories. Lunéville is also very famous for its faïence pottery.

Here are some pictures of the Château de Lunéville. Enjoy!