We all know the French word ‘grève’ — we hear it often enough! But did you know that it also means a sandy or pebbly shore? That older meaning gave Paris’s Place de Grève, now Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, its name.
Out of work Parisiens would gather there every morning to ‘faire grève‘ in front of the town hall, in the hope of being offered work, maybe loading or unloading boats transporting goods up and down the river.
Today, ‘faire grève‘ refers to stopping work to make a point to the boss and strikes, demos, and protests are part of the French way of life.
Here’s a bit of vocab to make it a little easier to understand what’s going on in the news…
STRAIGHT FROM THE MEDIA
| French | Meaning in this context |
| Un blocus / bloquer un lycée | A blockade / to block access to a secondary school |
| La mobilisation lycéenne | The protest movement among secondary-school pupils |
| Un appel à la mobilisation | A call to join protests or action |
| Une convergence des luttes | Different protest movements joining forces |
| L’acte l, acte II, III d’un mouvement | The first, second, third¦ stage or organised protest day of a movement |
| Une grève reconductible | A strike that participants can vote to extend |
| Une action coup de poing | A sudden, high-impact protest action, such as a brief blockade (so called due to it being designed to have an immediate impact or attract attention.P |
| Un barrage filtrant | A roadblock where some traffic is allowed through |
| Une manifestation sauvage | A demonstration that has not been formally declared to the authorities |
| Des heurts / des affrontements | Clashes / confrontations |
| Une nasse | Police containment of a group of demonstrators (called kettlingin English apparently) |
| Une interpellation | Someone being stopped or apprehended by police; often reported as an arrest |
GENERAL
To go on strike – se mettre en/faire grève
A general strike – une grève générale
A (hunger) strike – une grève (de la faim)
A (peaceful)demo – une manifestation (pacifique))
A go-slow (when vehicles block roads by driving very slowly) – une opération escargot
Strike notice – Un préavis de grève
A march/parade – un défilé
A banner – un étendard/une banderole
A placard – une pancarte
A meeting/gathering – un rassemblement
A demand/claim – une revendication
To demand that – exiger que (+ subjunctive)
To change things – faire bouger les choses
To support… – apporter son soutien à….
A day of action – une journée d’action
A blackleg – un jaune
A leaflet – un tract
Union – un syndicat
Picket line – un piquet de grève
A feeling of) unease – Un sentiment de) malaise
Social unrest – les troubles sociaux
To solve a conflict – résoudre un conflit
To express one’s concern about… – Exprimer son inquietude concernant…
WHEN TEMPERS FRAY…
To use violence – avoir recours à la violence
A riot – une émeute
A rioter – un émeutier
Someone who deliberately damages property – un casseur
An activist – un militant
Riot police – la police anti émeute (les CRS) /
To chant – scander
Tear gas – le gaz lacrymogène
A petrol bomb – un cocktail molotov
A water cannon – un canon à eau
To ransack – saccager
To provoke – provoquer
Angry – en colère
To throw projectiles – lancer des projectiles
THE PEOPLE
A crowd – une foule
A striker – un(e) gréviste
A demonstrator – un(e) manifestant/e
A sympathiser/supporter – un(e) sympathisant
A state representative – un(e) representant de l’etat
A tax payer – un(e) contribuable
A pensioner – un(e) retraité
A union member – un(e) syndicaliste
The police – les forces de l’ordre, la police
A lorry driver – un camionneur
