The French are known for loving things just so. In Almost French, I learned that the sloppily dressed could make a Frenchman feel "unwell" — a taste for drama being another strength. So you can imagine, I'm sure, how ads plastered through metro tunnels, covering buildings, and lining block after city block make them feel.
Unwell enough that a group called The Dismantlers is protesting billboards. The self-titled "anti-ad crusaders" invite police to protests, making sure to offer a warm welcome upon their arrival. Three activists are then instructed to deface ads with messages like "Avert your eyes from ads: You risk being very strongly manipulated," which surely sounds better in French. When they're done, the police handcuff the vandalizers and the crowd applauds. A song, with lyrics written for the occasion, is sung. How very French?
To see what's in it for the protesters, read more.
The goal, of course, is to get arrested and gain publicity. Members of The Dismantlers gather funds to pay police fines, which run low since the vandalism is minimal. But once they get to court, they argue the righteousness of their cause. It's an "assault on individual liberties" and a "waste of money" (in French) — the ad industry is worth the country's entire education budget. It's aggressive, oppressive, and, besides, requires trees for paper.
The Dismantlers represent a fray in French life today. While the country elected moderate-conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and citizens enjoy the decadent lifestyle of the West, a large percentage of the population is still hostile toward the capitalist system. If "hostile" means protests filled with applause and song.
by Terry
Milano
Gucci
I wonder who has more ads, France or USA.
1lord i wish i lived in france, owned a giant color copier and a can of spray glue so i could cover every single surface with american ads.
2That's so funny
3The "Avert your eyes from ads: You risk being very strongly manipulated" is a reference to a little pink bunny who warns little children (and other people) of the dangers of getting stuck when the doors close.
In French, the warning reads "Ne mets pas la main sur la porte, tu risques de te faire pincer très fort" (Don't put your hands on the door, you'd risk getting your fingers caught). It's loosely translated in English by "Beware of trapping your hands in the doors"...
It even has a name ! It's called "Le Lapin du Métro Parisien" (the French Metro Bunny). You can see a picture of it here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniapneumonia/242609418/
So the activists use something everyone knows from their childhood and give it a new meaning... Which is a refreshing and fun way to fight, right ?
And If you don't mind me saying, French people are not against the capitalist system but they are fiercely against the obvious damage that it inflicts on human beings and the dehumanization that it provokes...
4@ janneth : I don't really know about that. I just know that on TV (not cable), at night, when you watch a film, you only have one break of commercials. In a 90 minutes film, you have 5 min of commercials. I remember "trying" to watch a movie in the US, and I couldn't because there were so many commercials I lost interest in the movie...
But the billboards on the streets, at the metro stations are everywhere and it's annoying.
5"French people are not against the capitalist system but they are fiercely against the obvious damage that it inflicts on human beings and the dehumanization that it provokes..."
What?
6Good luck getting your message out when you're anti-advertisement.
7So, the cops are there before the people damage other people's property? And they just watch?
8It's not that they don't like property rights GS. They just don't like the obvious damage that they inflict on human criminals and the obvious dehumumanization it provokes.
9Oh, they're capitalists, why didn't you say so?
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