Another Saturday, another day of protest, another Tuesday, another day of strikes. The protests continue to gather momentum. This time round, they may affect us personally. My latest pilgrimage to the holy ground has been brought forward a day because the flight tomorrow was cancelled. Meanwhile la bienheureuse headed off on her last business trip of the year this morning. The trip from Vienna to Brussels via CDG airport is the unknown quantity. Will the flight tomorrow go, and will the train to Brussels the following morning go? Who knows? Certainly not PM François Fillon who was on TV last night insisting that there would be no petrol shortages because of the 'illegal' blockades of petrol refineries and storage depots all over France. Bet the thousands of motorists queuing at petrol stations only to find them dry believed him.
Meanwhile, lyonnais protesters of a different kind were partially mollified yesterday. A concerted campaign has been going on to try and force the resignation of OL coach Claude Puel, including banners all over town. However, signs of an improvement in performances in the last couple of weeks were confirmed, result-wise at least, by the 3-1 win over Lille at Gerland last night. An entertaining game, even if Lille largely dominated possession and the result somewhat flattered the home team. We treated ourselves to a pre-match dinner in Ninkasi, but the early arrival to ensure a table meant we ended up in the perishing cold stadium almost an hour before kickoff. A biting northerly wind blew down our necks the whole three hours. Whatever happened to autumn? From Indian summer to Lyon winter in one fell swoop.
