Tear gas becomes the norm for schoolkids in Paris

The World
France is in the grip of some pretty serious unrest. Workers and anarchists are protesting a new labor law that makes it easier for employers to hire and fire. It’s been going on for two months and some schoolkids now accept unrest and clouds of teargas a

France is in the grip of some pretty serious unrest. Workers and anarchists are protesting a new labor law that makes it easier for employers to hire and fire.

It’s been going on for two months now.

“Demonstrations and clashes with police on the streets have become almost a daily event in Paris,” says Vivienne Walt of Time magazine.

Walt got an email from her child’s school principal on Tuesday, saying: "I just wanted to inform you that at 3:30 pm we interrupted playtime because the air was thick with tear gas."

“So,” says Walt, “when I asked my kid about this when he came home from school, he looked at me as if I was kind of dumb and said, 'well, everybody knows that in France there’s demos and there’s tear gas.'”

“So this has really just become an ongoing way of life,” she adds.

Just another day in Paris, says Walt.

Want to catch up on the details? Read more about what's going on in France here.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.