Crass consumerism

We went to Strasbourg over the weekend. It's about 3 hours away by car, and is renowned for its Christmas Market which turned out to be overly commercialized. The Grand Island or Grande Ile at the center of the city is, however, very beautiful to see. Each street has its own Christmas decorations and most of them are tastefully done. The architecture is old and many of the streets are narrow and cobblestoned.

There were several immediate difference which I noticed between the French and the Germans. One of the biggest was that at red lights the French would still cross the street like Americans do. Hardly anyone ever does that in Germany. People here wait dutifully for the light to change and then walk over. The French barrelled across regardless of whether they legally could.

There was also a great creative demonstration in the middle of the Christmas Market. Some radicals were protesting consumerism and giving out paper awards if you hadn't bought anything yet that day. The demo was organized by a group that wants to take back public space. It was a great creative demo. I have yet to see one in Germany.

Prices were cheaper there as well in the grocery store. France's sales tax is, perhaps, not as high as Germany's which is increasing 3% more come January 1, 2007. It goes up from 16% to 19%.