anti-hunger action in Paris?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : San Francisco Issues & Media : One Thread

On Dec 31st we received an e-mail about an anti-hunger action in Paris in which 100 people participated. A group called the Comite des sans-logis (the committee of the homeless) did a similar action as the Comite des sans-emploi (Committe of the unemployed)on Dec 3, 1997. They went to two different high-class restaurants, with the police sniffing at their heels, trying to reappropriate the food on site. The owner of the first restaurant tried to pay them off, giving them money. However what he gave them was a pittance. So the demonstrators threw the money back at him, and in front of the police, stating "We're not beggers!". Our french friends said that this passed well on the TV.

The second restaurant the owner said to come back later and they would feed them, so they decided to do that. They then went to the Canadian Embassy and denounced the 108 arrests made on Dec 3rd in Montreal when the hungry decided to reappropriate food from a buffet at the Queen Elizabeth hotel. Our french comrades in struggle, after denouncing the arrests made by the Montreal police, then went back to the hotel that said that they would feed them later. It ended up that a few activists were allowed to eat at the restaurant (albeit in the hallway) but most of them had to stay outside where a neighbour had made sandwiches as well as friend of the activists. All this done under the eye of the police. In fact the police had barricaded the two groups of activists.

Members of the Committee of the Unemployed in Montreal were elated to hear that another group had decided to do a similar action. Everyday, people are forced to shop-lift in order to put food on the table. More and more people in the West suffer from malnutrition. In the world, millions die of starvation every year. Food is a political issue.

_________________________ If you wish to have the original message (in french) which is more complete, please don't hesitate to e-mail us. We would be glad to forward it. However we do not have the time to translate it in full.

Dee COBP Citoyens et Citoyennes opposees a la brutalite policiere Citizens Against Police Brutality

-- richard (zpub@sirius.com), January 06, 1998


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