Métro Manifesto

Want to know the hot-button topics in French culture? Just take the Métro. There are all kinds of provocative stickers attached to the walls and windows of every train.

France supports the Palestinian Authority and the notion of a Palestinian state in ways the US can't even contemplate. There's also a current of sentiment against what we might call the Israeli "occupation" of Palestinian territory, but what they would call "colonization." Fascinating.

Apparently, 40 years after women's lib, the French still aren't getting the message about equality in the home. This sticker suggests that women and men "everywhere" should "split chores, all the time." (Tâches could also just refer to tasks or responsibilities in general, but I like reading it as "chores.")

Alas, we didn't get a picture of the iconic purple No Sarkozy Day stickers, but at least we caught that anti-horse meat ad campaign way back in the fall . . .

Another thing the Métro is good for: promoting safe sex. Now in "his" and "hers" versions! (It seems unfair that he gets four for two euros, while she only gets one.)

Maybe the Métro's new slogan should be, "It helps you get around." (Or maybe you can come up with something better . . .)