Strike chaos on Paris airport routes costs musicians their next gig

Strike chaos on Paris airport routes costs musicians their next gig

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norman lebrecht

January 13, 2014

Nothing to do with croissants on motorbikes (you’ll be glad to know), but access to Paris airports was jammed this morning by a taxi strike and the consequent pressure it put on other means of transportation. Taxis also protested by driving slowly down main routes.

In the picture below, Suzana Bartal (winner of New York Artist competition) has just  missed her flight to New York, pianist Paloma Kouider (of Trio Karenine) hers to Vienna and the cellist Gautier Capuçon his flight to Montreal.

The fourth person is the composer Eric Tanguy who was seeing Suzana off after she performed one of his works. They met Paloma and Gautier quite by chance in the transport wilderness.

Eric tell us: ‘this picture was taken not far from CDG airport (in Vert- Galant ) where our second train left us after the first one broke down. Impossible to get a bus or anything!’

capucon &c

Where is the Président de la République when you really need him? (No need to answer that one.)

capucon &c

 

Comments

  • Sanda Schuldmann says:

    Terrible. Not to mention how expensive flights are today and the entire unpleasantness of being searched, etc. I hope they get at least a free ticket or something in return for all this headache.

  • francois grillot says:

    i hope it pisses off a lots of people.., that’s what’s strikes are for!!! of course you wound’t know that, living in the USA .. I think they will get a cab ride!!!! Suzana will get her 15′, don’t worry!

  • Roy Lisker says:

    Anyone who is not prepared to deal with transport strikes in Paris, should not venture in the fabled city of the arts

    • Or, for strikes in general, read: France. As for ‘Where is Flanby when you really need him?’, I’ll just return the serve with:

      a) We’ve neither ever needed or wanted him (He didn’t win; Sarkozy lost);

      b) On the back of a scooter, being photographed by paparazzi outside his latest girlfriend’s building (Question: How did this man ever get so powerful that he enjoys this kind of extra-curricular activity?).

      Still, we’re all enjoying the panem et circenses with which the country regularly regales us. That’s the trouble.

  • ed says:

    Francois- bravo- and you’re right, we are still weenies and sheep in the USA. As for the President of France,he’s just another one of them neo-liberal Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton imperialist types in socialist clothing creating havoc with his A-Team in the Middle East and North Africa, while screwing the little guy (e.g., taxi drivers, et al) to finance the misadventures.

  • Graham Harris says:

    I shall answer your question re: French President.

    He is, like all politicians, so far into his own tuning pipe that he has lost the score as far as real people are concerned!

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