Protests - Part 24

 Intermittents, France

In 2014, a group of French performers, technicians, and other workers in theater, film, television and festivals protested a proposed change to French law.  The workers are called intermittents because of the seasonal and part-time nature of their work.  The proposed change eliminated higher unemployment compensation and benefits that a 1936 law had given them in recognition of their job insecurity.

The intermittents, in protest, forced the cancellation of a number of summer festivals.  In June, 2014, they confronted French Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti in the town of Guise in northeast France.  See the video clip above, showing some clothed intermittents making a gymnastic pyramid, while other naked protesters gathered.

The naked protesters formed a wall of naked bodies, above, to confront the Minister of Culture.  The sign on the chest of the guy in front says, "No to the agreement."

In 2021, intermittents protested at several theaters, including the Theatre du Nord in Lille, France, above.  They demanded the reopening of places of culture after pandemic shutdowns, asking why churches could reopen but not theaters.  The sign says, "You can't stop a people who dance."

A rear view of a naked protester in Lille.  On his back: "Art is public."

We end with a video of actor and author Sébastien Thiéry in 2015 at the "Nuit des Molières," an evening recognizing excellence in French theatre, which was attended by another Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin.  Thiéry entered the stage completely naked, and then he lectured the Minister of Culture, whose face is shown in the audience, about the lack of unemployment benefits for playwrights.  He said everyone else in the industry, including costume designers, got benefits, but not authors.

"Why this discrimination?" he asked.  "Is it because we are physically ugly?"  Then he stepped out from behind the lectern to show everyone his naked body.

His lecture went on for over 4 minutes, but I trimmed it to the parts that you can enjoy even if you don't speak French.  The video was from a French TV broadcast without blurring or pixellation.  I wish American TV was not so puritanical about showing nudity.