Tour De France Protest--Stage 16

[Philpug]

From The Guardian...

​

A number of Tour de France riders needed medical treatment after police used a spray to break up a farmers' protest early on stage 16. The race was neutralised after farmers threw hay bales into the road 29 kilometres into the stage from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon. ITV4’s commentary team of Ned Boulting and David Millar say that it was a member of the Gendarmerie who accidentally sprayed several cyclists and himself, as the chemical blew back into the policeman's face. An Associated Press photographer at the scene says four-time champion Chris Froome and other riders had eye drops applied while the race stopped for several minutes Tour de France 2018: race resumes after protesters halt peloton on stage 16 – live!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/l...2018-stage-16-takes-race-to-the-pyrenees-live

 

[fatbob]

Standard French farmer's protest. Wouldn't be surprised to see gendarmes tear gassing Sky riders on purpose given general French unpopularity.

 

[scott43]

Whenever I fly to Europe I always studiously avoid France for anything travel related...

 

[SShore]

Standard French farmer's protest. Wouldn't be surprised to see gendarmes tear gassing Sky riders on purpose given general French unpopularity.

Can't say I would blame them if they did.

Whenever I fly to Europe I always studiously avoid France for anything travel related...

Amazing how often I hear this from my fellow Americans. I've been to France five times, from the Basque country in the southwest, to Loire, Brittney, Normandy, Alsace and Burgundy to Provence and except for the cheese lady that @newfydog had to save me from (turns out it was my fault for touching the cheese when there was a big sign telling you NOT to touch the cheese), I have found the French to be charming and hospitable hosts. I only speak about four words of French but that has never been a problem, we still seem to find a way to communicate (southern Germany is the only place where I have been in Europe where the majority of people were downright rude about the language difference.) Bottom line is France is my favorite country in Europe to visit and I can't wait to go back and explore more of it.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Looks like les flics sont tres serieux becuase they unloaded a fire extinguisher sized canister of tear gas on one guy.

We visited Rouen on a french exchange in high school and the farmers were burning tires in intersections. It was very smoky. The only person who was rude was the guy renting skates at the ice skating rink, and my exchange "father" who made fun of the Challenger at the dinner table. I forget how I replied but it might have involved D-Day. He was always good for a bottle of cidre at the dinner table so no hard feelings.

 

[scott43]

Bottom line is France is my favorite country in Europe to visit and I can't wait to go back and explore more of it.

Oh not a criticism of the French people as a whole..just the amount of strikes and trying to get places. Unless you're self-driving.

 

[cantunamunch]

Dude. You touched the cheese?

 

[Jilly]

Not surprising at all. Also why does the Tour organizers let the population so close to the riders. Sometimes they only have the width of the bike to get through. I'm surprised that someone hasn't knocked some rider off his bike.

Unions are a big thing in France and Quebec. It's a cultural thing.

 

[graham418]

ne jamais toucher le effin fromage!!

 

[cantunamunch]

width of the bike to get through. I'm surprised that someone hasn't knocked some rider off his bike..

Whaddya mean 'hasn't'? Nibali now has a fractured vertebra.

It takes a lot of money and cops and barriers, sometimes in quite remote places, to keep the crowds off - and doing it over several hundreds of kms is not generally practicable.

 

[coskigirl]

The narrow path through the crowds is just a part of bike racing at this point. The same thing happened during the US Pro Cycling Challenge here in Colorado.

 

[scott43]

I was trying to compute how many steel barriers they need for the last km of Alpe d'Huez to keep the crowds out..and the logistics of moving them around..

 

[cantunamunch]

I was trying to compute how many steel barriers they need for the last km of Alpe d'Huez to keep the crowds out..and the logistics of moving them around..

From Bourg d' Oisans it would take 30 km of steel barriers - oof - and if they use water barriers they'll come to resemble port-o-lets in no time at all....

 

[graham418]

Oh not a criticism of the French people as a whole..just the amount of strikes and trying to get places. Unless you're self-driving.

Curious that Italy is nowhere on this list . Maybe they just call them national holidays........

 

[Ron]

they crowds are out of control. a guy pushes Froome, another kid almost fell into a rider and a motorcycle , Nibali gets hooked by a camera strap, a flag hits another rider in the face on this tour alone and then there's the acrid flare smoke choking riders. I get the pageantry and heritage but this is getting out of control. im just saying something needs to be done to reign in the drunk idiots and make this safer for the riders. A team invests millions of dollars and riders train for years to end up being eliminated by a fool.

 

[Ron]

 

[newfydog]

Whenever I fly to Europe I always studiously avoid France for anything travel related...

That's odd, because they love your bizzare French Canadian accents. I agree with SShore, I keep hearing about the rude, nasty French, but can't find them myself . I'll spend another seven weeks there this year, maybe I'll find one. PS (the cheese lady is an institution in the the Cotignac market. She has a sign in French and English just for those among us who can't resist poking a ripe brie.)

 

[SShore]

PS (the cheese lady is an institution in the the Cotignac market. She has a sign in French and English just for those among us who can't resist poking a ripe brie.)

And don't even think about ordering less than three cheeses. Thank God Newfy was there to translate that one for me, I may have ended up in a French prison for that heresy.

 

[Tom K.]

That's odd, because they love your bizzare French Canadian accents. I agree with SShore, I keep hearing about the rude, nasty French, but can't find them myself . I'll spend another seven weeks there this year, maybe I'll find one. PS (the cheese lady is an institution in the the Cotignac market. She has a sign in French and English just for those among us who can't resist poking a ripe brie.)

I've got a close friend that spends a lot of time in France. I asked him about this topic, and his response was that luckily nearly all the rude French are in Paris, so don't worry about it.

Any merit to that?

In other news, Froome, stating exposure to tear gas, was seen frantically hitting his inhaler........

 

[SShore]

People visiting the US that just went to NYC would have the same opinion.