National pastime, cathartic rite, and hereditary calling all rolled into one, the French labor protest occupies a holy space on the country's social genome, much like baseball or playing the stock market does in the U.S. This week, the kids in France let the world know that the protest gene is alive and well, uncorrupted by years of corrosive globalization and conservative politics. And the world is paying attention. We can roll our eyes at images of rich kids staring down robotic water canons, but we can't deny that France is one of a dwindling number of democracies where dissent is not only tolerated by the... More >>>