Viva La Revolucion?

Workers in both Paris and London have taken to the streets, protesting job losses and cut pensions:

In Paris, more than one million workers marched against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, the centrepiece of his reform agenda.

Labour unions called for the showdown over the pensions bill, which Mr. Sarkozy insists he will push through as an “absolute priority” and which was presented to a stormy session in parliament even as the marches continued.

London has similar problems:

On the other side of the English Channel, millions of commuters struggled to get to work as a 24-hour strike by workers on London’s underground rail system crippled much of the network.

People took to bikes, buses, walked, or made use of extra boat services on the River Thames in a bid to beat the stoppage, called in protest to 800 job cuts.

I can't imagine how bad it is to get around London without the Tube.

Heist!

The New York Times:

PARIS — A lone hooded man who squirmed through a broken window and evaded security alarms stole five paintings by Picasso, Matisse and other artists overnight Wednesday from the Paris Museum of Modern Art in a brash theft of art valued at $114 million to $127 million.

The paintings stolen:

The stolen works, part of the museum’s permanent collection, were “Dove With Green Peas” by Picasso, “La Pastorale” by Matisse, “Olive Tree Near l’Estaque” by Georges Braque, “Woman With a Fan” by Amedeo Modigliani and “Still Life With Chandeliers” by Fernand Léger.

I am deeply saddened by this development.