Le mot de la semaine: grève

Le mot de la semaine:  grève

The word of the week is grève (f).  The original meaning is that of a seashore, sandy beach or sandbank, strand of a river. Les grèves de la Loire are the sandbanks of the Loire river. La Grève or la Place de Grève was the Strand or open space on the banks of the Seine River that flows through Paris where dissatisfied workmen used to assemble.  It is from this that comes the more common meaning we see nowadays. Une grève is a strike or walkout. Se mettre en grève is to go on strike.  Etre en grève is to be on strike. Une grève de la faim is a hunger strike.  Une grève du zèle is a work to rule/ go slow strike.

There have been several strikes recently in France linked to the Government’s desire to increase the retirement age (la retraite) from 60 to 62 years of age.

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