Manifestation contre le TVA (the tampon tax protest)

On the night of the 14th-15th November, the Assemblée National rejected requests to lower the tax on “feminine hygiene products (tampons, pads, etc) down from 20% to 5.5%. Protesters reacted accordingly. 

The “normal” tax rate in France is 20% by default. A reduced rate of 5.5% applies to “les produits de première nécessité” – water, food, alcohol-free drinks, books, cinema, condoms, sweets… Just to put that in perspective, Coca Cola is taxed at 5.5%. And you don’t need Coca Cola for you to feel more hygienic, or to stop people being disgusted by your bodily functions. And yes, it’s great that condoms are at the reduced rate for tax (and can also be acquired free of charge from some places), but as many people have already said, it’s a lot harder to abstain from menstruation than it is to abstain from sex. Many people worry about the effects of birth control, or can’t take it because of medication, or just want to let their bodies do their thing. (And have you heard about the concept of each person being allowed to decide what to do with their own body?)

“let us bleed without over-taxing us”

This was the second protest I’ve been to in Paris. The first – to show support for women who had been exiled or were involved in the refugee crisis – was a little smaller but involved a lot of the same feminist groups like Osez Le Féminisme and FièrE.

It was kind of strange seeing so many people wearing the objects they were protesting about the price of. Moon cup crowns, tampon necklaces, sanitary pads with “#jesuistampon” written on them stuck to T-shirts. I was a little worried that people who saw or heard about the protest might make a point of this and deem it impractical, but it was definitely visually effective.

“no tampons without money” / “no tax on my uterus”

The protest took place at Place du Châtelet near the Hôtel de Ville and right next to one of the metro station exits. This meant there were a lot of people passing by who came over to ask questions or take photos of the placards and the washing line of period-stained pants hanging between two trees. I’m not really sure how quickly the issue of the tampon tax will be resolved, but it doesn’t hurt to draw more attention to the issue. As one man there said, “sans pression, il y a rien”. If you don’t pressure the government to change things, nothing will happen.

Paris - things I wish I'd been told

Hey. So moving to a new city is always kind of scary. Going to university is scary. But going to another country is a whole other kettle of fish. Here are some things I wish I had known before coming to Paris:

Important things take a long time.

That sounds more philosophical than it is. I'm talking flat-searches, setting up bank accounts, getting a student Navigo pass for the metro. You also have to do things in order - you can't have a Navigo until you have a French phone number, you can't have a French phone number without a French bank account, you can't have a French bank account until you have a French address. 

There's also the matter of bank charges: banks in France will charge you for having a bank account, unlike ones in the UK. Most of them do deals for students and under-25s which give you money off or a charge-free account for the first year. Just keep an eye on that.

The student Navigo (Imagine R) forms are available in metro stations, just ask the person at Information for a dossier de souscription. You can use a mobile or flat phone number on the form, but you need to put one of the two. 

A cheap French phone option is from Free, who offer 2 hours of calls, 50mb of data and unlimited texts to French numbers for 2 euros a month, contract-free. Use wi-fi to Skype or WhatsApp people from home, or look around for data deals if keeping in touch all the time is a big deal for you.

Pickpockets will try and steal from you.

You probably think you're very savvy and won't ever get anything stolen. I think the same about myself but it's important to not let your guard down. Keep valuables in front of you, in a secure pocket (like inside a jacket, in a zip-up pocket or shoulder bag on your front, or in a front jeans pocket if your pockets are big enough). Be especially aware when moving through busy streets or metro stations. 

Street harassment is still big here.

Honestly, it feels like men in Paris are about 30 years behind England. UK men will group up to target women, but here they just don't care. Solo men will make comments to you that are neither kind nor true. I've tried talking to them about the idea of entitlement but my feminist vocab isn't good enough yet. Just make sure to perfect your leave-me-alone face.

But please remember that it will all be okay.

• Maybe you'll find a great apartment first time round. 
• Maybe your landlord will be horrible. 
• Maybe you'll airbnb for a couple of months and be severely underwhelmed. 
• Maybe you'll sleep in the same room as your flatmate. 
• Maybe you'll pay too much rent. 
• Maybe the extra charges will pile up.
• Maybe you'll be living outside the Paris postcode. 

All of these things have happened to people I know, and it's okay. They're all in better places now, and you do have to make compromises but that's the case for living anywhere. My uni doesn't offer student accommodation, so you do kind of get thrown in at the deep end with flat-searching, but it's a really valuable experience, having to learn to do this stuff on your own.

If you have any more worries about moving for uni, I probably have either thought of or done the things you're worried about , or know someone who has. So let me know if you want some help with that. Good luck!

- Alice