My best strike: “We kiss on this battlefield”

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With Block Everything on September 10th, or the numerous calls for strikes, the country risks once again entering a cycle of social conflict. While unfortunately not all strikes and protests are victorious, they are always a powerful collective moment. This week, our witnesses discuss their significant struggles, where fighting for a common cause made them experience intense individual emotions, experience joy, and change their way of seeing society or even love… Today, Agathe, 30, a researcher, remembers a demonstration that changed her love life.

“It’s March 2023. At that point, I’m doing my thesis. In the lab, there’s a guy, Simon, who’s three years older than me and who works in the same team. I’m wrapped up in finishing my thesis and organizing my defense, which is keeping me very busy mentally, so even though I know he has his eye on me, nothing’s happening.

"The big demonstration against the Sainte-Soline megabasins arrives. With a group of friends from the lab, including Simon, we decide to go there, in the pacifist procession. The idea is for everyone to hold hands and surround the megabasin. I, who am originally from Paris and rather used to demonstrations – I have participated in several movements