THE LQTEST FROM PARIS! European Social Forum Information

international | anti-capitalism | news report Wednesday November 12, 2003 15:56 by Joe Carolan - Globalise Resistance

struggling zith crqwy french keyboqrds

Where to stay and first Irish session

First off, Paris is gigantic and the ESF is dispersed in four different areas of the city: When you arrive, make your way to central Paris and get the Metro Line 13 (colour coded Cyan) north to Saint Denis (ends at Saint Denis Universite)- get off at the St Denis-Porte de Paris stop (second last).

Here all organisqtions participating in the ESF have their information stalls under a huge motorway flyover near the National Stadium (Stade de France)- Globalise Resistance Ireland is in the door on the left and we,ve got maps and accomodation sorted for the Irish.

The accomodation system is in crisis- they are already oversubscribed and can no longer put up individuals with supportive Parisians. It took two hours of cauchemar bureaucratique to sort the Irish sector! We are staying in the southern communist controlled town of Ivry, in a region called Villejuif- maps available at the GR Ireland stall in St. Denis, but here,s the directions anyways

Take the Metro Line 7 (colour coded Pink) heading south ending at Villejuif Louis Aragon. Get off at Villejuif Paul Vaillant-Couturier. Cross the Avenue de Paris, past the Ford dealership, and take the first right in the fork down to the Cafe de Fleurs- go straight on down l,Impasse d Ecole and turn right at the big stone wall surrounding the villa like school. Walk to the right until you come to the Rabelais street on your right. Go up there to the blue and yellow fence and the Gym is there. YOU WONT GET ANY ACCOMODATION WITHOUT THE RIGHT PASS SO GET THEM FROM THE STALL IN ST DENIS

GR IRELAND are hosting our first session tomorrow Thursday at 9am in the Cinema Quai De Seine, Room 5, in Ivry Sur Seine

Take Metro Line 14 (colour coded dark purple) to the end of the line in the south at Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand

The session is called Life After Capitalism, with George Monbiot, Susan George from ATTAC, Michael Albert from Z net, Johnathan Neale from GR Britain and yours truly chairing

There is an ESF paper with extensive maps and full programme of the main events available you should get ASAP; REMEMBER THE METRO ENDS at 12 midnight- SOME OF THE DISTANCES ARE HUGE TRAVERSING THE WHOLE CITY SO LEAVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME!

Okay hope thats useful for those coming- first thing buy a Billet Orange weekly transport ticket for 27 euro- youll need it. The forum is already choc a bloc so its going to be bigger than Florence- the big debates already are around the Islamophobia of the french left- next years forum is in London

Email me here in Paris at
joseph_trotsky at yahoo dot com

French keyboards suck- the a is where the q is, puctuqtion is qll over the plqce, the w is zhere the z is qggghhhhhhh!!!!!!

this took me hqlf qn hour to zrite

Joe out