la rentrée
back to school in paris, french protest culture, and turning 21.
Bonjour à tous! (Hello everyone!)
As I’m drafting this edition of renee’s rambles, I thought I might set the scene for you. Last week, I was stuck at home doing online school…in 2025. The flashbacks of learning online during the pandemic are why I am officially declaring to you today that I refuse to do online Zoom academia ever again.
If you didn’t read the news over the past two weeks (and you’re reading this newsletter, I love your priorities!), France is currently in the midst of some political turbulence. Just last week, a no-confidence vote in the Assemblée nationale ousted Prime Minister François Bayrou over his government’s proposed budget plan to lower the country’s debt. A protest movement known as ‘Block Everything’ gained enough momentum in recent months to the point where Sept. 10th (last Wednesday), we saw strike action take place, resulting in many key sectors grinding to a halt.
My school, the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (also known as SciencesPo), is located in a central area where protests outside were anticipated. So, at home I stayed, with a good seat to witness just how deeply protest culture is ingrained in the French.
A few days later, Sébastien Lecornu, an ally of President Macron, was appointed as Bayrou’s successor… France’s third PM in one year.
Today, Thursday, September 18th, I’m once again sitting on my couch because the protests have only gotten larger. This time, most metro lines are shut, and almost all unions have called for strikes. More than a million people have walked out across the country, one of the biggest nationwide disruptions in years. Protesting feels a little foreign to me, and to see the French unafraid to take it to the streets and make their unhappiness with their government known, I feel like I am witnessing democracy at its finest, in real time. I haven’t really had the chance to see it with my own eyes until I moved to college in Scotland, and now, it’s even stronger here.
Last night I heard from a friend that Macron was rumoured to have been spotted having dinner in the 15th arrondissement, near where I was at the time. If that was indeed true, the leader of a country roaming out the night before expected protests against his government makes me wonder how long his political career will last with so much dissatisfaction.
I guess we’ll only see with time.
Since I last wrote to you, I finished my orientation week, my first week of class, and I’m now on week 3 of rinsing and repeating my schedule. The academic culture here is a hybrid of the environment I experienced at high school, with an independent college twist that I encountered in Edinburgh. There are plenty of group projects with wickedly smart classmates who answer questions in seminars before I can even process what the professor has asked.
The calibre of teaching here is also on another level. I have a professor who spits straight facts on European security for two hours straight. No slides, just a monologue, and then I see him again in the evening to hear him analyze the nuances surrounding international wars. It feels like a story time of past and present – fused with expert insights – a dream lineup for a security nerd like me.
I think my dad, who is probably reading this, would be proud to know that I’m using my brain again after a laid-back summer break. I was so out of it that when my mom asked me to get milk in the grocery store, I got juice. Yikes. I’m back at school. It’s back to it.
As they say, it’s la rentrée.
One last thing. I turned 21! I had an incredible time, and my new friends here threw a flat party to celebrate. Even though I just met them two weeks prior during orientation, it feels like we’re building a little Paris family. We’ve been doing fun activities around the city - flat parties, movie nights on balconies, late-night drinks by the Seine, museum tours…I’m just a happy gal after making new connections. As for turning 21, I feel beyond blessed. There’s nothing I could ask for more than to ring in another year of life in such an incredible city with the kindest people.
(shoutout Alex and Liv who just subscribed:)
Here are a few photos of life lately:
And finally, some little randoms:
I bought a Geronimo Stilton book in French. That’s my new late-night read. I’ve also been gulping down litres of Fuze Peach Iced Tea, but that’s something I’ll share more on in another newsletter post.
Until next time,
please never stop posting <3
reading this with my breakfast <3