Alexander Smith is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital based in London.
Already set with a piece of the Eiffel Tower, the medals for this summer’s Paris Olympics will now be infused with another quintessential feature of French life: strike action. Dozens of workers at the French national mint, which is making the medals, are demanding the same “Olympics bonus” being paid to police officers and other government employees.
The French are famously unafraid of strikes and direct action, from the “Gilet Jaune” movement to the farmers currently spraying government buildings with manure. And the timing of the Olympics makes the event something of a double-edged sword. It comes when many Parisians will be out of town, easing the burden on the city’s antiquated transport system during an event expected to attract 10 million visitors. But it also cuts right through France’s annual hallowed period of national vacation.
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