Paris speaks to the imagination. It is the city renowned for the French Revolution which sparked the constitution of many democratic reforms all across Europe. It is also a centre for culture and the capital of one of the most important countries of the European Union. Its leader, Emmanuel Macron, is a fervent supporter of the European Union. It is therefore a welcome coincidence that we met him on the street. Nevertheless, we did not come to meet Emmanuel Macron. Instead, our partner school Lycéee Teilhard de Chardin welcomed us in their beautiful school in the suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. The goals of this project was discussing current affairs through the act of compromise making and getting to know the legislative process of the European Parliament in the Maison de l’Europe.
Travelling to a metropolis such as Paris is always a little adventure. Just weeks before we arrived, all across Europe news outlets spoke of a plague of bed bugs. Yet, on arriving, the Parisians did not seem bothered. Tensions were also rising and fear of a new terrorist attack in the capital of France grew, but yet again, Parisians do not care enough to let their lives go to a standstill. It was already this lesson that for some of our schools was eye-opening and a true culture shock. The warm welcome of our colleagues, however, made these fears disappear. They had first planned sports activities as a way of getting to know each other. This low-key activity was a great starter as it did not require much speaking.
In the afternoon we started with our first project-oriented activity. We were introduced to the importance of politics by a young French MP assistant (Yassine Kamili, Frédéric DESCROZAILLE’s local assistant). Afterwards, the students were divided into several teams. In these teams they had to find a goal which they had to promote (end to racism, end the climate crisis, etc.). Then they had to think of the different types of behavior they had to change to make this change in society happen. Then they had to come up with a campaign that spurred readers to adjust their behaviour. Finally, they made these posters online or by hand. You can find the results and the lesson plan on the project page.
The other project-oriented activity was the very informative workshop on the legislative process in the European Parliament. This hands-on workshop introduced the students to the different topics at hand, and how a member of the European Parliament needs to compromise with lobbyists, voters, countries, the different bodies of government in the EU, their own party, etc. This well-developed workshop was created by the European Parliament and you can do this in pretty much every European capital’s House of Europe.
Of course, a visit to the capital of France must involve some necessary sightseeing. The students had prepared a sightseeing tour along the different sights in the centre of Paris which had to do with democracy. We also took a trip on the Seine river with les bâteaux mouches. In the evenings we build relationships through fun activities such as bowling and a party on the final evening.
All in all, this trip was an enormous success. Students have learned a lot about current affairs, the way the European Parliament works and how difficult it is to change people’s behaviour. We are already looking forward to our next meeting!
