Babu - just an ordinary hero

When it was first reported, the story of a man dying on the Paris métro system didn't make much of an impact on headline writers in France.

Photo of Rajinder Singh - "Babu" (snapshot from TF1 news report)

He had apparently been pushed on to the track and been electrocuted.

It's the kind of story you hear about from time to time - one of those news items that probably tends to wash over you as "oh just another story".

Except behind the headline of course was much more, as the daily Le Parisien revealed in a tribute it paid to Rajinder Singh, the man known by his nearest and dearest (and the rest of us now) as "Babu".

The 33-year-old Indian immigrant was reportedly travelling on the métro when he saw a pickpocket try to steal a mobile 'phone from a fellow passenger.

Babu intervened, coming to the woman's assistance , apparently asking the man to "leave her alone."

But a struggle then followed and continued as the train pulled into the next stop.

The two men got off and the pickpocket began punching Babu, finally pushing him off the platform and running away.

Babu was electrocuted.

And there the story might have ended, except for the reaction to a profile of Babu which Le Parisien ran the day after the incident.

It was a simple tribute to a man born in the Punjab region of India who had come to France seven years ago to "be able to work to send money home to his family and give them a better life," as one of his cousins told the newspaper.

Apparently a gentle man, opposed to violence of any sort, Babu was described by one of his friends as "goodness personified".

Babu's family wanted his body returned to India, but couldn't afford it.

Internet messages of support (snapshot from TF1 news report)

Babu's death - one which Le Parisien said left no one indifferent - provoked what TF1 news called "an astounding show of solidarity," with messages on the Internet and his brother-in-law Jean-Louis Lecomte, receiving 'phone calls of support and letters of donation.

On Wednesday a minute's silence was held at the station where Babu had died with the minister of transport, Thierry Mariani, and the minister of culture, Frédéric Mitterrand among those paying homage.

RATP, the public transport operator for the Paris region, has agreed to meet the costs of repatriating Babu's body.

Police have arrested a man they suspect of being the pickpocket who pushed Babu to his death.

Hommage poignant à "Babu", héros du métro

The happy, smiling Parisian bus driver - not

The public transport system in Paris is pretty good and getting around the French capital by metro, bus or tram is relatively easy - when there aren't strikes.

All right, so the metro may be crowded most of the time, but it's extensive and certainly beats sitting in your car getting nowhere...very slowly.

Well that's if you don't mind going nose-to-nose with fellow travellers and getting uncomfortably intimate with strangers during rush hour.



Then there's the bus network of course with journey time made faster by Bertrand Delanoë - bless his little cotton socks - the current mayor, coming up with the bright idea of creating bus lanes.

Or seen from another perspective; taking a road previously capable of holding two (sometimes three - this is Paris after all) lanes of traffic, and handing part of it over to the exclusive use of buses (with taxis and cyclists also allowed in on the act).

Environmentally friendlier undoubtedly, but a motorist's nightmare during and after construction - and still in places very much a work in progress with cars just having one lane for their use and concrete barriers preventing them from crossing over into the one reserved for buses.

Tough.

Both the metro and the buses, along with three lines of the tram, are operated by Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens or RATP.

Once you've bought a pass - as a visitor usually Paris Visite and for residents the Passe Navigo - for one day, week, month or whatever - for one or all of the capital's six zones, you can hop on and off the metro, bus and tram at will.

RATP helpfully lists and explains your options on its site.

While you're unlikely to meet (or even see) the driver of either the metro or the tram, the same cannot be said for the person steering the bus.

In fact you can't miss him...or her...it's more usually a man at the wheel although you might come across the occasional woman driver (no unwise comments please).

Not that it seems to matter very much.

Now it might be a big city thing, but bus drivers in the French capital sure are a surly lot.

There's rarely a smile as a sign of recognition as passengers clamber aboard and often not even a Gallic grunt in return for a hearty "hello".

There again there isn't really much need as most passengers will be validating their passes automatically, waving them in front of the machines as they board.

The only contact drivers have with passengers is when someone needs to buy a ticket, and this is where they come into their own.

It's also your chance to discover the delightful bonhomie and charm of the average Parisian bus driver.

First up, make sure you have the right change available. Ask fellow travellers waiting in line, they'll have an idea because, although drivers have change THEY DON'T APPRECIATE HAVING TO HAND IT OVER.

When you board, say where you would like to go (try the "hello" or "bonjour" method, but don't expect a response).

After you've handed over THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF MONEY (remember) you'll be given a ticket in return and you'll then need to validate in a machine next to the driver.

Clearly he/she has his hands full holding the wheel and cannot provide you with an already-validated ticket (NB: it's not the same machine that fellow passengers have been merrily waving their passes at, but one which gobbles up and then spits out the proffered ticket).

Ticket in hand, grab hold of something quickly because the driver is more than likely to hurtle off into the Parisian traffic with that shuddering start-stop-start-brake-jerk style that might well see you end up in the lap of that little old lady minding her own business.

Welcome to Paris and bon voyage.

French strikes - pensions and Champagne

Yes there is a link between the two; admittedly a little tenuous perhaps.

Strikes protesting the French government's pension reform plans are almost guaranteed to make the headlines here in France on Thursday.

But there's also another labour dispute that hasn't really grabbed too much media attention.

It involves one of this country's most famous drinks - champagne - and one of the best-known names at home and abroad Piper-Heidsieck.

Employees at Piper-Heidsieck have been on strike for the best part of a week now over plans by its parent company, Rémy Cointreau, to cut around 40 jobs from a workforce of 160.

It's a reaction to a reportedly poor company performance in 2009 and the need to "redress the balance through restructuring".

The timing of the strike couldn't be more awkward or delicate for the company as it comes right at the beginning of the annual grape harvest.

But a spokesman for the directors has reportedly insisted that, "There would no impact on the business".

As the national daily Aujourd'hui en France - Le Parisien commented, "Who said champagne wasn't being touched by the recession?"

photograph author, Jon Sullivan/PDPhoto.org from source

That strike of course will be overshadowed by yet another day of action over the government's pension reforms, and in particular plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

Public transport services in particular are likely to be disrupted, not just in Paris, but throughout the country, in what promises to be another fun-thrilled day for those trying to make their way to work...and then back home again.

There are the usual warnings from SNCF, the country's railway operator, with a breakdown of the services likely to be hit and kind of delays everyone can expect.

And for those trying to get around the French capital, perhaps it's a good idea to check out the RATP site.