Paris subway becomes battleground in new war on capitalism

ASSOCIATED PRESS ^ | Monday, March 8, 2004 | JOHN LEICESTER,

[presidio9]

Suzanne, grandmotherly with neat snowy hair, prim gray anorak and white shirt fastened at the collar with a blue brooch, glanced furtively up and down the subway platform bustling with out-on-the-towners. Slowly, the station emptied; the coast was clear. Spinning on her heels, a mischievous glint in her soft blue eyes, she whipped a red wax crayon from her handbag and, wielding it sword-like, scrawled her fury across a billboard advertising home appliances. "TOO MANY THINGS, NOT ENOUGH POETRY!" she wrote.

Pow! Thus another blow was struck in a fight raging in France against advertising. The attackers are a small, heterogeneous but determined band of campaigners for whom ads are a plague. Their battlegrounds are the tunnels and platforms of Paris' subway, and bus stops in other towns. Their targets: companies that make capitalism tick.

Organizing over the Internet, hunted by the forces of order, these urban guerrillas are focusing debate on advertising's power. Is there too much of it? Does it really work? Should we fight back?

For Suzanne, a 63-year-old political militant since she first threw stones at police during student riots that shook France in 1968, the answer to those questions is "Yes."

"Capitalism needs consumerism to survive," she said. "If we get rid of advertising, we get rid of consumerism and that will get rid of capitalism."

Mmmmmm. It's hard to envisage the foundations of the global economy toppling anytime soon. But the anti-advertising movement has provoked a counterattack from French advertising giant Publicis and Paris' public transportation operator, the RATP.

Joining forces, the two firms are taking 62 anti-ad militants to court on Wednesday, seeking $1.2 million in damages for destruction wreaked and scrawled on billboards.

Suzanne is not among those 62, but the threat of fines scares her enough she won't give her surname. Nevertheless, she campaigns on, riding the Metro with a band of like-minded teenagers one recent Saturday, trailing destruction in their wake.

Pssssshhhhhh. Louis, 16, worked quickly but efficiently with a can of black spray paint. "ADVERTISING NUMBS YOU" read his still-dripping slogan on a billboard for the movie "Shrek 2."

"Walt Disney. Hollywood. Big budget. No good," he muttered by way of explanation before sprinting down the platform to attack another billboard before a train pulled in.

"It's joy," he said, describing how it felt to spray. "It's a real pleasure to finally be able to resist."

France's anti-advertising campaign to some extent dovetails with a larger movement against globalization that regularly protests meetings of the World Trade Organization, the Group of Eight industrial nations and other "capitalist" bodies.

One of Suzanne's band, Christophe, 17, said he traveled to the Alps last June to protest a G8 summit.

Suzanne's group changed subway lines every three or four stations to avoid being spotted by security agents. At each station, they first followed other passengers heading toward the exits. Then, having determined no guards were lurking in the tunnels, they doubled back to set to work spraying and tearing down ads.

It was not possible to determine how many such groups were in action that Saturday. But Suzanne's band stumbled across another group slapping homemade stickers marked, "The struggle against ads continues" on billboards at one station.

"Advertising is a one-way message that amounts to harassment," said Nicolas, a teacher in his 30s who was part of the second group. "We should have the right to refuse it."

By evening's end, Suzanne's group had wrecked more than 50 advertisements in at least eight stations. Other groups attacked dozens of others. "Every day I wash my brain with advertising," read one sticker, mocking washing powder ads.

The RATP, which transports millions of Parisians each day, is not happy to find itself on the front line. It believes Paris' public is on its side, citing a survey it commissioned last month in which 73 percent of 800 people questioned said advertisements make their public transport journeys "more agreeable and less monotonous" and 75 percent said they disapproved of the anti-ad militants.

"These people are on the wrong side of the law. We can't let this type of action go unchallenged," said RATP spokesman Fabien Contino.

The RATP says the $74 million to $86 million it earns each year from selling advertising space could buy 300 new buses. Contino said ticket prices would rise by 5 percent if there were no ads, an increase equal to just seven cents.

But in a small victory for the campaigners, the RATP on Monday and for the next 10 days was to free up space on 47 billboards in 24 stations for people to write what they like. The firm's apparent hope is to channel anti-advertising anger, sparing paid-for billboards.

[KantianBurke]

bunch of punks. throw the book at them. once a good number are serving 5 years in the clink their buddies will think twice of destruction of private property.

[glasseye]

Advertising does suck in a major way......but so does the destruction of property.

I choose to turn off the TV and ignore most of the rest.

[rudypoot]

They want more than the destruction of private property, they want the abolition of private property.

[Bigg Red]

With all of the islamofascists filling France, I think Suzanne and her buddies need to gird their loins for the real battle that is coming to them.

[squarebarb]

Another stupid 'human interest' lead. We were just parodying them last Friday. This lead is beyond parody.

[Prodigal Son]

LOL. I agree with their sentiments about advertising. I hate the stuff. One reason why I haven't owned a tv in many years.

I think they're just a tad naive though to think they will make capitalism go away by using a red crayon. Capitalism is merely a state that exists when people enjoy a certain amount of freedom. If they want to do away with capitalism, the surest way would be to just take away freedom. Problem solved.

I think their crayon protest is amusing though. Certainly not the most incredible thing you will see on the Paris Metro.

[atomicpossum]

Idiots created by socialism. What do you bet none of these 'protestors' have jobs? And what do you think they'd say if you confront them with the fact that capitalism has paid for their welfare state?

[Mears]

Getting rid of a TV hardly gets rid of advertising.

The ones that bother me the most are the ones on school busses,those annoying ads in my Visa bill, all direct mail advertising, advertising posted around Little League fields,and naming rights for anything.

[dfwgator]

It sure as hell beats the alternative, a bunch of red banners with Marxist slogans all over the place ala the Soviet Union.

[Prodigal Son]

Getting rid of a TV hardly gets rid of advertising.

Never claimed it did. But it does get rid of television advertising. Haven't owned a telly for over 13 years. I can tell the difference noticeably concerning the advertising just by watching the ones that come on the telly in the pub. They're very captivating.

The ones that bother me the most are the ones on school busses,those annoying ads in my Visa bill, all direct mail advertising, advertising posted around Little League fields,and naming rights for anything.

Don't have school buses here but the normal city buses do indeed have advertising on them.

My credit card people don't send me any junk ads. I haven't gotten a lot of junk mail lately either for some reason- it just occurred to me. Odd that. Been several months since getting any.

About the only advertising that gets on my nerves is the ads they run before the movie starts in the theatre, although, I must admit, I quite enjoy the ones they play for hard liquor and beer.

[mtbopfuyn]

a red wax crayon

Noticed the author didn't mention the crayon was Crayola brand or whatever they use in Paris.

[weegee]

Organizing over the Internet, hunted by the forces of order, these urban guerrillas are focusing debate on advertising's power. Is there too much of it? Does it really work? Should we fight back?

Let kids read the Kurtzman and Feldstein years of Mad Magazine (1950-1990s) and they will develop a natural understanding of the claims advertisers make (without growing up to be antiAmerican, anticapitalist, or communist).

As for today, Mad Magazine takes advertising (Bill Gaines would roll over in his grave if he heard of it).

Is this bitter old woman one who is easily swayed by subway posters? If she isn't, why does she think that other people will be? Graffitti is ugly. The advertising posters of old (1900-1950) are now held up as artwork and hung in museums.

[massiveblob]

"We should have the right to refuse it."

They could just stay at home, and not look at it.

Organizing over the Internet, hunted by the forces of order, these urban guerrillas are focusing debate on advertising's power.

Is it just me or does this article sound in favor of these socialist people