salon de salons

In France there´s this phenomenon called "salon". It´s like a fair, a show, an exhibition or whatever you choose to call it (paa norsk heter det messe, som f.eks Yrkesmessen). It´s not unique for France, I´m sure they excist in lots of other countries as well, but thing is, in France, and Paris in particular, they´re everywhere, all the time. Here´s a selection of "salons" I´ve seen the past six months (and we´re talking selection here, as in a SMALL portion):

- salon du vin (wine)
- salon de livre (books)
- salon d'agriculture (agriculture; cow´s 'n pigs 'n hen 'n grumpy farmers)
- salon du chocolat
- salon d'etudes (a whole bunch of them, from junior high to university)
- salon de voitures (cars)
- salon de voyages (travel & holiday)

And it just goes on and on. Okay, so French people consider themselves as intellectuals, highly contemporary up-to-date-and-in-the-know people with a sixth sense called "let´s be organized", but COME ON.


However, instead of letting myself be annoyed with all these shows that seem to pop up everywhere, I´m actually gonna contribute. So here´s a list of suggestions on what the next salon could be about:

- salon de strikes
- salon de student rebellions
- salon de recycling (honestly, they can´t recycle here. Food and carton, glass and bottles, all in the same bin. *fingerpointing*)
- salon de how to stuff as many people as possible in the metro wagon
- salon de how to be insulted
- salon de queues
- salon de bureaucracy
- salon de dog poo



...... In fear of insulting anyone I must add that I live in the best city in the world and that the whole salon thing probably is a very good thing to educate people and let them do fun stuff in their spare time. So there!