Conflict resolution on a Parisian Street

One evening we heard a terrific fight start outside on the street, and some honking. This is what we saw out the window.



A woman had attempted to park in front of the fruit stand. It's a perfectly legal parking space, but the guy didn't want her to use it, I'm not sure why. Maybe because he had a truck coming and wanted to save the spot. They were yelling at each other, not in French and not in English, Spanish, or Yiddish, which are the other languages I might be able to eavesdrop in, so that's all I can tell you.

Except that while the fight continued, her car was blocking the street, so all other traffic was stopped. After ten minutes or so, of course, people in cars started to get out and contribute their own commentary.

One of the things I loved most about living in Paris was the communal feeling on our street. Just as I could tell when France got a goal (or didn't) during the World Cup, by listening to my neighbors cheering and hooting, all these same neighbors got interested in the very scene I was observing!



I could only get pictures of the people directly across the street, but heads were poking out the window all the way up and down the street.









Well this went on for at least half an hour! At that point, there was quite a bit of honking as well as loud discussion.



Suddenly, it was all resolved (the woman went away), and the street cleared and everything was back to normal.

Technorati Tags: Paris, City Traffic, Conflict Resolution