The plans of the Montreal students to disrupt the Grand Prix are being advertised on posters around the city. These call for the students to gather at the Berri Metro station, on the yellow line (the only Metro that serves the Grand Prix) at 10.30 in the morning on Sunday, with the instruction not to board trains until a signal is given.
The poster features an unpleasant image from CART from 2001 when Alex Zanardi lost his legs when hit by Alex Tagliani at the Lausitzring in Germany. The picture has no relevance to F1 at all, beyond being two racing cars and is designed simply to draw attention to the poster.
One can add accusations of ignorance and bad taste to whatever list one cares to create about the behaviour of the protesting students.
Race fans are advised to get up early. The police can show up at 10.30.
joeblogsf1 
Absolutely disgusting, I’ve now lost the last shred of respect I had for them (not that there was much to begin with). Promoting their stupid anti-grand prix campaign by waving around an extremely disturbing image of a crash where a driver had both legs ripped off and lost 3/4ths of his blood is NOT ok, regardless of political disposition. Unfortunately this is consistent with their complete disrespect of public needs, court rulings, and anything that doesn’t fit with their narrow selfish agenda.
I agree. A good counterpoint would be a poster from the movie “National Lampoon’s Animal House”. That would depict college students just as accurate (maybe even more so) as they have depicted Formula One.
While the poster is completely disgusting, so is blaming an entire protest movement for the horrible taste of a single individual that created this monstrosity.
The protest movement is ridiculous as well.
The canadian goverment and the montreal police need to get a handle on this situation, on race day it could really get out of hand. The last thing you want is visitors who have been or the first time to montreal is to get caught up in this and result in injury or even worse
That reads “All anarchists and low life intent on causing trouble welcome”. Along with using that picture, which demonstrates a total lack of understanding on any level, these cretins really have an idea of how to run a campaign. How not to win friends and influence people.
Do the Canadian Police get to use live ammo on Sunday morning? Put that one round, and see how many still have the nerve to turn up!
NO. JUST, EMPHATICALLY, NO. YOU DO NOT USE VIOLENCE TO CURB VIOLENCE.
Live ammo? Are you serious? You going? Maybe you’ll be the one who gets shot. Innocent bystanders, of which there are still many (not everyone in Montreal is protesting) are often the biggest group of victims of that kind of action. Get your head on straight, and I hope I never read someone suggest that violence be the answer here.
One shot. How much pain has been caused around the world by one single shot?
Proper use of all caps, NM Jeff.
Not going to go into it, but the idea of selective fire into a crowd is serious last resort territory. Who snipes for a living is paired with a spotter, spotter is there to talk back and get approval. Everything is calculated. That’s in warfare. Anything other than a serious rifle is pretty much a suppression weapon. Interesting word, suppression. You’d have to be nuts to let civilian forces into a scenario, armed, where they will be provoked. Basically carrying a sidearm is futile. Even firing a blank could kill, in a scared stampede.
I’m biased, but someone should flypost the other side of this. Okay, buy a billboard or three hundred, since we’re grown up. Why is it normal people never campaign and take the argument back?
I should note that all telcos that I am aware of are able (assuming they bought the kit) to scan cellular traffic on the fly for red light words, so you can go keep an eye out on potentially rowdy spots. Not perfect, awful in the wrong hands, but probably very effective against twittering hipsters.
Exactly 60 years ago a 10 year old crawled under the barbed wire fence at Boreham Airfield, Essex and watched awestruck at Waltham corner as race cars thundered by. The race, won by Luigi Villoresi in a Ferrari, sealed my fate as a lifelong addict of Grand Prix cars. In the 60’s I went to as many races as I could afford. At Reims, 1960, I watched the last front engine Ferraris and, yes, the American Scarabs, lose out to Jack Brabham (and a whole lot of other rear-engined cars) and was at Goodwood when the career of Stirling Moss came to an end, was at Monza when Von Trips was killed and remember exactly what I was doing when I heard the news that my hero Jim Clark had died. Life got in the way and I stopped going to races but continued to follow Formula 1 through the pages of Autosport and later on TV, having moved to Canada in 1974. This year, my family set up a 70th birthday surprise for me to attend the Canadian Grand Prix and I have been waiting 6 months to see, hear and smell a Formula 1 car LIVE!! The students in Quebec pay half the amount for tuition that everyone else in Canada has to pay.They have it easy. I live on a pension. I am not one of the filthy rich that they seem to think will be in Montreal for the race. Most of us attending are just ordinary people that save for, or borrow on credit, to follow our passion. In their twisted logic they think that stopping the Grand Prix will serve their purpose but if they follow that train of thought logically (are they really capable of logic?) taking one hundred million dollars out of the Quebec economy, and who knows how much from other events they intend to disrupt, will only make it less likely that there will be money to subsidize their education. Duh!! The hell with them. I’ve waited too long for this. I will be the old geezer marching through the streets of Montreal with the sign that says “Save tuition fees – get a job!”
Doesn’t say much about their research skills, eh?
Pretty sickening. Though look at Zanardi, he could piss all over these idiots by showing he had the incredible will to come back despite his injuries. Zanardi is a motor racing hero. The fact these ignorant “activists” are using him as somehow a victim just shows how clueless these people are. Aren’t there decent schools any more?
Tasteless.
Stupid way to advertise your cause – both the poster and the protest
Attn: Anonymous disgruntled herd of entitled youth
What was that quote again –
“Youth is wasted on the Young”
Being from Toronto and having attended a couple of Montreal gp’s (in the hairpin in 07 for Kubicas sickening crash and Senna curve for his victory in 08, doesn’t get any better than that!) I can tell you what is obvious to anybody that has attended the GP. This town lives and breathes the GP and it is a massive economic boom, as an example the booking desk at hotels will answer your query as to why hotel rates are 3,4, or 5 fold the regular rate with “sir its Gran prix weekend” a “given” you are supposed to understand. I pity people visiting Montreal for any other reason during this period because they are screwed.
I’m just going to say it, the irony of the short sighted idealistic naive youth is given a year or two post grad and in the work force they would gladly slit each others throats or use there newly acquired sharpened elbows to get to front of the line metaphorically and into the paddock club of life. its a amazing how the ideals melt away once the trappings of success arrive as witnessed with the hippie generation becoming the yuppie generation, frankly the reality of human nature.
So great, blow up the GP in these uncertain economic times and penalize all the people in the hospitality industry who don’t even attend the GP making your “statement”. You are the TRUE HYPOCRITES with your personal economic agendas looking for unrealistically subsidized University degrees to ensure your personal future White collar comforts, you already are what you’re attempting to “rail” against. Otherwise, be part of the solution figure out where you can fit in and contribute to positive growth of society. You may discover you should be learning a trade which is lucrative, in huge demand and unfortunately necessitates you actually getting your hands dirty in a diminishing workforce rather than being another wannabe Manager, we can’t all manage somebody actually has to produce something!
Wake the F**k up you spoilt entitled brats and use your intelligence in a pro active way to realize the ‘system’ your attempting to mess with is the very same as the one you’ll be counting on once gainfully employed. There probably has never been a generation with as many advantages as you currently have DEMONSTRATE SOME WISDOM BEYOND YOUR YEARS and then we can see the human race is actually progressing, until then you’re just another greedy human looking out for them self only.
Given the lack of any sort of meaningful negotiation by Premier Charest and his ailing government the student movement would be mad not to take the opportunity of the world-wide publicity the GP offers. His response so far has been to introduce draconian public assembly laws which has only served to garner further support for the students cause from many other sections of the Quebecois.
I hope the GP goes ahead unhindered, this isn’t the same security issue as Bahrain, but it does show that the decision to proceed with Bahrain was fatally flawed as once politicised as pro-government any enterprise will find it very hard to change the public perception of that position.
Lack of meaningful negotiation? In what way? Offering to meet students and being turned down? Offering to set up a committee, including student representatives, to identify cost savings that would all – 100% – be passed on to students in reductions to the increases… and being turned down again? It isn’t Charest that has refused to negotiate. Negotiation means give and take, and right now the students have refused to budge from their position even an inch. The students claim that democracy has broken down. The irony is that Charest represents the democratically elected government; the students represent a self-interested rump who are holding the rest of Quebec to ransom with threats and violence. The “draconian” laws were brought in because protesters had decided that molotov cocktails and rocks were an acceptable part of a protest. They aren’t, under any circumstances, and especially if all you are worried about is having to pay an extra $300 a year for an education that will benefit not just you, but your children and your children’s children by many many times that amount.
Democracy has not broken down until Charest cancels elections. Then there is a case for that argument. If the protesters were smart they would concentrate on getting him out by political means, rather than making themselves unpopular with stupid stunts involving the Grand Prix.
Charest’s popularity has been tanking for awhile. If he plays this situation right, he might get himself back on track. It certainly distracts from various scandals.
In a democracy therefore he will lose the next election
He’s been on track to lose it for years. Big corruption inquiry coming in autumn. The protests helped him in the opinion polls, until Bill 78. Hard to imagine his career isn’t over, but maybe there is more political deodorant to come?
Has he? His majority went up in the 2008 election, not down.
If the Charest government has been negotiating in good faith, what specifically have they been willing to give? The answer is Nothing of substance.
Offering a committee to decide how to pay for the cuts isn’t a concession, it’s just reaching the government’s goal by another route.
Many commentators suggest that the students have overreacted to these tiny tuition increases. If the cuts are so tiny, if it’s such a small amount of money, why has the government risked these stark economic consequences?
Probably because like many conservative governments around the globe, this government is using the economic crisis to further the dogmatic political goal of tearing down social support structures. Of shifting costs onto the lower and middle classes in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
The sums involved in this particular fight aren’t important, the government could find these small sums elsewhere. The real goal is a furtherance of their political dogma. This fight is a line in the sand – which is why they see any concession as a total loss.
If the government considers any concession to be a loss and the government negotiators are forbidden from actually negotiating, one should not be surprised by the reaction from the other side of the table. There were nearly 300,000 in the streets one day last week, this no longer just a “student protest”.
Yes, the situation should make things inconvenient for Grand Prix attendees. Too Flippin’ Bad. I’ve counted myself a Montreal Grand Prix attendee on more occasions than I can count – not this year though. Inconvenience is not terrorism. Inconvenience is not illegal. Inconvenience is part of democracy. Democracy can be damned messy at times, but I’m glad the right to inconvenience exists.
I’m happy to watch the race on TV instead of in person. I expect the majority of those with race tickets will be joining me, because I don’t foresee the Charest government dismounting their high horse in the next 8 days.
Reaching a goal by another route IS negotiation. That’s how it works. The government says “we want to raise fees”. Students say “no need, you can simply make cost savings to cover the increase”. Government says “ok, let’s try that, and just to make sure it is all above board we want you involved”. Students say “no”.
What have the students been willing to give? Anything? They wheel out the “bad faith” guff to cover the fact that they themselves have offered no negotiation whatsoever. And what does “bad faith” mean? Refusing to capitulate to all the students’ demands? The alternatives that the government have offered have all been presented as viable options. Every negotiation has been entered in to with no false promises of fee cuts or an unsupported freeze. The students know the government position. So where’s the “bad faith”?
There may well be 300,000 people on the streets, but Quebec has a population of 7.9 million people. That’s 7.6 million people not on the streets. 7.6 million who don’t care enough to march around banging pots and pans. The students are busing in protesters from all over the province and yet they muster less than 4% of the population onto the street. The Charest government was elected by a democratic process; they are the legitimate voice of the majority.
You ask “why has the government risked these stark economic consequences?” Perhaps it is because they feel allowing a democratically elected government’s policies to be dictated by whoever shouts loudest and throws the most incendiary bombs would be an extremely bad move for true democracy. If Charest’s policies really are so widely disliked, as you claim, then his government will be beaten at the next election. All his opposition have to do is stand on a manifesto including promises to reverse the increases and surely they will sweep all before them. This is democracy. This is how the voice of the people, all the people, is heard. The voice of the people is not the whingy one emanating from the streets of Montreal; those who have decided that the only negotiation they are interested in is to scweam and scweam until they are thick.
Damn, man, that is one uncool poster. Zanardi is a proper dude. Everything is wrong with that.
Thank you to, I believe, Yanik, for sending that in.
That poster could have been better I agree. The point of any advertisement however is to attract attention. It’s certainly got ours! Most people wouldn’t know the difference between an F1 car and an Indycar.
They are fighting against going down the same route as the UK where tertiary education and doctoral research will soon be only the province of the rich, as it is in the USA. In France tuition fees aren’t an issue.
Sorry, but if one is protesting about a subject one knows nothing about, one should desist and go and find a subject that you do know what you are complaining about.
You are using the near death of a brave driver to argue a point of privileges.
That doesn’t work on me, and I’d bet my career against your point when it comes to good advertising.
Next time, try some images of the Paddock Club or some pic of your namesake fluffing it up at an after party.
Oh, but you wouldn’t get fair use rights on those releases, would you? You’d get on the end of a lawsuit as to personal image rights. At the minimum.
Please do not think that any publicity is good publicity.
You are one step short of using war casualties to promote soya milk.
And p.s. many if not all the kids I grew up with had extremely rich parents.
Did not mean they did not have to make their own way doing any job they could get, through Uni.
Want to know where your medicine is coming from now? Just such one of those guys, or several I know, who would be famous if they were in a ego led profession.
Most money in life is accumulated, then dissipated, not transferred down generations, even when millions are involved.
My apologies for being angry, but if you want others to listen, please try to be open, yourself, to thought.
I’m not sure why you are getting angry about this but no offence taken, it’s an emotive image. I didn’t say it was good advertising nor that I approved of using that picture. Advertising doesn’t need to be a work of art or even particularly tasteful to capture attention in this context. I was just pointing out that whilst it might irritate aficionados like us that they can’t tell an Indy Car from an F1 car for their purposes it’s not really an issue.
My worry is that this may never have happened had it not been for Bahrain and the massive global publicity that attracted. F1 just is such an easy target when the race is in a city like Montreal. It would be a brave or stupid bunch of demonstrators who tried to block access to Silverstone but any city street race could now find itself a target.
I wasn’t in particular angry, Flavio, at least not personally.
Just a dropout talking here, and if I wasn’t born lucky, well let’s say it was no smooth thing in any event. So I am strongly against messing with education. I’ll add one more thing to that, if someone does drop out, it is very very hard to regain a human support network. That can be emotionally painful. So there is real possibility these protests are playing with lives that will have repercussions for decades.
Let’s just say I am grouchy, very grouchy, at the whole idea.
Also embedded in this thing is a change to legislation which is the kind I’d not be happy with. It’s temporary, but temporary laws have a habit of becoming permanent and misused.
Oh, every day, I see adverts that make me fake swoon with despair. From huge companies who can afford to do better.
But as to the shock factor, obviously somewhat effective in this instance, let’s face it, somewhere there are people seeing that and remembering the event and how it affected their lives. Okay, maybe not, it is possible nobody connected with the crash saw this. But I think it a bit sicko, when so many crash images exist where drivers walked away. Given the number of those, many spectacular, you have to consider this was a deliberate choice. All it takes is entering 7 letters into google.
My opinion is that advertising works either with a strident message about your point, or a combination of subtleties. The crassness of that poster rather reinforces in my mind the idea that this lot aren’t serious enough to think what they want to do. Just a bunch of hooligans.
Fair point about Bahrain, though. That was a total PR fail for F1.
A bit off to tell everybody what your going to do when everybody knows about the existing bad situation? This seems like one of those situations in the movies where they say they’ll be in one place but actually end up going to another just to throw everybody off.
Few outside the racing world will recognise the image , so , while we are disgusted , the point is still made .
Here’s a large event , where masses of people are to be gathered , sponsored by the same government that is restricting the general masses gathering .
This is not about tuition any more .
It is a fast approaching , high speed collision .
I don’t care whether they recognise what they are showing or not. It is a disgusting picture, used in a disgusting way. If they want to complain about their fees or their lot in life, that is fine by me. They can boycott their schools, their unemployment offices or whatever, but as far as I am concerned if they attempt to mess up the Grand Prix they should be arrested. The F1 race is good for Montreal and it is not smart to mess it up.
I doubt that anyone will be hurt , Joe , but if a compromise is not found soon , in regards to the students , and a quick repeal of the new law enacted , to quell the anger , then disruption is inevitable .
Thousands have filled the streets , and though the police have undoubtedly started to get the detention areas installed nearby , what with the threats coming in daily , and the numbers of supporters nationwide growing , clanging pots across the country , they can’t detain them all .
Have a coffee with some of them , Joe , and make sure you get onto the island early . Don’t believe them when they announce 10:30am as the time they will gather .
I always get to the circuit early.
I think I have a pretty good grasp of the situation. Canada is a democracy and should operate as one.
Whatever sponsorship money the government provides, this event generates a defined, sizable, immediate economic gain for the city and province. This is strictly a business decision the numbers were quantified when they lost and regained the event. In Montreals case IT’S A PROVEN MONEY MAKER for the community not just a bunch of rich elite and greedy politicians assembling at the publics cost, that’s a pretty tired and convenient cliche to try to sell, the only ones gullible enough to believe it are the naive un researhed students themselves.
Get of the band wagon and think for yourselves kids, you could be on the verge of some really bad press.
There are ideas on both sides. I don’t have a clue about the specifics of this Canadian tuition problem are. Maybe it’s just a Quebec issue, point is I don’t know and I’m guessing most people don’t know here either. The Zinardi poster is in terrible taste, but what idiot or group of idiots did it? Again, we probably don’t know. As a person stated above, the US has a raising tuition problem, especially in California. It appears both Canada and the US have stupidly moved entitlements away from educating and investing in young people and dished it out to old people and slackers.
Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. I’d guess most students don’t agree with the use of the image above. It’s a good message and worth hearing. The GP is a perfect place to attempt to communicate it to all of Canada and the world.
That said, don’t be a bunch of hooligans and get people hurt, waste taxpayer money, and ruin someone’s livelihood.
Statement: I’m not in Montreal and I’m not directly associated to the protest movement.
From my Canadian perspective, I expect/assume that it is only a minority of protesters that really wish to disrupt the race. It’s unfortunate that it only takes a relatively small number of protesters to create a disruption. Out of the 200,000 people in the streets on 03/22, I believe (without any statistics to back me up) that you will find most love to live in a city with an F1 grand prix. They enjoy the vibrancy it brings to the downtown area and how it kicks off all the summer festivals.
Having been to Montreal after hockey riots, I expect to see police on every downtown street corner.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I guess I’ll be there to find out in a week from now…
I wish a safe and enjoyable race to everyone attending.
I certainly do find the plans to disrupt the GP AND this poster very, very disturbing. The few who have decided to target the GP clearly do not understand the economic boost (not to mention student summer jobs) the GPC brings to Montreal. They also misunderstand the sport.
I do, however, find many of the comments here problematic and disrespectful towards those who are protesting for tuition freeze. The protesters are from diverse groups and are not all out to ruin festivals and sporting events in Montreal (even senior citizens have been banging pots an pans). To call the protesters spoiled is to misunderstand the whole situation in Montreal. They have been inspiring students around the world to speak up and to make noise about the problems young workers face coming out of the education.
A huge part of the problem is the media’s representation of the protesters as only those who are violent and disruptive. We tend to lump everyone who is wearing a red square with those whom some (as on a forum discussion on f1fanatik.uk) as a “terrorist.”
I desperately hope the GP goes smoothly. I attend the GP Canada every year and I love it there. But I will also be brining my pot and wooden spoon for a peaceful evening walk after my long days spent on the track, and I will be wearing my red square in solidarity. If we continue to call these protesters’ concerns childish and selfish, we will not arrive at a solution and will only encourage discord.
I think it is possible to be an F1 fan and to be in support of these protesters.
Tasteless..
At 10h30 on Sunday, if you plan to attend you should probably be at the circuit since a couple of hours though. The site opens at 7h30 and the action starts at 9AM.
Thanks for the heads-up Joe! I am going to the Grand Prix from Australia so hope all goes smoothly.
These people are complete idiots. Firstly, 10:30? Most fans will already be at the circuit but a guess these slackers could get out of bed.
Secondly, pretty simple solution for the police: to enter the yellow line Metro Station headed towards the circuit you must hold a GP ticket. Since it’s at the end of the line anyway no big deal.
These are NOT students – they are the same group who came down to Toronto to cause trouble at the G20 meetings. The ‘Black Bloc’ are committed socialists who want to create some silly utopian socialist dream land. Harper (the PM) won’t get involved for political reasons (he wants the local political structure in Quebec shattered in order to further his own parties chances in the next federal election). The RCMP could sweep in today and round up the extremest group leaders (CLASSE) as they have publicly advocated violence which is against the federal criminal code – yet they won’t be ordered in.
One of the more moderate student leaders has just resigned after talks broke down between the Government and student leaders after she realized her other so called student leaders were neither students, nor had any interest in good faith bargaining. The goal has ALWAYS been international attention and the GP was targeted months ago as the method to get their crazy message out.
The media has incorrectly labelled some of the hardcore members of these groups as ‘anarchists’. They are nothing of the sort. They actually are a mix of Socialists and Marxists who want to form or push for a leftist form of Government in the Province. The actual number of true anarchists is said to fill two Starbucks in total. The media use the term anarchists as it grabs attention and sounds dramatic.
There is NO negotiation with these groups as their battle is political and their enemy is the current political structure in the province. Anything less then a quasi Cuba like society where everything is run by the state and all people are equal (hows THAT working Cuban people?!) is their goal.
The GP is supported by what they term – ‘rich people’ (merchants/retail groups) as well as the current government whom they feel represents the ‘enemy’.
They have created some imaginary class war where none really exists – at least not in the minds of 99.9% of the residents of Quebec. These groups fail to recognize Marxist theory was and has been repudiated the world over as one of the great failed experiments of the 20th century.
Every country has small percentages of these types of discontented people and it is most unfortunate that the REAL students cannot see through this master plan.
Maybe they just watched “White Heat” and long for the “good old days”, so they make up a cause and go for it. Shouldn’t they focus their anger in other directions, maybe tar sands?
Way off topic but 2014 regs have been mentioned here before, with much discussion about certain teams trying to get the regs changed. Race Car Engineering has an interesting item today which claims that the new F1 engines will be allowed into LMP1 this would allow engine testing.
http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news/formula-1-powertrains-for-le-mans-in-2014/
Writing about it as we speak…
In my opinion, the protesters are exposing the biggest weakness of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve — the absolute dependence on one Metro line for access. Block the station and nobody can get to the island. And once off the Metro you have a very long walk to get to the track itself. I’m surprised Bernie hasn’t insisted on improvements in this area.
Why would he when the Metro does the job perfectly. The easy solution would be to only allow people on the yellow line if they have a Grand Prix tickets. The students would not be able to afford it…
Although perhaps their rich parents can?
In which case their rich parents can afford the fees as well.
And therein lies the problem.
It’s one thing to need rich parents to go motor racing, that’s a fact of life most can accept albeit reluctantly as Formula One is not a meritocracy. It’s quite another to need rich parents to be educated to fulfil your intelectual potential. That shouldn’t be a fact of life but the Government thinks it should, just like the neo cons in the USA and the Coalition in the UK. It’s dogma that’s driving the refusal to compromise on the Government’s part and it’s the thin end of a very ugly wedge. That’s why it’s not just students protesting anymore.
Imagine Hollande trying to pull this stunt in France? I can’t.
This is getting very tangential, but by dint my dad was retired, and fairly smart, I got told to shut up and sit out classes for years. The benefit of having a parent school you when young (pre school, just about) is awesome. Thereafter, let the kids do their thing. That was my parents’ silly overarching mistake. “We’re spending a lifetime’s earning on you, so do as we say”. How very nice. I thought I was here on merit! But as for my young childhood, I was told stories in the morning, every day, by someone who could really do that. Better so many ways than being told bedtime stories. Made me want to wake up early, get on! So, swings and roundabouts. But please heed my note on how much very young kids can learn. It wasn’t until a few years ago, and I let all those memories come through, that my own thinking started to settle, and become acute. We are all emotional creatures, and far too much of modern thinking is all about explaining that emotion in fantastical pseudo – rational ways, which blind us to living and life. Your mileage may vary, of course. Me, I just started to grow up, and am fed up meeting 50 year olds who act like children.
Sorry, Flav, that’s why loans and (very) long repayment schedules are involved. However, this is not a political blog (well, not overtly, anyway 😉
The point here is whether we, as F1 fans, approve of the use of a Grand Prix…ANY Grand Prix…to make a political statement…ANY political statement – especially when that “statement” disrupts the event or, worse, involves threats of potential violence to regular people and F1 fans.
No matter WHAT our opinion of the students’ arguments (and I understand why many people support them), I 100% oppose the attempt to use this event – which is almost universally positive for the city and province – as a political device.
Those who thought going to Bahrain was wrong because the race had become part of a political statement should, in my opinion, simlarly oppose anyone trying to usurp the Montreal race for political ends. THAT, I believe, is a consistent position and completely logical.
We may then, elsewhere, debate whether the students, the Quebec government or anyone else is right or wrong. But the race ain’t got nuthin to do with it.
Absolute dependence? If memory serves you can also drive there, take a bus there, take a taxicab there, or have a nice healthy walk there. I agree there is a degree of dependence on that station, but it certainly isn’t absolute dependence.
Happy walking
You can drive there if you’re one of Bernie’s pals. Otherwise, there is no parking at the site. 100,000 people are not going to take taxis. The website says nothing about buses. When we went about eight years ago, our seats were across from the pit exit and it took more than 30 mins to get there from the Metro. The return walk in pouring rain seemed like an hour and that has no doubt coloured my feelings about the place. On the other hand, the traffic jams at most other tracks aren’t much fun either.
A very long walk to the track itself?? Its less that 500 metres!
There are also two other bridges as well, the walk from the main island itself is only 3k, so whilst there are a few who may not be able to manage, the majority can easily make it on foot, as they do at other venues. How is that absolute dependence?
My source confirmed this is not a hoax and that there would be other protests. I’ll try to pull out more information out of him and keep you up to date about planned disruptions. True that 10h30 is pretty late to try to block the metro, but let’s keep this info to ourselves so they don’t plan something earlier…
For the ones going to the Canadian GP, there are two walking options from downtown Montréal: Jacques-Cartier bridge and the Pont de la Concorde. I prefer JC bridge, you get a nice view of the circuit and the city from up there.
Although it says “Against the GP of tuition fees”, I wouldn’t blame exclusively the students for this. As mentionned in previous posts, lots of other groups are jumping on the social unrest bandwagon and are using the student protest as an excuse – especially since Law 78 was passed – and it has become really complicated to know for sure who is behind each and every “event” happening in and around the city.
The limited access to the Grand Prix invites a protest. It’s only a 3 stop line. Blocking either end or just riding the trains would effectively prohibit most attendance. It isn’t rocket science, the protest groups certainly know all this. They must also know that 10:30 is a little too late, though even if they were to only start blocking then, it would still prohibit perhaps half of the fans from attending.
As I posted in the other thread, I don’t think there’s any way the pedestrian bridges can come close to getting 100,000+ fans to the island in the 4 or 5 hours prior to the race. There aren’t enough bridges, and those there are don’t have enough pedestrian walkways. Further, they can’t close the vehicle bridges to vehicular traffic. Emergency vehicles will require it for access not just to the track, but the casino amusement park.
I think the only way to guarantee getting to the track before start time will be to leave at the crack of dawn, avoid the Metro entirely and walk one hell of a long way.
Thanks for the post Joe. Relevant and timely. These people have too much time on their hands. The people should be picketing the schools and asking why the Hell do the profs, admin people etc need to pull 6 figure salaries (and do next to nothing)! Financially screwing over the taxpayer has been going on for decades.
And last but certainly not least – Alex Zanardi has more class and perseverance than the entire group of LOSERS out protesting (read whining and whingeing).
Please keep up the great work Joe, you do a stellar job.
Perhaps they should get in touch with that chap from Hezbollah who did all the anti-F1 artwork for the troublemakers in Bahrain? I’m sure that Nopass could pass on his details as there seemed to be a limitless supply of the things being used there.
Then again, if the rozzers are feeling 700 collars at a time on the streets of Montreal, they might all be in the clink by race weekend. ..
AFP today (extract) “Le porte-parole du syndicat étudiant le plus radical, la Classe, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, a déclaré jeudi vouloir profiter de la “tribune” qu’offre un Grand Prix, tout en précisant ne pas avoir l’intention de perturber la grande fête automobile qui doit se tenir du 8 au 10 juin.”
As far as I can see they have no intention whatsoever of disturbing the race…. They want to take the opportunity of the GP to gain visibility….
BTW “le Grand Prix” in french means litteraly “the high price” so “contre le grand prix des frais de scolarite” means “against the high cost of tuition fees”… Come on they are students not terrorists!
Much Ado About Nothing as William S. said ? We’ll see…. Have a good race indeed !
The ambiguity in the copywriting is in fact rather clever. Covers legal backsides.
Thanks Yanik
Joe,
I strongly disagree with that disgusting poster.
I equally disagree with those that paint an entire protest movement with the actions of a few loose nuts.
Both practices are ugly and uncalled for.
We usually stay in Boucherville and take the metro from Longueuil on the other side of the river. The train in that direction, one stop to Isle Ste. Helene, is practically empty in comparison to the one from Montreal city. One may wish to consider coming from there rather than joining the hordes from the city.
“but let’s keep this info to ourselves so they don’t plan something earlier…”
LOL. Sorry, but that’s quite funny statement on a public board the most population on eart with internet access can read…:)
Joe must be being modest, like who comments here is his only audience!
Hehe, true the comment is on a public board bbut I would be very surprised the organisers of the protests are avid readers of Joe’s blog.
I hope not.
Say what you like about the poster, it’s still a pretty good poster.
I guess that maybe if you knew Zanardi and knew what exactly you were looking at, you might feel a little bit different.
tasteless poster aside, i have no problem with bernie an the other F1 decision makers being reminded that, although they do not care about things like human rights and murder in bahrain, there are those who do. F1 should be ashamed of itself for racing there and the consequences of doing so are perhaps not entirely apparent when making such a horrible decision.
and, as far as the poster goes, i assure you that it’s creator believes that the hundreds being maimed and killed in bahrain are a more horrific example of carnage than one racer’s legs.
i love racing, but bernie’s unfettered greed at the expense of others sickens me,
Bernie has been coming out with some choice silly talk on the defensive side lately. Right down to a oblique denial through his usual channel, of something I pondered was a bit funny with the flotation. (not like it wasn’t screaming out, but saw nobody else point it out) Anyhow, I just think he’s holding on too long, and telling people nobody else can do the job will scare them off. Might be true, but I remember my dad when he hit 80, and though I’m pretty sure he was a one off, not ever did I not hear him trying to pass on what he learned.
So let’s twist a comment by Joe about the Canada GP back to Bahrain, Ecclestone etc? Seriously? If you/the creator of that poster think that any decent and right-minded human being will align themselves with you, then you are not only mistaken, but delusional. A contorted agenda by some malcontents is what this has become. The shame is on the phoney protesters who claim to be superior, morally and intellectually, to those who disagree them. Juvenile minds who’ve been humored for far too long. But keep throwing the temper tantrums, your on your way to alienating ever more of the public.
I don’t see that it’s anything to do with Bernie. F1 has not provoked or prompted the protest. They are using a high profile event to get their point across. F1 just happens to be the high profile event that hits Montreal at a convenient (for the protestors) time. If it was the soccer world cup then they’d use that, and it wouldn’t be soccer’s fault.
I would protest Charest for not having a plan. Get your Sh1t together. Right or wrong you don’t let the clowns run the circus. These protestors are bullying the government. Have a plan to deal with this!!! Gimme what I want or I’ll protest is one thing. Gimme what I want or I’ll resort to thuggery is quite another.
So let me get this straight.
The students are retesting about their university fees going up. In order to make their opinions known they want to disrupt an event that brings tourists and other money into the local economy. This is the same local economy that pays for the university fees…so they want to reduce their university fees by ensuring the government has less money to spend on services…
This idea must have been thought up by a first year philosophy student with a sub-major in Marxist economics…
That’s the story from one side.
From the other side, the story is one of a conservative government trying to use the current economic crisis to force through dogmatic conservative reductions to the existing social system.
This conservative government is taking a risk well out of balance with any gain they’d see were they to win this fight. The lost tourism dollars from the Grand Prix and following festivals dwarf any savings this plan would bring in.
This idea must have been thought up by a first year philosophy student with a sub-major in Ayn Rand economics… 😉
And here is a enlightened response regarding education:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18151511
This is about Qatar getting serious, filling the gaps, and putting down some cold hard cash. In it, you’ll find also a neat tip how to sponsor a soccer team, and nota bene they clearly have no qualms working with a faculty named after a notable financier of another faith. (which incidentally has a offshoot in the state)
Thought that might temper all this argy bargey over kids who are already well looked after.
But on a wider note, many in the Gulf are very serious about their plans and extremely good at PR. I wonder how many have simply been put off from F1, who nonetheless looked at it seriously? Not just in the Gulf.
Hi Joe,
Do you think there’s a case for F1 calling the race off or at least seeking assurances from the organisers and local authorities. There’s a clear threat of danger here, at least as overt as anything that came out of Bahrain in the run up to that race.
Is there also a possibility that, as with Bahrain, the media are exaggerating the extent of the protests and dissatisfaction?
No. F1 has neer backed down to those who threaten it, and nor should it. The only question is whether the sport benefits from a political involvement. In this case, there is no credible political involvement. The sport has not made any gesture supporting the Quebec government. We are there to race and that is it. This is very different to the circumstances in Bahrain. In that case the race was being used by BOTH sides to further their causes and F1 ended up wearing the omelette.
Yes I agree, I can’t imagine cancellation is even on the agenda, nor should it be. The security situation is nowhere remotely near that of Bahrain, where some team personnel had a genuine cause to feel anxious.
The problem is that post-Bahrain, where F1 was seen universally as coming down on the side of the government, the sport (or government subsidised business as some will see it) is bound to attract this sort of attention purely to garner publicity. The protestors would have been mad to pass up the opportunity, since there has been little reporting of their issues in international media and now all of a sudden there is……
I think the answer is to ride this one out with good grace, and learn the lesson from Bahrain. Never, ever repeat that dreadful mistake again.
I support the students, and I support the grand prix.
Naming the protestors as petchulant little brats does little more than cement their opinion of us as a privileged class of grand pix go-ers…
I’m passionate about formula1 – but I shall not allow that passion to be converted into animosity.
Bottom line is – Don’t take it personally. This is a consensus protest over human rights at large. The whole thing is a shame…