FRENCH, RHYMES WITH STENCH:

What would Americans think of the French strike? (Matthew Price, 10/23/10, BBC News)

I am going through a little bit of culture shock.

For the last three years I have been based in the US. And the only protests I have covered, the only ones vocal enough to have been worth reporting on, have been angry mobs demanding the government stop spending and get out of their lives.

Now, just one week into my new role as Europe correspondent, I am faced with angry mobs demanding the exact opposite - an end to government cut backs and a promise that the state will continue to provide for them.

Talk about a change of scene.

The Americans could never stomach - or indeed even understand - what has been happening in Marseille.

The stench of rotting oranges, old coffee grounds and the occasional soiled nappy, sticks in the nose as you walk through the narrow lanes of the old city.