Philippe Risler, a 69-year-old newsagent in Paris, was not among them. He insisted that the demonstrations were little more than a Gallic Pavlovian reflex. Raising his eyes to heaven, he said: "They took to the streets but everyone knows there's no choice but to work over 60. It's just a French principle to strike, but why should we be the only ones to get away with it when the others work more? We're no smarter than the rest."