A greivance with la grève

La rentree, or 'back to school' came and went last Thursday. Without a hitch. The big kids happily, if only a bit nervously, got right back into the groove of French school. It will come as no surprise that Ma Fille has eaten lunch a la cantine every day since starting. And they both wave goodbye at the white gate and bound away to start a new day, French style.

We've been building up to la rentree for weeks now. There've been signs all over the shops competing for euros with promises of being pas trop cher. And we've received at least three very formally polite letters from the mairie (mayor's office) reminding us how important it is that our children attend school for the first four days--Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday. This is because they're being counted for the fiscal year and how much money flows into the school depends on this count. Same as at home as you know.
I must stress this point to you because a) it was stressed to me by the mairie and b) it makes what's happening on Tuesday very funny.
Ok, I'll get on with it. After all this build up for head count on these critical four days it was announced, very quietly in a note from school, that there will be a teachers' strike on Tuesday. That's right. No school for on the fourth day of the new year.
I don't really know how to feel about this. One one hand it humors me. On the other, I was very happy to have some time back and really wanted to go shopping tomorrow.
And you know there's no school ever on Wednesday so they essentially have a weekend in the middle of the week.
What can you do? When in Rome.