Put a lid on it! How the pot became a global protest symbol


PARIS/YANGON, April 23, 2023 (AFP): French President Emmanuel Macron's recent public appearances have been met with a clamour of pot clanging by demonstrators furious over his decision to hike the retirement age.

As authorities try to put the lid on the protests, we look at how the humble kitchen utensil became a global symbol of resistance.

- Bashing the French king -

The saucepan's second life as a symbol of politically charged protest began in 1830s France after the July Revolution that led to the abdication of Charles X.

Republicans opposed to the new king, Louis Philippe, "sought to make their voices heard by borrowing from reality a customary ritual" known as charivari, or making loud noise, French historian Emmanuel Fureix explained to France Culture radio in 2017.

The ritual dated from the Middle Ages when villagers sought to humiliate an ill-matched marriage -- generally a widower to a much younger bride -- with a thundering concert of c, known in French as "casseroles".

- Hullabaloo in Latin America -

The saucepan's leap to global usage came in the 20th century.

In the 1950s and 1960s there was pot-bashing in Algeria during the country's war of independence, by supporters of the French far-right paramilitary group OAS who wanted to keep the country French.

But the pot only really began to make a racket when it crossed the Atlantic to Latin America, where the ear-splitting tradition of mass "cacerolazos" -- banging pots with wooden spoons or bashing them together like cymbals -- was born.

The first major breakout came in 1971 in Chile against food shortages during the regime of Salvador Allende.

Forty years later, tens of thousands of pot bangers took to the streets of Buenos Aires after finding themselves cut off from their bank savings in the midst of a severe economic crisis.

Since then the saucepan has been a tool of protest across the globe, from Myanmar to Canada.

- Pots in the closet -

Clanging pots have returned loudly in France in recent decades to express discontent with politicians and policies.

In 2017, the campaign rallies of conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon drew sporadic saucepan protests, in a play on the French expression "trainer des casseroles" (skeletons in the closet).

Fillon's "saucepans" related to a scandal that would scupper his candidacy and land him with a jail sentence, when it was revealed he had given his wife a fake job as a parliamentary assistant.

- From street to smartphone -

Six years later, President Emmanuel Macron's widely unpopular pension reforms have elicited a new chorus of pot banging.

Pot concerts were organised countrywide on Monday evening to drown out the president when he addressed the nation after signing into law a bill that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64.

On Thursday, authorities in the southern Herault region announced a ban on "portable sound equipment" ahead of the president's visit to the area.

While the move may force protesters to shelve their pots, smartphone apps such as "iCacerolazo" and "Cassolada 2.0" that reproduce the metal clanging suggest they won't be easily silenced. - AFP

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Pots , National Symbol , History

   

Next In Aseanplus News

Kedah MB must explain why BZI pulled out of RM40bil Langkawi project, says Sg Petani MP
Children suffer as schools go online in polluted and worsening air conditions in Delhi
Pahang exceeds RM1bil in revenue collection for a third straight year
Jaiswal slams unbeaten 90 as India seize control against Australia; Rahul chips in stylish 62
Hong Kong seniors celebrate life with mass marriage vow renewal
Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Saturday (Nov 23, 2024)
Rallying-Neuville fights back in Japan to close on first world title
Vietjet launches Hanoi-Kuala Lumpur route, aims to boost Asean connectivity
Singaporean man nabbed for allegedly faking bomb threat at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok
After gastroscopy went wrong, Singaporean lies in vegetative state in S. Korea, waiting to go home

Others Also Read