I was kind of hoping for a major protest during our stay in Nantes, but the streets remained quiet. July and August are les grandes vacances and the news focus on innocuous seasonal topics—the weather, recreational activities, les touristes, seaside resorts, traffic news and other trivial matters. Serious issues can wait until la rentrée, in September. Let’s not anger anyone, it’s time to take a break from social and political events.

Fortunately, the walls aren’t on holiday. Sometimes graffiti and political stickers make sense… and sometimes, they don’t!