I Thought They Ate Horses

I saw in Le Monde an article where the Government is taxing horse owners in Paris, and I suspect all of France. It could be as high as 20%, whatever that means. After all it is France and they seem to tax everything.

The article states: 

Près de 4 000 responsables et usagers des centres équestres d'Ile-de-France, accompagnés de 200 poneys, ont défilé, lundi 11 novembre, pour protester contre la hausse de 7 % à 20 % de la TVA sur leurs activités. 2 000 établissements et 6 000 emplois seraient menacés par cette mesure gouvernementale, estime le président de la Fédération française d'équitation. ... Alors que le gouvernement souhaitait jusque-là conserver un taux réduit pour les activités des centres équestres, il semble avoir plié face aux injonction de Bruxelles et décidé de se mettre en conformité avec le système commun de taxe sur la valeur ajoutée. 

Now I thought they ate horses and did not ride them. Just an observation.

Yet I am reminded of my experience of protests in Paris. One night during a Presidential election, I was in a taxi going from my office to dinner with a colleague. Then, from nowhere, hundreds or protesters with signs, shouting, blocking everything. Then a shout, the signs down, cigarettes out all sat on the curb. The Press was not ready with their cameras and one of the Press had not yet arrived. Thus all sides sat and spoke as if it were just a calm Fall afternoon in Paris.

Then the last camera man arrived, and Voila, the protest began again. Shame we have not adopted such a form. Yet they did have the Robespierre crowd as well.