March of the...Potheads?

Pride?

I thought it was a little early for gay pride.  While revising a paper along the sun soaked canal this weekend, I was interrupted by a parade of youth marching in the middle of the adjacent street.  Waving rainbow flags and banners, I half expected to see sequin-wearing drag queens behind them.  I was disappointed to find out that they were instead pushing for the decriminalization of marijuana.

After a few years in New York, living in college dorms no less, I have had my fair share dealing with marijuana (dealing WITH it, not actually dealing).  As a resident assistant, I have fond memories of roaming the halls when I was “on duty,” knocking on doors where pot smoke was all but billowing out from under the door.

Oh...pot.

“What are you guys doing?” I’d ask.

“Just…burning…incense,” the scared and stoned freshman would respond.  Sigh.  The good times.

While I still do get the occasional whiff from the Parisian students in my building, marijuana seems much less present in Paris.  It’s just one more on an endless list of differences between a life in Paris and a life in New York.  Who needs a bagel when you can have a baguette?   But sometimes I crave endless diner coffee while I’m sitting stirring my espresso at the café.

The Paris vs New York blog sums up these differences perfectly.  So after this little pot parade, I started wondering, what would the equivalent in Paris be to pot in New York?  How could the Paris vs New York blog tackle this one?

I've seen better parades...

Any ideas?