This one is for all you smug "see, nothing happened" Euro-philes. More news as it happens:

Euro blamed for violent clashes at French post office By Susannah Herbert in Paris La Poste et l'euro - La Poste

Euro sur Internet [selection of French sites on the euro]

Euro Internet

Le Monde

EUROPE'S first "euro-riot" erupted yesterday in Marseilles when dozens of frustrated benefit claimants smashed up three post offices, blaming the single currency for a major computer breakdown that has blocked their payments since the new year.

Their protests, promptly suppressed by riot police, followed unsuccessful attempts to claim unemployment benefit, child allowance and income-support. Hundreds of thousands of savings-account holders at La Poste - which doubles as one of France's biggest banks - were also prevented from withdrawing money following the crash of the computer system handling such transactions.

The system was adapted to make it "euro-compatible" last week following the fixing of the franc-euro parities. Since the adaptation, which required intensive work by thousands of technicians, the system has repeatedly crashed, although La Poste has said this was a coincidence.

-- E. Coli (nunayo@beeswax.com), January 07, 1999

Answers

Please provide the link.

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), January 07, 1999.

I drove my car off the road one time and hit a tree. But it was just a coincidence.

-- a (a@a.a), January 07, 1999.

Here's another coincidence. Tried the ATM at the local Wachovia branch this afternoon. (7 Jan.) No go. Wouldn't even read a card. Screen was full of the message "Internal processing error" in a very small font size.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 07, 1999.

E. Coli... post a link to that story and we may run it.

thanks, scott (editor, y2ktoday)

-- Scott Johnson (scojo@yahoo.com), January 07, 1999.

This'll get you to the "Le Monde" site:

Le Monde

I clicked on "Vers le journal du jour" for "today's paper", but no stories about "Euro-riots". Yesterday's news, perhaps?

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.com), January 07, 1999.

E speckt me to reed frensh weef my edukscion?

-- * (washedbrain@nea.com), January 07, 1999.

Yesterday there was a computer breakdown of some kind in Marseille, but I can't see any mention of the words for "riot". I can read enough French to surmise that E.Coli's post is likely a valid one, but I can't find the English news story he posted. This link is to the French news article if anyone is interested: http://www.yahoo.fr/acutalite/19990106/multimedia/915620460-yaho019.html

-- Bonnie Camp (bonniec@mail.odyssey.net), January 07, 1999.

Tom,

Did you see the rescheduled deadline at Wachovia's year 2000 disclosure page?

http://www.wachovia.com/year2000/

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), January 07, 1999.

Sorry, folks, there's a typo in the URL for the French news article. It should be /actualite/

I haven't had to type anything in French for a long time!

-- Bonnie Camp (bonniec@mail.odyssey.net), January 07, 1999.

bonnie: That link has expired. If you can find it again, run it through the translator at

http://babelfish.altavista.com/cgi-bin/translate?

-- a (a@a.a), January 07, 1999.

Here's one of the articles from yesterday that I put through the translator. You'll have to read "demonstrated" for "express" - obviously the translator is far from perfect, but at least you can get the general idea. There was another article which mentioned computer specialists working all night long and then having to shut the system down completely to manage the repair. They've been having problems for days and it affected several of their branch offices. Supposedly, as of today, the systems are up and running again. Police were called to manage some angry demonstrators in certain places- there were problems of that kind in more than one area, some worse than others. Sorry I couldn't do better, but I'm out of time right now.

Wednesday January 6, 1999, 16h19

Data-processing breakdown at the Post office: unemployed express in Lyon

LYON, 6 jan (AFP) - about fifty unemployed expressed Wednesday in front of the principal receipt from the Post office, in Lyon, to protest against the data-processing breakdown which delayed the payment of the social payments, one learned near the regional direction from the company.

The unemployed were received about midday by the management of the firm, which meant the re-establishment of the system to them and invited to lunch in the canteen of the establishment.

The breakdown touched several agencies in Paris, Marseilles, Lyon and Rouen. In certain cases, users in anger damaged the post offices or the distributors of tickets (Lille).

-- Bonnie Camp (bonniec@mail.odyssey.net), January 07, 1999.

Follow ups?

Bonnie;

Wednesday January 6, 1999, 11h47 Resumption of the information processing system at the Post office in Marseilles MARSEILLES, 6 jan (AFP) - the information processing system from the Post office in Marseilles " functions again normally ", announced Wednesday the regional direction of the Post office. " All re-entered in the order since 11h30 and the customers can again carry out all the usual operations ", indicated to the AFP a spokesman regional direction. Slight incidents, consecutive with a data-processing breakdown which affected the operation of the Post office since Tuesday in the Rhone delta, had burst Wednesday morning in front of three post offices in Marseilles. Ten agencies of the Post office on a total of seventy had been closed Tuesday, in Marseilles, in order to contain the anger of the users prevented from carrying out money withdrawals by the breakdown of the information processing system.

Wednesday January 6, 1999, 10h13 Interruption of the data-processing treatment Marseilles MARSEILLES, 6 jan (AFP) - the departmental direction of the Post office of the Rhone delta announced Wednesday morning " an interruption of the data-processing of the financial transactions " in Marseilles in order to start again of them the procedures following the breakdown which affects it since Tuesday. " Of the procedures of manual processing are installation for the customers who would wish to carry out withdrawals ", indicated to the AFP Pascale Farrugia, person in charge of the service communication from the Post office in Marseilles. " the customers are requested to provide itself with documents in proof of transfer and an identity paper to obtain an advance within the limit of 3.000 francs ", it added. Ten agencies of the Post office on a total of seventy were closed Tuesday, in Marseilles, in order to contain the anger of the users prevented from carrying out money withdrawals by the breakdown of the information processing system. Two of them will not be able to open Wednesday because

Wednesday January 6, 1999, 11h01 Breakdown on the data-processing network of the Post office in Seine-Maritime ROUEN, 6 dic (AFP) - a breakdown on the data-processing network of the post offices of Seine- Maritime disturbed Wednesday morning the operations on the Epargne accounts, one learned in an official statement from the Post office. If the payment of various welfare payments is disturbed, " of specific measurements were implemented in order to pour advances with the customers ", indicated to the AFP Bernadette Lepetit, responsible for the communication. The operations in advance on services are carried out manually, from where waiting prolonged with the counters, one specified of the same source. The data-processing problem is " due to the movements related to calculations of the interests on the accounts carried out at the beginning of year. No correlation is to be made with the rocker euro ", one also specified. In the Eure, the network was also disturbed, indicated one of the same source. Precedent: Interruption of the data-processing treatment Marseilles

The link

http://www.yahoo.fr/actualite/19990106/multimedia/915620460- yaho019.html still works.

These are the stories as babelfish translated them. I have neither revised them, nor have I edited them for any reason.

S.O.B.

-- sweetolebob (La) (buffgun@hotmail.com), January 07, 1999.

As a linguistics major, the translations are a riot, uh, a demonstration maybe?

-- Maria (encelia@mailexcite.com), January 07, 1999.

I'm french speaking (Quebecoise), I'll post the article in french Bonnie gave, and translate it [in brackets] as acurately as I can.

mercredi 6 janvier 1999, 11h01

Panne sur le riseau informatique de la Poste en Seine-Maritime [Breakdown of the computer systems at the post office in Seine-Maritime.]

ROUEN, 6 dic (AFP) - Une panne sur le riseau informatique des bureaux de poste de Seine-Maritime perturbait mercredi matin les opirations sur les comptes Epargne, a-t-on appris dans un communiqui de La Poste. [A crash of the information system at the Seine-Maritime's post office Wednesday morning disturbed the operations of the savings account, we learned from a communiqui of La Poste.]

Si le versement de diverses prestations sociales est perturbi, "des mesures spicifiques ont iti mises en oeuvre afin de verser des avances aux clients", a indiqui ` l'AFP Bernadette Lepetit, chargie de la communication. [If the disbursment of diverse social benefits is hindered, "specific measures have been put in place so as to disburse instalments of funds to clients", Bernadette Lepetit, in charge of communications, had told AFP.]

Les opirations d'avance sur prestations s'effectuent manuellement, d'oy une attente prolongie aux guichets, a-t-on pricisi de mjme source. [Payments of benefits are done manualy, hence a long wait at the counter, the same source explained.]

Le problhme informatique est "d{ aux mouvements liis aux calculs des intirjts sur les comptes effectuis en dibut d'annie". "Aucune corrilation n'est ` faire avec la bascule euro", a-t-on igalement pricisi. [The system's problem is "due to movements tied to interest calculations on the accounts performed at the begining of the year". "No correlation with the Euro [cash]sign", was also explained."

Dans l'Eure, le riseau itait igalement perturbi, indiquait-on de mjme source. [In Eure, the system was also down, said the same source.]

So it would seem that the problem was Y2K related and not Euro.

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 07, 1999.

"As a linguistics major, the translations are a riot, uh, a demonstration maybe? "

ROFL Maria! :-D

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 07, 1999.

Panne sur le riseau informatique de la Poste en Seine-Maritime [The computers are broke]

ROUEN, 6 dic (AFP) - Une panne sur le riseau informatique des bureaux de poste de Seine-Maritime perturbait mercredi matin les opirations sur les comptes Epargne, a-t-on appris dans un communiqui de La Poste. [The computers broke Wednesday morning]

Si le versement de diverses prestations sociales est perturbi, "des mesures spicifiques ont iti mises en oeuvre afin de verser des avances aux clients", a indiqui ` l'AFP Bernadette Lepetit, chargie de la communication. [The computers are broke but we have pencils, papers, and cash]

Les opirations d'avance sur prestations s'effectuent manuellement, d'oy une attente prolongie aux guichets, a-t-on pricisi de mjme source. [Paying in cash and writing it down takes a long time]

Le problhme informatique est "d{ aux mouvements liis aux calculs des intirjts sur les comptes effectuis en dibut d'annie". "Aucune corrilation n'est ` faire avec la bascule euro", a-t-on igalement pricisi. [It is not our fault]

Dans l'Eure, le riseau itait igalement perturbi, indiquait-on de mjme source. [The computers in Eure are broke too.]

MoVe Immediate ;)

-- MVI (vtoc@aol.com), January 07, 1999.

MVI, Cest perfemint!! (Lousey translatour).

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), January 07, 1999.

I can't speak or read French, but I think I can read the writing on the wall...

The Euro is 4 days old... it hasn't even been fully implemented yet and Europe is behind on y2k fixes.

Europe is still an unstable political climate within borders and across borders and I hate to think about what it will look like by the roll over.

Mike ==================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (myemail@address.com), January 08, 1999.

Mike,

C'est vrai!

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), January 08, 1999.

C'est la guerre!

-- Chris (catsy@pond.com), January 08, 1999.

International Herald Tribune "The World's Daily Newspaper."

The International Herald Tribune is a daily newspaper edited in Paris and printed around the world. Published with The New York Times & The Washington Post.

http://www.iht.com/

And theres no bl**dy search engine on the thing (that I can find). Poor web-design!!! Especially for the worlds news!!

Nothing about Marseilles from their Paris bureau. Happy face Euro articles, though.

No wonder Europe and Y2K are so far behind. Nobody knows much about it!!! Or at least, reports it around the world. Sad.

There. I've vented.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), January 08, 1999.

My son on the Left Coast tells me that absinthe is again available (although manufactured in the Czech Republic). Those afflicted with fin de siecle and/or existential humours arising from recent postings here may find it helpful. Caution: long-term use of absinthe is reportedly hazardous to the brain.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 08, 1999.

MVI: good one!

-- a (a@a.a), January 08, 1999.