It’s a chant that’s been echoing in French squares for two months since protests against Macron’s pension reforms began: “On est là…on est là, même si Macron ne le veut pas, nous on est la ! Pour l’honneur des travailleurs et pour un monde meilleur, même si Macron ne le veut pas, nous on est là!” (We are here, we are here, even if Macron doesn’t want to, we are here. For the honor of the workers and for a better world).
THE ANTHEM “ON EST LA'” SINGED BY THE DEmonstrators
The song is heard everywhere, and even those returning from the “Manif” continue to whistle or sing it. For this reason, “On est là” has already led many to trace the roots of this song, which has taken its place in the processions of the Marseillaise, the Internazionale and the Bella Ciao.
The hymn was first heard 10 years ago at Lens Stadium’s seething curve, the legendary ‘Bollaert’, where fans of the ‘blood and gold’ colors, irritated by their favorites for often disappointing results, sang ‘on est la, on est la, even if you don’t deserve it, we’re here, for the love of the shirt you’re wearing we’re here.” On notes not perfectly traced but certainly inspired by the famous hit of the 1971 Sanremo Festival, “Che Sara”.
The song would have made its debut – as a protest anthem – during the demonstrations of the “cheminots”, the railway workers, in Lyon in 2018. This Clément Dagorne, a railroad worker, would have taken the curve’s anthem from a Lens fan friend, and sings it with the words “For the honor of the railroad workers and the future of our children, we are here…”.
Since then, the old chorus of Lens fans has made its way to the Assemblée Nationale, where MPs from Nupes, the alliance of the Gauche, sang it at the top of their lungs to challenge the government’s confidence in passing pension reform Law.
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