In the year in which he reached conventional retirement age, Pierre Bourdieu appeared to embark on a new career. In the past he had frequently refused to "prendre position," but now he appeared to plunge into politics and to adopt the persona of a public intellectual. 2 The occasion was the right-wing Juppé government's proposed reform of the public sector, which provoked a series of strikes. As one of those who signed the "Appel des intellectuels au soutien des grévistes," Bourdieu appeared in support of the strikers on 12 December 1995 outside the Gare de Lyon and said, "Je suis ici pour dire notre soutien à tous ceux qui luttent depuis trois semaines contre la destruction d'une civilisation associée à l'existence du service public, celle de l'égalité républicaine des droits, droits à l'éducation, à la santé, à la culture, à la recherche, à l'art, et, par-dessus tout, au travail." [I am here to express our support for all those who have been fighting for three weeks against the destruction of a civilisation associated with the existence of public services and of equal rights in a republican context, such as rights to education, to health care, to culture, to research, to arts and, above all, to work.] 3 His image appeared on many news bulletins where he was filmed rather in the manner of Sartre selling La Cause du peuple, but he later stated that his presence at the Gare de Lyon was to "prendre position en tant que citoyen mettant en pratique les valeurs qu'il a apprises dans son travail scientifique" [take a stand as a citizen putting into practice the values he has acquired through his research]. 4