Gro-Tsen (@gro_tsen) / X

Gro-Tsen

75.3K posts

Gro-Tsen

@gro_tsen

Eclectic mathematician, irritable geek, boring homosexual, procrastinator extraordinaire, overworked dilettante and full-time human being. I tweet in fr&en.

Paris, France

Joined July 2018

Pinned
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jan 19, 2023
Version 2.0 of my pinned self-description thread. 🧵 I'm a French+Canadian mathematician and gay geek, living in Paris, with eclectic tastes and interests. I tweet about all sorts of things, sometimes obsessively on one subject for days, later dropping it completely. ⤵️ •1/17
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
I think non-French and non-French-speaking readers should be told about how utterly insane things are now in and around Paris because of the Olympics are. The opening ceremony is one week away and they've already barred any access to the Seine! 🧵⤵️ •1/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
The different levels of security perimeters are incomprehensible, but basically all areas within ~100m of the Seine are now completely off-limits. You can only go there, even by foot, if you live there or work there, and you need to get a special permit in advance. •2/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
Getting the permit is no sure thing: apparently some people have had their application denied (no explanations given), so they're not allowed to go where they work, or even where they live. Nobody knows what's supposed to happen to them. •3/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
Now keep in mind that this is a week before the opening ceremony (why do they need to close the entire area days before the ceremony? nobody knows!). During the ceremony itself, access to the hospital will be completely forbidden to anyone. This is insane! •5/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
Also, there's a hospital within that off-limit perimeter, with some people requiring vital care there. Patients may apply for a permit, but again that's not automatically granted. •4/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
Of course this is not the only restriction. Around this “anti-terrorist” no-go zone, there is a much larger “red” zone which is “only” closed to all road traffic. Not as catastrophic, but if you're a business or need to get something delivered, you're in big trouble. •6/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
So, now we get to pay billions to host a big business show to which we're very emphatically not invited, we're told to leave the city or stay at home (and also please don't be sick) during that time. As you can imagine, not everyone is very happy with this whole affair. •19/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Dec 3, 2024
A mathematician enters a bar. The rest of the joke is left as an exercise to the interested reader.
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
Also, barriers have begun sprouting all over the place in Paris. Nobody seems to know exactly what they're for. And if you're in a wheelchair, well, I guess that's too bad for you. •13/19 x.com/EricKLein_/sta…
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
… including the ring road around Paris (the “périphérique”). Now if you've seen how bad traffic is on the périphérique in ordinary times, even in the summer, try imagining that with one lane closed to the plebs: yeah, total carpocalypse! •8/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
Now maybe you don't drive a car (in Paris this is a bad idea anyway, if you can avoid it) and you prefer to take public transit? Well, surprise: lots of metro stations are closed as well. The list is incomprehensibly large and illogical. •9/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Jul 19, 2024
Replying to @gro_tsen
An even larger area than the red one is the “blue” one which is closed to most, but not all, road traffic. But also, most of the highways connecting Paris to the surrounding suburbs, have special “Paris 2024” lanes, reserved for Olympics officials, … •7/19
Gro-Tsen
@gro_tsen
Mar 16, 2024
Again: by setting up Sci-Hub and making basically all science papers available to everyone by ignoring absurd copyright laws, Alexandra Elbakyan has contributed enormously to science, and arguably to mankind as a whole. She deserves a thanks and recognition, not legal threats.
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