the death of the European Union

I went to Milano this weekend. Both France and Italy ratified Schengen, there are no more border check points. No need for passport or ID, I thought. Had I not talked to Gian-Piero, a frequent traveler to Italy, I would have been ill-prepared for what I would experience, the trip would have been catastrophic.

At the last stop in France a bunch of border police enter the train, search luggage, check IDs. They held up the train like a posse in the wild west. We continue with a delay of one hour. No apologies from anyone. Hell, not even any explanations.

France is very similar to the US in that the government feels its the single most vulnerable country in the world, that general paranoia is actively encouraged, and that elaborate schemes are concocted to repel evil-doers. Nothing else but a scheme is the terrorization of train passengers, because checking old floppy cardboard IDs that Italians carry doesn't repel anyone. I could counterfeit one in an afternoon of hard work. Any takers?

And if my ingenious plan of attack included going from Milan to Paris, I could find two dozen ways that don't cross the border between Italy and France. Leave me alone with this crap.