‘What Parliament decides, the street can un-decide”, declared one of the leaders of the demonstrations taking place in France.

I was visiting on Tuesday to speak to a foreign policy centre and was lucky to make it: Eurostar was about the only means of transport to or within the country which was not affected by the demos and strikes.

We may share so much with France, and I certainly admire so much, but every time I go I am reminded how our history and experiences have diverged from our Channel neighbours.

If our major cities were crippled by such mass action, the press would be screeching.

In France, they can’t too much, because opinion polls show that there’s a big majority in favour of the action, despite the obvious disruption.

In the UK, street action – and I went on plenty of demos myself in my youth – is complementary to the normal workings of Parliament.

In France it is seen by many as a better alternative than parliament.

Partly the difference in attitude is because in France the street has periodically won.

Not only in the 1789 Revolution, but also more recently – including the 1968 student protests which led to the demise of the founder of the French Fifth Republic, President Charles de Gaulle. Connected with this is the different position which the French parliament holds in their national life to our own Parliament.

Here – whatever you may say about politicians – our Parliament is central to our politics.

And our Parliament is alive.

The upside of the noise and apparent disorder is that real arguments take place across the front bench – so people can see that the arguments they have with their workmates or neighbours are repeated, with bells on, by their elected representatives.

The actual cause of the French demos is almost inexplicable in British eyes: It’s about raising the state retirement age to 62 – not from 62.

Here, one of the few announcements yesterday by Chancellor George Osborne in his major statement on public spending which caused not a ripple was his decision to bring forward the increase in the retirement age to 66 a little earlier than planned.

As for the rest of the package, the Commons was in rumbustuous, tribal mood. Quite right.

A policy which, by the Government’s own admission will lead to a loss of nearly 500,000 public sector jobs, is bound to arouse passions, on both sides.

I never thought I’d see the day when a Tory government was simultaneously cutting front-line police, probation, and prison officers.

That won’t bring folk here out on the street, but for sure it will make our streets a lot less safe.