When millions of French protesters shut down their country over the president’s decision to raise the retirement age, U.S. commentators said it could never happen here.

But why?

To find out, we went back through decades of U.S. and French history, looking at the different narratives we tell ourselves about strikes and the different laws protecting the right to collective action in the United States and Europe.

Written and hosted by Alice Cappelle.

Street interview sequence filmed by Nehemiah Stark.