Stories of people in the United States put into difficulty by high oil and gas prices are nothing new. After all, the United States’ larger size and historical emphasis on private car and truck transportation has set it up to be especially vulnerable to fluctuations in the cost of fuel.

But now, even in France, which has a tremendous nuclear power infrastructure and a massive complex of railways run largely on electricity from those nuclear plants, some people—truckers especially—are beginning to feel the pinch. And now they’re trying to raise awareness to their plight.

Dubbed “Operation Escargot,”  the drivers' protest will involve legions of trucks driving quite literally at a snail’s pace in the right lane of highways across the nation.  

Rather than aiming to cause mayhem like previous truck protests in other countries, the purpose of the French protests is to generate sympathy and awareness, and move toward legislation to reduce heavy diesel costs and pollution, and create a level playing field for truckers across the European continent.