Security.

Halloween is just around the corner and you don't need to ask me twice when it comes to dressing up (not in the Mean Girls type of way). So we set off to buy our party tickets from La Peniche (an area of the school, named because of the large, barge like seat that takes up most of the space of the hallway. It is famous because everyone gets a photo sitting on it before you leave. This includes all the previous Presidents of France that have studied at SP. But you have to graduate, sorry Sarkozy...)

We wandered around trying to find the sign up table (and trying to avoid the swarms of people kissing each other. French greeting, not anything dodgy) but couldn't find the desk anywhere. Soon after, big, burly security men began to storm through, evacuating everyone from the outside garden, clearing out the cafe in the basement and then telling everyone in the main area we had to leave. They all looked very official and were speaking sternly in incredibly fast french. I managed to run into my french buddy and after doing the obligatory french kiss greeting (no matter how many times I do it it will never be normal) I asked her what he had said and what was going on.

As we were talking more security guards came in and started roping off large areas of the hallway, and she was just starting to tell me that he had said there was going to be a conference by some foreign minister about Gaza before the crowd of confused students started to make a mass procession for the exit, separating us from each other amidst stern orders from the tight lipped security.

As we left (serious case of claustrophobia starting to take effect), there were police cars and police motorcycles outside the entrance and various men in suits talking stealthily into their hidden walkie talkies.

I have no idea who was coming to give the talk but something tells me he's kind of important.