Labor protest in downtown Cairo

A few hundreds Egyptian take the street in downtown Cairo to demand the raise of minimum wages up to LE 1200 per month (about 200 US$) from the actual LE 35 (or 7$) which dates from 1984.

The number of demonstrators did not seem impressive, but one has to remember that this is Egypt, where demonstrations rarely gather more than one hundred people. The tight security that comes with any protest dissuade most Egyptian from being too loud.

Pictures of Nasser were branded while people asked the nation's dignity to be restored. Some even chanted "Down Hosni Mubarak" and "Horriya" which means freedom. The atmosphere was rather joyful as this protest was seen as celebration against the regime, for it gives hope that future protest will be bigger. Even kids were joining the chanting.

Yet there must have been at least one cop per demonstrator, equipped with bullet-proof jackets, sticks, and guns. And there were more trucks packed with cops waiting all around downtown.