Abstract

On May 1, 1995, there was an exceptional amount of activity in Bergen, a city in the western part of Norway. It had been raining for several weeks on end, but on this day the sky was unusually clear and cloudless. In this city with a population of only some two hundred thousand, there were thousands of people who had gathered to hold their annual protest-type assembly and parade. At eleven in the morning, the assembly started in the city's central plaza. Afterward, everyone sang the "Internationale" and set out on the parade route on the theme "Nei Til EU." Nei means no, and EU stands for the European Union. The people singing the "Internationale" were, in fact, demonstrating against Norway's participation in the European Union—the international union comprised of the countries of Europe or at least most of Western Europe.