Quiet Saturday

Today we were allowed to go around Bamako’s centre. Even in the morning there was no demonstration and the mood seems much more relaxed among the Malians. We tried to get a feeling for their opinion and most people seem to be happy about the military intervention that has stopped (for now) the rebels marching southward.

While we were driving around town, I thought that the streets were a bit busier than usual and that people were dressed a smarter way. So I put up my clever voice, polished my home-made French and asked the driver whether that was the Saturday effect, only for him to reply that, no, actually there’s no difference…