Normally you can leave a pushchair at the aircraft steps. At the Air France check in desk at Charles de Gaulle the clerk looked down at the pushchair and shook his head. Not tonight, evidently. 

As the three year old was fast asleep, and there was still almost an hour before boarding, this seemed quite monstrous and I queried why the pushchair had to be checked in now. This certainly wasn't the case when we flew out, we left it at the aircraft steps. 

Visibly annoyed at us he looked about for someone else to confirm the check in. He came around to our side and walked across the floor, had a brief conversation with another AF clerk and returned. The pushchair had to be checked in. 

I lifted E out, still sound asleep, and struggled to fold the pushchair with one hand and one leg while the check in clerk watched, un-amused. He then produced a large plastic bag and started to pack the pushchair into it, advising us it had to be taken to Area 8. It couldn't be checked in at Area 10 with the rest of the luggage. 

Go to Area 8? Whatever about having to check the pushchair in, you would at least think we could have pushed it to Area 8, with E asleep, rather than trying to walk a high wire, balancing a sleeping child, a folded up pushchair and the hand baggage. What customer service!

A day later I hear about poor Jean-Jacques Jauffret, a French scriptwriter who was called "enormous!" by the check in clerk. Imagine, they actually came around from behind the check in desk and very publicly  measured his waist. Incredible!

This exact problem happened to us about 7 years ago in Paris, our daughter was 11 months and  during our visit she became very ill, so we decided to go home. Old Aer Lingus did'nt charge us for changing our flights. We went to the check in and were told that we were to check in the push-chair, my wife went mad, she told the check in clerk that under no circumstances was M going to be taken out of the push chair, and if they needed to check the chair she would accompany the chair where-ever it had to go, but that push-chair was coming to the gate "and I d'ont give a shite what f#cking rule needs to be broken". At that security were called and a lady who insisted in speaking in French insisted that the push-chair needed to be checked in, again my wife said, in French, "Non", after two armed police arrived with dogs did the check-in staff allow us to bring the push-chair to the gate.

Whilst waiting for the plane to board a woman came over to my wife and congradulated my wife for being so brave, I on the other hand was more worried that she would have been locked up for breach of CDG check-in rules, my wifes answer "f"'k them my daughters welfare is more important that their silly rules", it is the only airport that I have ever passed through that takes a push chair from parents and carers forceably, why? because they are French........................................