France On Strike To Protest Government's Handling Of Financial Crisis

UPDATE: 2pm

The unions who organized the nation-wide strike in France say 2.5 million workers have participated, BBC reports. French police have put the total at 1 million.

The walk-out has affected transport, education and postal services throughout the country, our correspondent says, and is the biggest one-day strike since [President Nicolas] Sarkozy took up office.

With unemployment looking likely to reach 10% next year, she says, the protesters hope he will drop his programme of cost-cutting reforms and focus instead on protecting workers' jobs and wages.

Earlier:

Hundreds of thousands of French workers have gone on a one-day strike to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy's handling of the financial crisis, the Guardian reports. It calls this the first general strike in an industrialized nation since the global financial crisis began.

Public and private sector workers have joined forces to protest against Nicolas Sarkozy's handling of the crisis, saying too much has been done to help businesses and not enough to protect jobs and boost French workers' low wages.

It is the first wide-ranging general strike since Sarkozy took office and a rare show of unity from France's main unions. Train drivers, airport staff, teachers, postal workers and tax inspectors joined private-sector employees including bank clerks, car workers, ski-lift operators, supermarket check-out staff and even employees from the company that operates France's stock exchange.

The International Herald Tribune reports that unions called for the strike to demand the government make employment a priority, reduce the income gap and better regulate banks. It states that the strike has made an impact on French services.

Mass transit in the capital was in chaos, with service on suburban commuter lines reduced or nonexistent, and most subways and buses running well below normal frequencies. The Education Ministry estimated that 37 percent of teachers walked out. In Marseille, the country's second city, television showed buses crammed with commuters as subway service was completely interrupted.

Across France, airports were operating at reduced capacity and flights were delayed. The rail line that serves the two Paris airports was completely shut down, stranding arriving travelers in long taxi lines.

About 200 demonstrations are planned across France today.

Reuters has an explanation of exactly who is on strike and why.

Comments

[tds1273]

"I freedom kiss the French for their political disent"
-Sage Francis

[William1950]

there is a lesson here for us... us meaning the U.S.A. ... a day of national strike sounds good to me.

[Wazzat]

We don't hear much about France in the US media, but Sarkozy is a disaster. His main personal characteristic seems to be extreme arrogance. He has the reputation of never backing down, out of his personal pride, even when wrong (which is often). He is instituting "reforms" in France- all ordered from the top down, often wrong-headed, with no transparency, no input from those affected or from those who actually know something. He also is known as a man who does not keep his word: promises are made on the basis of strategy and expediency, and then thrown out immediately at his convenience. A main Sarkozy strategy is divide-and -conquer, appealing to the selfish interests of one segment who believe (probably wrongly) they will benefit from his changes, while scaring the rest into submission: either you let me walk all over you or you are out. And then photo-ops of him and Carla are offered to the media as a convenient distraction from what is really going on. He has gathered untp himself enormous powers, and it will be very hard for the French people to avoid the disasters to come.

[sophie-marceau]

but here the latin europe is ready even to the civil war if it will be necessary.i hope it will not be the answer, the problem is not only french is everywher in europe but the media as usual don`t speak about.

there are few blogs out of the european censorship that say the truth.one of this is www.trueinformation.wordpress.com that me and my plitical organization use to informate ourselves

[sueinmn]

I thought you was describing GWBush

[sophie-marceau]

to all EUROPEAN CITIZENS.

why we the ECB(european central bank) has to mortgage the money lend to the various countries.

Do you know that the EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK IS own by private banks.

This may be possible in USA but not in europe,let`s get back our continent,let`s grow the voice,

the banks aslaved us without even asking for that.

www.trueinformation.wordpress.com

[sophie-marceau]

from www.trueinformation.wordpress.com if this is the europe.Strike in France,riots in greece,dem­onstration in Italy.
If any british is in there don`t ever ever go to europe.
The new currency destroyed the europe aslaved the citizens.
let`s do a referendum and let`s choose if europe has right to exist.

[sueinmn]

Other than the cost of everyone getting to washington, nearly impossible, I would say somewhere down the road if things dont change for the better soon massive peaceful protests at each state captitol could be a reality. How mant thousands more jobs will be lost in the next 5-6 weeks? You would be bound to get their attention!

[sueinmn]

Hey you know we could learn a thing or two from them!

[bwaynester]

writers like bob herbert of the ny times are starting to write very angry columns. [ see tuesday's ] rightly so. patience will run thin if our new president doesn't get things shaking quickly, and lets the discredited republican ideas rule the day, as seems to be happening. will there be protests in the streets? i hope so, and it would be about time.

[sueinmn]

Can you imagine as many people at the capitol as were the day of Innaugaration? Not to protest Pres Obama but to show him he has our support and GOP, Wallstreet and banks need change and money refunded!!

[schatsie]

There are a few Republicans I would love to Pants, if you know what i mean....

[angry expat]

I lived in France for five years and was stunned at their passion for their land and culture and their intolerance of being exploited by their own government.

Sad that in the US we are always in competition with one another so we rarely work together and would never dream of striking to drive the point home that we won't take any more of this abuse by those in power.

So we can expect more abuse.

[sueinmn]

It can happen. People can get pushed into a corner and come out biting. We have become too passive to allow it to get this far but the more jobs lost, well I wouldnt hold my breath. I know I for one is more than willing to make this type of statement! Being union, you know what fights are nessesary sometimes.

[Hcaukfied]

And why are we not doing this? And to the thoughtful person who considers the French lazy because of their short work week, did you ever think that they would rather work to live and not the reverse? I think that our country is at fault that we think that it is just fine to only give our employees 2 weeks of vacation. Life is too short....

[PoliticalRockChick]

I love the French. When last year the government tried to hike up the hours in their work week, the French went out and protest. The hike was halted and was never seen again. When a couple of years their social medicine was being messed with, they took to the streets and that was halted and was never spoken again.

See America be like the French. PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST To get what you want. It worked during the 50s & 60s with the civil rights with the bussing and schools, and sit ins. Change happen. No bailout for companies. A bailout to companies and tax cuts to companies does not stop these companies from letting go millions and millions of employees. They are not obligated to keep employees. The bailout is just a way for them to meet with their profit goals for the end of the year.

[drymartini1]

their work week is proof enough they are bunch of lazy people !!

[MajorKong]

That's a stereotype and a bad one at that. French workers on average are very productive.

The main problem they have is that their labor laws are so strict that it's almost impossible to fire somebody. That makes employers very reluctant to hire.

[AngieMom57]

drymartini1-go have one, a dry martini...

"if you can't lend a hand then get out of the way'!

[SuperFrenchie]

The French are actually more productive on an hourly basis than almost everybody, including... Americans:

http://atlanticreview.org/archives/588-Productivity.html

drymartini is a bigoted m*ron.

[SuperFrenchie]

The French are actually more productive on an hourly basis than almost everybody, including... Americans:

http://atlanticreview.org/archives/588-Productivity.html

[sueinmn]

Their standard work week was always 32 hours and they have mandatory retirement at 62 with full retirement pay!

[davidwayneosedach]

Sarkozy will get a chance to prove wht he is made of. In other words, start looking for a new leader in France.

[Aloisius]

"protesters hope he will drop his programme of cost-cutting reforms and focus instead on protecting workers' jobs and wages."

For a group of people as educated and well informed as the French, they sure do place a lot of their faith in the ability of their government to perform magic.

I know a lot of people wish this sort of thing happened in the US (never mind that there have been several protests with far more participants in the US than this one in recent years). It is romantic to think of the people rising up against the tyranny of their oppressors and letting their voices be heard! Except they elected these people. Oh and they end up straining the economy making things worse. Oh and if governments allow minority groups to disrupt important services anytime they want, they'll never be able to institute hard but necessary reforms.

Frankly, these protesters are short-sighted. All they care about is keeping what they have now instead of making sure everyone has something later.

[-Bart-]

On the contrary, they are in the street mainly to make sure everyone will benefit from the same public services that we have at the moment.
Our government is trying to cut in the budget of education, justice and health. Three sectors where the government cannot back off.

And yes we elected these people (I personally didn't) but it doesn't mean that we have to wait until the next election with our mouth shut. At least, it's isn't my vision of democracy.

[sueinmn]

I have to applaud you!

[vjoseph]

That is how politics should be. Expecting your government to represent your interests, since you vote for them. When they fail, you show them how off the path they have gone. This is why your country is so much trouble as it is right now

[Asmodeus]

There's an old half-joking question in politics: Would you rather have the hungry lion at your door? Or a million angry mice? They'll take the lion every time. Why? Because every official in France right now is asking themselves: 'What if they'd decided to do something about us today, instead of just staying home?' I seem to recall Greece recently learned this lesson the hard way.

JFK said it best: "If you make peaceful revolution impossible, you make violent revolution inevitable."

[studlyguy]

The only change governments know ,is revolutions,I'm thinking their is going to be a worldwide revolution is a coming!