Apple French Protesters Try Getting Heard On iPhone 5 Launch Day

PARIS (Reuters) - Hundreds of French iPhone fans lining up at Apple Inc's flagship store in Paris to buy the new iPhone 5 got an earful on Friday from disgruntled employees and former retailers protesting against the group's policies.

Some 20 former staffers of independent Apple distributors which closed after struggling to compete with Apple's own stores marched in front of its flagship Paris store.

Joining them were three store employees striking to protest against Apple's refusal to offer perks such as meal vouchers and a yearly bonus of an extra one month's salary that are standard for many French workers.

"It's spoiling the party a little," said Apple enthusiast Francois Oge, 17, while adding:

"It's very exciting ... There are so many people, everybody is talking to everybody else. Everybody should experience this!"

Gathering in front of the store, steps away from Paris' gilded opera house, protesters unfurled a white banner in front of the store's main entrance saying: "Apple, your jobless are in the street", but were kept at a distance by barricades and a handful of police.

The slogan was also chanted by employees of eBizcuss, part of the country's biggest network of Apple computer resellers which was placed in bankruptcy liquidation procedures in July.

"We were the ones who installed Apple in France 30 years ago and today they're killing us bit by bit, they're strangling us, with their policy of opening Apple Stores," the workers' spokeswoman Patricia Allouche said.

Unemployment in France is already at a 13-year high of just over 10 percent, with a number of large companies preparing to make further mass lay-offs.

An expected strike by employees of the Apple Store itself mostly fizzled, meanwhile, with just the three members of the union which had called the walkout marching. The SUD union which has taken the hardest line against Apple represents roughly a quarter of its 1,000 store employees in France.

"We want the same benefits of the employees of the big French companies," said Thomas Bordage, shop steward of the union told journalists. "All we got was a thank you note from (Apple CEO) Tim Cooke telling us we're great."

(Reporting By Gwenaelle Barzic)

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• Hotly Anticipated iPhone 5 Goes In Sale In Stores

  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Customers wait on line to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 outside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale on September 21, 2012 in New York City. Customers lined up for days to purchase the hotly anticipated device which went on sale nationwide today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• US-IT-APPLE IPHONE 5

  Hazem Sayed exits the Apple store on Fifth Avenue after purchasing his new iPhone 5 on September 21, 2012 in New York. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores around the world on Friday, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/GettyImages)

• Hotly Anticipated iPhone 5 Goes In Sale In Stores

  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Customers wait on line to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 as other people walk past the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale on September 21, 2012 in New York City. Customers lined up for days to purchase the hotly anticipated device which went on sale nationwide today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Hotly Anticipated iPhone 5 Goes In Sale In Stores

  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Customers take photos while waiting on line to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 outside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale on September 21, 2012 in New York City. Customers lined up for days to purchase the hotly anticipated device which went on sale nationwide today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Hotly Anticipated iPhone 5 Goes In Sale In Stores

  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Customers wait on line to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 outside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale on September 21, 2012 in New York City. Customers lined up for days to purchase the hotly anticipated device which went on sale nationwide today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Hotly Anticipated iPhone 5 Goes In Sale In Stores

  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Nurse Angelie Mok waits on line to purchase the Apple iPhone 5 outside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale on September 21, 2012 in New York City. Customers lined up for days to purchase the hotly anticipated device which went on sale nationwide today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Hotly Anticipated iPhone 5 Goes In Sale In Stores

  NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Branden Busby poses with his new Apple iPhone 5 inside the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship store on the first morning it went on sale on September 21, 2012 in New York City. Customers lined up for days to purchase the hotly anticipated device which went on sale nationwide today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Consumers wait in line outside the Fifth Avenue Apple store for the imminent release of the iPhone 5, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• Greg Packer, 49, celebrates as he enters the Fifth Avenue Apple store for the release of the iPhone 5, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• A consumer captures the celebration on his Apple products as he enters the Fifth Avenue Apple store for the release of the iPhone 5, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• A clock symbol is displayed on an iPad with the new iOS 6 Friday, Sept.21, 2012 in Nauen, eastern Germany. Switzerland's national rail company is accusing Apple Inc. of stealing the iconic look of its station clocks for the iOS 6 operating system used by iPhone and iPad mobile devices. Both designs have a round clock face with black indicators except for the second hand which is red. (AP Photo/Ferdinand Ostrop)

• Hazem Sayed, 54, the first in line to purchase the new iPhone 5, holds up his new phone in front of media outside the Fifth Avenue Apple store, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• Greg Packer, 49, is cheered on as he celebrates with his newly purchased iPhone 5 in hand outside the Fifth Avenue Apple store, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• Hazem Sayed, 54, the first in line to purchase the new iPhone 5, takes pictures outside the Fifth Avenue Apple store, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Britain's Taekwondo Olympic Gold Medallist, Jade Jones, becomes one of the first people in the UK to receive the new iPhone 5 at the O2 store in the Arndale Centre, Manchester.

• GERMANY-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE-IPHONE

  Customers queue to enter the Apple Store where a giant logo is displayed in the southern German city of Munich on September 21, 2012 as the iPhone 5 goes on sale. AFP PHOTO/CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/GettyImages)

• AUSTRALIA-TECHNOLOGY-APPLE-IPHONE-PROTEST

  Francis Le holds up a placard in his mock food queue outside Apple's flagship store in Sydney on September 20, 2012, in opposition to the queue of people waiting to buy the new iPhone 5 which goes on sale in Australia on September 21. Le is calling for public support to highlight what he calls the madness of endless consumption and to contrast it with desperate people around the corner, and in other corners of the world. Le wants to highlight the disparity between those who wait overnight for unnecessary phone upgrades and those who wait for food, water and safety.” AFP PHOTO/William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/GettyImages)

• JAPAN-US-IT-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple store staff (in blue) give out free drinks and chocolate to Apple fans queuing on the pavement for the launch of Apple's new iPhone 5 in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo on September 20, 2012. Gadget lovers have flooded Apple with pre-orders and set up camp outside the company's real-world stores to get their hands on the new-generation iPhone 5 set for release on September 21. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/GettyImages)

• JAPAN-US-IT-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple store staff (R-in blue) give out free drinks and chocolate to Apple fans queuing on the pavement for the launch of Apple's new iPhone 5 in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo on September 20, 2012. Gadget lovers have flooded Apple with pre-orders and set up camp outside the company's real-world stores to get their hands on the new-generation iPhone 5 set for release on September 21. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/GettyImages)

• JAPAN-US-IT-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple fans wait for the launch of Apple's new iPhone 5 in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo on September 20, 2012. Gadget lovers have flooded Apple with pre-orders and set up camp outside the company's real-world stores to get their hands on the new-generation iPhone 5 set for release on September 21. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/GettyImages)

• JAPAN-US-IT-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple fans queue along the pavement to wait for the launch of Apple's new iPhone 5 in front of an Apple Store in Tokyo on September 20, 2012, while an iPad (R) reads '15 hours more for iPhone 5'. Gadget lovers have flooded Apple with pre-orders and set up camp outside the company's real-world stores to get their hands on the new-generation iPhone 5 set for release on September 21. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/GettyImages)

• HONG KONG-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  A man (C) resells an iPhone 5 he just bought outside the Hong Kong Apple store on September 21, 2012. A gray market for the new iPhone sprang up on the doorstep of the Apple store in Hong Kong, where resellers offered more than 50 percent above the retail price. AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/GettyImages)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple Store employees cheer as customers are allowed into the shop to buy the new iPhone 5 smartphone at Covent Garden in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale In Germany

  BERLIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 21: A young woman walks out of a shop advertising the new Apple iPhone 5 on the first day the smartphone went on sale on September 21, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. Apple is reporting over 2 million pre-order for its new phone, which went on sale globally today. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: Apple employees cheer at the crowd as the first in line enter into the Apple store in Covent Garden to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: First in the queue Ryan Williams 22, of Kent, leaves the Apple store in Covent Garden after being the first to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. Mr Williams hopes to raise money for Cancer Research UK by auctioning the phone, and has been queuing for nearly a week. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: First in the queue Ryan Williams 22, of Kent, is cheered by Apple employees as he is let into the Apple store in Covent Garden to be the first to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. Mr Williams hopes to raise money for Cancer Research UK by auctioning the phone, and has been queuing for nearly a week. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple Store employees cheer as customers are allowed into the shop to buy the new iPhone 5 smartphone at Covent Garden in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  People queue outside the Apple Store to buy the iPhone 5 at Covent Garden in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  People queue outside the Apple Store to buy the iPhone 5 at Covent Garden in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• GERMANY-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE-IPHONE

  Customers queue to enter the Apple Store where a giant logo is displayed in the southern German city of Munich on September 21, 2012 as the iPhone 5 goes on sale. AFP PHOTO/CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/GettyImages)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  People are served free coffee while waiting in a nearby park while queueing for the Apple Store to buy the new iPhone 5 smartphone on the day of its release at Regents Street in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers queue outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers queue outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Apple workers count money as a customer buys the new iPhone 5 at the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers enter the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers enter the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers queue outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Apple staff outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers enter the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• New iPhone goes on sale

  Customers queue outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, as the new iPhone 5 goes on sale.

• FRANCE-US-APPLE-IPHONE

  A customer (L) holds euro banknotes to purchase an Apple's new iPhone 5 smartphone beside an employee in an Apple store, on September 21, 2012 in Paris. The iPhone 5 goes on sale on September 21, 2012 in the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU (Photo credit should read MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/GettyImages)

• FRANCE-US-APPLE-IPHONE

  An employee holds euro banknotes beside an Apple's new iPhone 5 smartphone at a cash register in an Apple store, on September 21, 2012 in Paris. The iPhone 5 goes on sale on September 21, 2012 in the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU (Photo credit should read MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/GettyImages)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: People queue outside the Apple store in Covent Garden to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: People queue outside the Apple store in Covent Garden to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: Apple employees cheer at the crowd as the first in line get into the Apple store in Covent Garden to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: First in the queue Ryan Williams 22, of Kent, is cheered by Apple employees as he is let into the Apple store in Covent Garden to be the first to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. Mr Williams hopes to raise money for Cancer Research UK by auctioning the phone, and has been queuing for nearly a week. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• The Apple iPhone 5 Goes On Sale

  LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: First in the queue Ryan Williams 22, of Kent, leaves the Apple store in Covent Garden after being the first to purchase the iPhone 5 smartphone on September 21, 2012 in London, England. Mr Williams hopes to raise money for Cancer Research UK by auctioning the phone, and has been queuing for nearly a week. The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 went on sale across the globe today. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  An Apple Store employee gestures after dealing with customers waiting to buy the iPhone 5 outside the shop at Regent's Street in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  People queue outside the Apple Store to buy the iPhone 5 at Covent Garden in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

• BRITAIN-US-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM-APPLE

  Apple Store employees create a tunnel for customers as they are allowed into the shop to buy the new iPhone 5 smartphone while a customer (top L) leaves with a new phone on the day of its release at Covent Garden in London on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in a festive global rollout, with long queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts and complaints about the smartphone's new mapping system. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GettyImages)

Comments

[ThinkGlobal]

12:15 AM on 09/22/2012

Oh oh FANBOYS may have to order everything directly from China soon.

[TFlint]

12:05 PM on 09/22/2012

Better a fanboy than a dumbskull.

[ThinkGlobal]

05:32 PM on 09/22/2012

Not

[leorangerie]

01:27 PM on 09/21/2012

The Apple Store workers in France who are picketing want a month's paid vacation and a shorter work week. Big surprise that France is slipping faster then even the USA.

[Steppenwolf 49]

11:56 AM on 09/22/2012

Why are righties so willing to become slaves to their jobs? Time to enjoy life is a good thing for which we should all be striving.

[leorangerie]

01:10 PM on 09/22/2012

France's social service structure is collapsing because of a lack of revenue.  It's the 'righties' who are trying to help the disenfranchised, the elderly, the infirm there.  The 'lefties' don't give a hoot.  They just want to chill, and let someone else worry about things.

[TFlint]

12:06 PM on 09/22/2012

Everybody in France gets a month's paid vacation and shorter work week. Have you ever tried to buy dinner in Paris in August?

[leorangerie]

01:09 PM on 09/22/2012

Indeed, one of the reasons Sarkozy lost his reelection bid is that he told the French that their economic model is from another century and is failing their country.  Hey, I'm for all the chill time you can get...but then don't complain that there is no money for social services, etc.

[ilovecandy]

10:04 AM on 09/21/2012

Apple like any other business just wants to make money, they could care less about the average person, sickening as usal.

(Cue Fanboy rage)

[TFlint]

12:07 PM on 09/22/2012

Sickening ignorance! No facts, just hate and jealousy.

[ilovecandy]

12:10 PM on 09/22/2012

You really believe they care about you? They're a company, and only care about profit. I think your delusional if you don't understand that.

[ilovecandy]

12:12 PM on 09/22/2012

Oh btw here's a fact for you. Foxconn, they wouldn't underpay their workers if they cared. The workers can't even afford to buy the devices they make.