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Strikes Paralyze France

Sarkozy's government forging ahead with
reforms despite strikes, electoral defeat

by Elaine Ganley
Toronto Star
March 23, 2010
PARIS

President Nicolas Sarkozy's government vowed Tuesday to stay
on track with belt-tightening reforms meant to modernize
France's economy, despite nationwide strikes and a
blistering weekend electoral defeat.

Trains, schools and other public services were hobbled by
the strike, culminating in around 180 protest marches around
France, according to the CGT union. The biggest one was
expected in Paris, where police said 31,000 turned out
Tuesday afternoon.

The CGT union put the number at 60,000 and said 650,000
demonstrated around France.

Unions hoped their joint action would put the brakes on
retirement reforms and public sector job cuts promised by
Sarkozy, who has made making France's economy more globally
competitive his priority. Unions say Sarkozy has failed
workers, slashing jobs, particularly in education,
puncturing purchasing power and now plans to attack the
precious but costly pension system.

Polls show barely one in three French want Sarkozy to run
for a second term in 2012. Yet, the government response was
defiant.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon told parliamentarians the
changes were needed, and would continue despite the
disastrous showing in Sunday's regional elections for the
governing conservative party UMP.

"We will not compromise the need to modernize our country,"
Fillon said without flinching. "Our duty is to adapt our
economic and social organization to protect the French way
of life."

He said France would continue to reduce the number of civil
servants, the largest employment roll, by not replacing one
employee in two who retires or quits.

The brand new labour minister, Eric Woerth, vowed to move
ahead with reforming the "extremely fragile" pension system
- the most critical change expected, and Sarkozy's biggest
political challenge this year.

"We must maintain the goal which is that of reform. The
nation needs to be competitive, to (create) the jobs of
tomorrow," Woerth said, a day after his appointment in a
government reshuffle to account for Sunday's election
result.

The UMP lost all but three of 26 regions to the Socialists
and their ecology allies in the vote.

Sarkozy fired his labour minister, Xavier Darcos, as a
result and brought in ministers from various tendencies
within the conservative movement, itself divided over
Sarkozy's policies.

An ally of former President Jacques Chirac, Francois Baroin,
replaced Woerth as budget minister. An ally of former Prime
Minister Dominique de Villepin, expected to launch his own
party Thursday, was also added to the government, lawmaker
Georges Tron, as junior minister for civil service.

Francois Chereque, head of the CFDT union, said the Cabinet
changes were a "bad sign about the government's social
commitment.

"They zap the labour minister as if it were a technical
ministry with less importance," he said on France-Inter
radio, noting that France has its fourth labour minister
since Sarkozy took office in 2007.

In another concession to Sarkozy's conservative base, the
government plans to suspend an expected law to tax carbon
dioxide emissions, leading UMP legislator Jean- Francois
Cope said Tuesday.

The carbon tax had been a central plank of Sarkozy's push
for a more prominent role in the global fight against
climate change. But it was criticized within Sarkozy's own
party, with many arguing it would disadvantage French
companies compared to European rivals.

In Tuesday's strike, the French capital saw only minimal
disruptions to the subway system, and fast trains to Britain
and Belgium ran normally. But only 65 per cent of train
traffic was guaranteed within France.

An estimated 30 per cent of primary school teachers failed
to show up for class nationwide, the Education Ministry
said, with around 18 per cent out in junior high schools and
11 per cent out in high schools.

Nearly 16 per cent of employees of the Finance Ministry also
skipped work and a full 37.5 per cent were no- shows at the
Budget Ministry, according to midday estimates by the Labor
Ministry.

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Unions in France are awesome; the french are a small step away (or more like one charismatc leader away) from developing anarcho-syndicalism.

Unions in America should heed note and perform copycat moves here, but no. Unions in America, AFL-CIO/Teamsters/etc, are part of the establishment, apart of the kapitalist rigged system.

VIVE FRANCE!

May 1968. I love the French working class

Ah, ze French.

That's how its done!

i am somehow pessimistic, strikes like that have been happening since decades and the system dosnt change.

sure it make the governement affraid and force him to keep social services functionnal, but at the end, nothing really change and the bourgeois are still in power.

Funny, no Stalinsts are calling Trot unions in France fascist? Hmmmm

the GCT is trotskyist?

Seriously, your wild hatred of "stalinism" is now just trolling. Workers are striking and all you can do is write this bullshit? Stalin and Trotsky have fuck all to do with this.

Its just that I see above known stalinsts celebrating the French. Stalin would have sent the Cheka to check these union bastards!

Lolz.

"the GCT is trotskyist? the GCT is trotskyist?" - Bailey

I think you mean the CGT.

Yes, http://books.google.com/books?id=_eU...skyist&f=false

And Yup. http://libcom.org/history/1895-1921-the-cgt-france


Are your fellow Stalinists now going to come out and blast the CGT, after having praised it above? It sure would be typical Stalinist tactics.

What "Trot unions"? Neither of your links even prove that. The first link is about the PCI, which was apparently a French trotskyist party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...ommunist_Party). The chapter goes on to discuss their difficulties working with the CGT at the time. The article in the second link does not even contain any words beginning with "trot".

The CGT is, of course, historically linked to the PCF (i.e. the "stalinists"), although not as strongly or officially over the last couple decades.

Some trotskyists in the late 40s and early 50s, after being expelled from the CGT, joined the FO, a reformist breakaway that was founded with CIA support, as did some anarchists. A trotskyist source on this:

http://trotskyist.blogspot.com/2008/02/lambertists.html

No doubt, this is part of principled trotskyist internationalism. "Lolz."

Some slightly related archival news from those heady days when brave CIA agents fought those bloody stalinists in true internationalist spirit: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...6103-1,00.html

As for events today, obviously the strike in France is deserving of support. Lolz.

Please, please stop.

Progress is slow, and revolutionary change kind of sneaks up on you, I think.

It is better to keep going on strike rather than lie dormant like the US unions.

I know this is a mainstream news source, but it is somewhat relevant to the thread,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereport.../22/index.html

"What "Trot unions"? Neither of your links even prove that. The first link is about the PCI, which was apparently a French trotskyist party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interna...ommunist_Party). The chapter goes on to discuss their difficulties working with the CGT at the time. The article in the second link does not even contain any words beginning with "trot". " - Wanted

You didnt even read them! How can you read them (esp. the second link) and come away that it's not trot related???

It was my fault for not stating, 'was,' past tense.

The second link is about anarchist influences until just after the First World War. Perhaps I should remind you that anarchism is not the same as trotskyism, and that the First World War is a long time ago.

Your fault? You're just back-pedalling now. You suggested that "stalinists" would not support the CGT because it is a "trot union". You were wrong, and you know it, so you have to make up some bullshit excuse.

Of course, if it used to be a "trot union" (1. it wasn't. 2. there are no significant "trot unions" anywhere in the world, quite a few "stalinist" ones though) but isn't anymore, then why should they not be supported? Seems to me you're just making shit up like your average little troll. LOLZ.

i know but ultimatelty, what unions want is money, not controlling the mean of productions.

its the way those organisation evolved where i live anyway.

During a recent interview, the head of one of the biggest union in quebec the CSN, refused to even consider the possibility of giving the control of hospital to workers by transforming them into cooperatives.

"anarchist influences until just after the First World War. Perhaps I should remind you that anarchism is not the same as trotskyism, and that the First World War is a long time ago.' - Wanted

Well thats new! A Stalinist who doesnt see anarchists/trots as in the same boat. I'll concede here, but here on Revleft, its too easy to get use to bad habits.

"You suggested that "stalinists" would not support the CGT because it is a "trot union". You were wrong, and you know it, so you have to make up some bullshit excuse." - Wanted

And thats true, at least for a true hardline Stalinist.



"Of course, if it used to be a "trot union"" - Wanted
It was, look it genius. Now you're dismissing facts like a good little Stalinist looking out fer daddie.

Will you please stop threadshitting. This is a verbal warning.

"Will you please stop threadshitting. This is a verbal warning." - LOVE

What? Threadshitting? What is that?

I hope you're silencing dissent.