| Nationwide strikes tie noose around Villepin’s neck |
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Life was thrown off track in France as the one-day strike called on Tuesday against the government’s employment and economic policies paralysed public transport services, suspending work completely.
150 nationwide protests by around seven unions were called against rising levels of unemployment at 9.9 percent of the labour force, along with poor economic policies of the conservative government.
This is first strike after centre-right Dominique de Villepin assumed power as the Prime Minister four months back.
Reports showed railway stations and airports had travellers either waiting or returning home after news of cancellation. Several flights, both international and domestic stood cancelled at major airports in Paris, keeping commuters stranded up to hours at end.
Railway officials said that high-speed international trains were operating on the scheduled time, although domestic rail traffic suffered badly by around half or two-thirds. However, Parisians were almost accustomed to such strikes and some preferred to stay home to avoid any inconvenience.
A traveller at the St Lazare railway station in Paris supported the cause of the strike but confessed that it did set off a lot of other problems especially for travellers. She said, “There are fewer people than usual. Most of my team have taken the day off. The strikers are right but it does cause some problems.”
Although energy workers’ strikes did reduce power production, customers could rest assured that no major power cuts would be affected. However, schools could remain closed due to the non-attendance of teachers and cafeteria staff.
Meanwhile, protesting unions warned Prime Minister Villepin of further industrial action if their demands were not met. Leader of CGT union, Bernard Thibault, stated, “All the unions have already agreed to assess the action today and consider more if we do not get the appropriate responses to the complaints voiced in the street.”
Posted
on : Wed, 05 Oct 2005 04:25 GMT | General News
By : Mark Richardson
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