Posted on 11/14/2007 12:08:55 AM PST by Cincinna
France faced travel chaos on Wednesday as transport unions broadened a nationwide strike against a pensions reform that President Nicolas Sarkozy says is needed to shore up state accounts.
Workers at rail operator SNCF went on strike on Tuesday evening and were joined on Wednesday by Paris transport workers and staff at power and gas utilities EdF and GdF -- the second time they have all downed tools in a month.
The open-ended stoppage poses the biggest challenge to Sarkozy since he came to power six months ago pledging a deep-seated reform of the economy.
Only a handful of trains were scheduled to run on Wednesday and Paris's metro and bus systems were operating vastly reduced services, although some lines were less affected than initially predicted.
Energy unions said they planned targeted power cuts of individual buildings rather than widescale blackouts.
At stake in the dispute is the government's determination to end so-called "special regimes" that let some 500,000 state sector workers retire after making two and a half years less pension contributions than anyone else.
All previous attempts to reform the special regimes have failed in the face of massive street protests, but Sarkozy is confident he will win this show of force, buoyed by public opinion which is firmly against the strikers.
A survey in L'Express magazine published on Wednesday said 58 percent of people thought the government should not back down. A survey published by right-leaning Le Figaro newspaper said 84 percent of people did not expect Sarkozy to buckle.
And there were signs that the big unions did not have an appetite for a prolonged conflict, with the leader of the Communist-backed CGT, Bernard Thibault, retreating from his previous refusal to hold company-by-company negotiations.
Thibault had been demanding centralised talks between government, managers and unions to reach a global deal.
Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand had a series of meetings planned with various unions on Wednesday.
"This strike has to end as quickly as possible," Prime Minister Francois Fillon told TF1 television after the strike began late on Tuesday.
However, other disputes with students and public servants are brewing, public discontent with the cost of living and rising petrol and housing prices is mounting, and the transport strike has the potential to widen if it drags on.
The special regimes were introduced after World War Two for workers in especially arduous jobs but the government says such privileges no longer make sense and cost the state 5 billion euros (3.5 billion pounds) a year to finance.
Transport workers say conditions may not be as hard as when the system was devised more than half a century ago, but that they still suffer low pay and awkward working hours that justify their special status.
(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Stephen Weeks)
By a huge majority, French people oppose these crippling strikes.
Ronald Reagan was tested by striking air comptrollers early in his presidency; ditto for Margaret Thatcher. They stood their ground and won.
84% of the French expect Sarko to show the same strength and resolve.
Our hopes and prayers are with Sarko and Francois Fillon at this crucial time.
This is going to be Sarkozy make or break test.
All the talk is now about action.
Awkward working hours. Awwwwwwww!
This is much more a test for leader of the free world than it is just for a labor dispute. I want to see his resolve.
hillary wins the election, Sarko will take center stage.
The conservatives in the USA will not tolerate the luntic on the international front
Reagan fired them. I don't believe Sarkozy has any such powers.
Energy unions said they planned targeted power cuts of individual buildings rather than widescale blackouts.Gee, could it be that these unions A) are just thinly disguised gangs of street thugs and B) have a bit too much power over the society?
The case AGAINST MASS TRANSIT that the unions and the libs want America to adapt.
If everyone uses mass transit the unions have you by the you know what. If you have a car, you could care less if the trains don’t run.
WWRRD?
If I’m not mistaken, something like this happened in Great Britain early in Margaret Thatcher’s terms as PM.
- Unlike former Italian PM Berlusconi as well as Sarkozy’s predecessor Chirac, Sarko has the support of his people behind him in dealing with unionists and suchlike mobsters.
Sarkozy will need be tough on these enemies of national progress and economical development, just like Thatcher dared to be.
Personally, I believe he has the guts.
Those French national strikes are getting to be tedious. It’s time the Commies grew up.
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