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French Protests against NWO-style "austerity" cuts costing France up to 560M/day

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citizenx
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« on: October 25, 2010, 06:40:05 pm »

Strikes cost France hundreds of millions a day, minister says

By the CNN Wire Staff
October 25, 2010 -- Updated 1415 GMT (2215 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Strikers stop blocking fuel depots and go back to work at some refineries
Protests against pension reform have cost the country $280 to $560 million a day, Christine Lagarde says
The costs include fuel shortages, lost foreign investment, and damage to the country's reputation, she says
Unions have been fighting a government plan to raise the retirement age to 62



Paris, France (CNN) -- Strikes in France cost the country 200 to 400 million euros ($280 to $560 million) per day, plus "immaterial" and "moral" damages, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Monday.

French workers staged a series of rolling strikes and demonstrations this month and last month against government plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, among other pension reforms.

Lagarde's estimate covers a period of nearly two weeks, since rolling strikes began on October 12, a finance ministry spokesman told CNN, and takes in the fuel crisis, the deterioration of the country's image, and the impact on foreign investment.

She was speaking with French broadcaster Europe 1.

continued:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/25/france.strikes/index.html?hpt=T2


« Last Edit: October 26, 2010, 04:49:30 am by EvadingGrid » Report Spam   Logged

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citizenx
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« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2010, 06:44:05 pm »

Mods, I guess this would more properly belong in "Int'l. news".  Feel free to move it.  I just didn't see the subforum heading.

Sorry.

CX
« Last Edit: October 25, 2010, 06:51:37 pm by citizenx » Report Spam   Logged
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« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2010, 06:52:59 pm »

Memo From Paris
French Unions at Critical Point as Strikes Continue


Philippe Laurenson/Reuters
An emergency flare silhouettes a striking employee during a blockade by dockers and refinery workers at the entrance of a fuel depot in Fos-sur-Mer, near Marseille.

By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: October 25, 2010
 
PARIS — The French strikes and demonstrations over a proposed increase in the retirement age have lasted for weeks and attracted wide sympathy in a society whose work force is less than 10 percent unionized. But the proposal will soon become law, setting the stage for confrontations with France’s unions, which continue to starve the country of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products, and are pressing for demonstrations afterward.

It will be a treacherous moment for most of the players in French politics, not least of all the unions themselves. The outcome is likely to set the tone for the many similar conflicts that are sure to arise in future years as the government seeks to deal with a budget deficit by scaling back generous social welfare provisions the state can no longer afford.

President Nicolas Sarkozy insists he will not back down, and in fact wants to contrast his firmness with the weakness of governments that have let the “democracy of the street” overrule that of an elected Parliament.

If he does persevere, the unions — by continuing futile demonstrations that only annoy French drivers, businessmen, and tourists and have cost France $557 million to date — risk displaying their historical weakness, rather than their strength.

continued:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/world/europe/26unions.html?hp

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« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2010, 06:59:08 pm »

City drowning in rubbish: 10,000 TONS of waste pile up on streets of Marseilles in chilling echo of British 'winter of discontent'
By Peter Allen
Last updated at 7:58 PM on 25th October 2010
Industrial action is costing country up to £350 million a day




Nearly 10,000 tons of rubbish has piled up in the streets of Marseilles as French strikes and blockades continued.

All of the country's 12 oil refineries remained closed today after nearly two weeks of industrial action which is costing the country up to £350 million a day.

During the disruption French President Nicolas Sarkozy's opinion poll ratings have collapsed and he is now the least popular leader in the history of the Fifth Republic.

Demonstrators restored their blockade at France's biggest refinery of Fos-sur-Mer, Marseilles, following last week’s clearing of their demonstration by CRS riot police.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1323500/France-strikes-10-000-TONS-waste-pile-streets-Marseilles.html#ixzz13PzNKD4X
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« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2010, 07:14:13 pm »

The Revolt Shaking France

by Ahmed Shawki
 
 
Global Research, October 25, 2010
SocialistWorker.org and The Socialist Project 


 
 


Strikes and protests have spread to every corner of France as President Nicolas Sarkozy pushes for a final vote in parliament on his proposal to ‘reform’ the country's national pension system. Every day last week has seen strikes, blockades and demonstrations. Police attempted to break up blockades at oil refineries and supply facilities after weeks of oil workers and their supporters stopping fuel deliveries, but the actions frequently resumed after police left. Almost all of the country's ports are still struck – according to reports, 52 oil tankers are at anchor off the coast of Marseilles, still waiting to unload.

The biggest actions have come when the unions have called nationwide strikes, but rolling walkouts and protests continue every day. This week, police have lashed back at youth demonstrators, fighting running battles in cities around the country – with the media parroting Sarkozy's denunciations of “lawbreakers.”

Sarkozy's proposal would raise the minimum age for retirement from 60 to 62 and the age when retirees can get full benefits from 65 to 67. The measure was passed by the country's Assembly and is being considered in the Senate – a vote was scheduled for October 20, but was delayed, though the Sarkozy government insists one will take place soon. Even if the measure passes, however, more protests are already planned, including at least two nationwide strikes and days of action at the end of October and early November.

This revolt is the latest in a wave of struggles that have rocked France over more than a decade, dating back to a wave of public-sector strikes in 1995 that stopped a conservative government from imposing changes to the pension system.\

continued:

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21614

 
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« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2010, 07:36:13 pm »

Nicolas Sarkozy 'most unpopular French President in five decades'

By Tim Finan
Last updated at 2:00 PM on 25th October 2010
Comments (9) Add to My Stories 

Slump: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity has gone down to just 29 percent, 3 points less then September, to reach its lowest ever

A new French poll has placed Nicolas Sarkozy as the most unpopular President of the five decades since the early days of the Fifth Republic.

Ahead of another week of strikes, petrol shortages and travel delays his popularity rating plummeted at the weekend to only 29 per cent, a drop of three points since last month.

The low announced by BVA Orange L’Express was even lower than the President Sarkozy’s previous Fifth republic record of 32 per cent in 2008.

Sarkozy is polled even more unpopular than General Charles De Gaulle who oversaw the new French constitution in 1958. The General said 'Non' to British membership of the Common market, expelled US army bases, pulled France out of NATO, and refused to resign during the student revolution of May 1968.


Read more: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1323562/Nicolas-Sarkozy-unpopular-French-President-decades.html?#ixzz13Q8Sx9Cm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles De Gaulle, eh?
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