[A-List] France: labour militancy

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Spirit of revolution fuels Raffarin's concerns

Jon Henley in Paris
Tuesday November 26, 2002
The Guardian

A spectre hangs over Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the affable centre-right prime
minister of France: that of autumn 1995, when aggressive spending cuts by a
previous conservative administration sparked a massive wave of social unrest
that brought the country to its knees and the government, eventually, to an
early end.

Mr Raffarin has insisted recently that the country is not "in a state of
crisis". He has called on workers to "respect the spirit of responsibility
and of the Republic", and reiterated that the government will always be open
to dialogue.

But faced with France's fourth lorry drivers' strike in six years, a walkout
by air traffic controllers and protest marches today by hundreds of
thousands of public sector workers, the prime minister must be wondering
whether he is not in for a re-run.

Strikes and protests are, of course, a recurring fact of life in France.
Farmers routinely dump tonnes of rotting vegetables on the roads and trash
government offices. Train drivers regularly leave millions of commuters
stranded while lorry drivers barricade motorways, blockade ports, and spark
frenzied bouts of panic buying.

Even schoolchildren and the police enjoy the odd walkout. Ever since the
revolution of 1789, the French have believed in their right to protest and
expect results, meaning that any halfway sensible French government is
rightly terrified of the power of the street.

Successive administrations cave in to union demands in the face of
widespread support for strikers from almost every sector. Even when their
lives are disrupted, polls show the French - presumably on the basis that
they may be the next group to walk out - invariably support the strike: 76%
backed the lorry drivers this time.

Wary of what they see as a government that won this summer's elections by
default, with the electorate voting for President Jacques Chirac's
centre-right UMP party mainly for its law-and-order platform and to keep out
the far right, trade unionists have warned since June that Mr Raffarin faced
a winter of discontent.

A perceived disinclination to listen to workers' demands, together with a
classic rightwing programme of privatisation and change in the public
sector, have prompted trade unionists such as Bernard Thibault of the CGT
federation to warn that Mr Raffarin's government "was not elected for its
socio-economic programme and would do well to remember it".

Mr Raffarin, promising a policy of "firmness and humanity", has ordered his
ministers to tackle each dispute individually. And his government remains
broadly popular, in contrast to the 1995 administration whose severe
austerity measures fuelled deep public resentment.

For the time being, the disputes look manageable with a judicious blend of
carrot and stick. But the government's commitment to cutting taxes will
eventually force it to take on the unions. The current protests are only a
foretaste of what is to come.


European disruption

Belgium Transport workers halted Brussels on November 5. Chemist, retail and
bank staff also took action

Germany Public sector workers' strike threat. Building, engineering and bank
disputes

Switzerland Largest strike in 55 years this month when 15,000 builders
demanded retirement at 60

Italy Strikes over job cuts at Fiat. Sea and air traffic hit.

Portugal Repeated strikes against government cuts and labour law. Half a
million strikers paralysed schools, hospitals on November 14.

Spain Workers staged 24-hour general strike against new labour laws.
Government backtracked

-----

 French truckers retreat from roadblocks

Divide-and-rule tactics blunt drivers' strike, but air traffic control
walkout and public workers' rally pose threat

Jon Henley in Paris
Tuesday November 26, 2002
The Guardian

France faces transport havoc today with an air traffic controllers' strike
and a national day of action involving tens of thousands of public sector
workers, led by train drivers. But the hard-pressed centre-right government
won temporary respite from industrial chaos yesterday after lorry drivers
abandoned barricades around the country.

The 40-odd roadblocks recorded at midday had dwindled to one by early
evening as divided truckers' unions were unable to mobilise enough support
in a push for higher wages and an extra month's salary.

Union leaders denounced pressure from police and non-striking drivers for
forcing them to give up, but vowed to continue their protest today in
another form. The prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, repeated a warning
that he would not allow industrial action to paralyse the country.

Six months into its term, the government has now successfully seen off
protests from strike-happy farmers and lorry drivers, but it faces a rising
tide of unrest over plans to privatise state-run companies, reform pensions
and the public sector, and cut spending.

French air traffic controllers launched a 32-hour strike last night,
prompting British Airways to cancel 64 flights between London and France and
Air France to cut domestic and European services. The German carrier
Lufthansa also grounded 70 flights between Monday night and Wednesday
morning.

Civil servants also plan a day of marches in Paris and the provinces today
in defence of public services and against privatisation plans. Workers from
the post office, France Telecom, Air France, and the Paris transport
authority were all expected to take part.

International train services, such as the Eurostar to Britain, were expected
run almost as usual, the state railway SNCF said, but domestic services
could be more badly affected.

Apparently anxious not to turn public opinion - and, in some cases,
non-striking drivers - against them, the truckers had in most cases mounted
so-called "filter" blockades, allowing private cars through but bringing
selected commercial traffic to a halt.

"Our actions have been partially lifted tonight but should be present
tomorrow, maybe in a different form," said Jean-Pierre Rémy of the CFDT
union. "The types of action will consist of cat and mouse games with
police."

Anticipating fuel shortages, a handful of regions introduced precautionary
petrol rationing and queues were reported at some hypermarkets as many
French, remembering the campaigns of the 1990s that all but paralysed the
country, began to stockpile essential foodstuffs.

The government downplayed the significance of the truckers' protest, which
at this stage seems to be a far cry from their previous crippling efforts.
Union divisions played a large part in the apparent collapse: four unions,
representing a large minority of truckers, accepted a 14% pay rise over
three years on Sunday night.

But the two majority union federations, CGT and CFDT, angry at what they
claimed were divide-and-rule tactics, rejected the deal and criticised as
"wholly unacceptable" the government's tough approach to the strike: some
3,000 police were detailed by the interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, to
keep key roads and distribution centres open.

At least 12 drivers were taken into custody after refusing to remove their
barricades and regional authorities did not hesitate to threaten
recalcitrant protesters with the suspension or withdrawal of their driving
licences.

Police seemed concerned with keeping traffic flowing at major international
crossings such as the Channel tunnel and road links to Belgium and Germany.
After previous disputes, London, Brussels and Madrid demanded compensation
from Paris for lost business.

The transport minister, Gille de Robien, said the truckers, whose protests
are driven largely by cut-throat competition from cheaper east European road
hauliers, "must not confuse the right to strike with blockading the
country".

The opposition Socialist party spokesman, Vincent Peillon, accused the
government of "irresponsibility" and "provocation", saying police actions to
dismantle the barricades showed "an outrageous lack of respect for the trade
union movement and the haulage profession".