imcrookonit
Ex Member
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Unions have staged five nation-wide protests and a series of transport and civil-servant strikes in the past six weeks, including a protest on Saturday that drew at least one million people. They promise a show-down this week, as the Senate prepares to take a final vote on the new legislation.
Transportation workers, including truckers, ambulance drivers and armoured-vehicle guards, plan roadblocks and blockades at strategic locations – all aimed to bring the French economy to a standstill. Public transportation will be reduced and there are fears of fuel shortages because of strikes at oil refineries. But even ministers in Mr. Sarkozy’s government have admitted the student protests are the most worrisome.
“I am very concerned because when students take to the streets, there is always a risk of serious problems,” Jean-François Copé, who heads Mr. Sarkozy’s UMP party in the French National Assembly, said on French public radio. “Students should understand the reforms are being made for them.”
The French government argues its rich pension scheme has become unaffordable and that cuts are necessary to maintain a decent public pension system for future generations. But the students who are protesting reject that argument. They say they are worried that if people are forced to work longer, there will be fewer jobs for youth in France.
Alexandre, who would not give his family name because his parents did not know he was skipping school, says he joined a demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in Paris on Friday because he is concerned about his future prospects.
“All of us want to get good jobs. I will have to study for a long time and I don’t want to be out of work when I graduate. That would be a big waste of time,” he said as he stood in front of a barricade manned by police in full riot gear.
“A lot of people just think of the present but you also have to think of the future. It’s not when you turn 35 and find yourself unemployed that you say, ‘Gee, I wish I had gone out and protested.’”
Pollster Jerome Sainte-Marie says he is not surprised students have joined the demonstrations. His research for the polling firm CSA shows young people, along with labourers, are among the groups most opposed to Mr. Sarkozy’s pension plans.
He says youth unemployment rates that can run as high as 25 per cent are a major concern for students. He adds that Mr. Sarkozy is also extremely unpopular among teenagers and young adults.
“They see him as part of a traditional society, as closed to immigrants, as rigid on questions such as downloading music on the Internet,” Mr. Sainte-Marie says. “So on every issue, he finds himself in the opposite camp.”
Observers say Mr. Sarkozy has good reason to worry about youth demonstrations. Student protest has a long and often violent history in France and students have forced governments to withdraw legislation several times. The most recent case was in 2006, when then-president Jacques Chirac repealed a law that would have made it easier to fire young workers, after weeks of violent demonstrations.
There were several violent incidents at last week’s student protests. One student in the city of Meaux lost an eye after he was hit by a rubber ball fired by a police officer. Riot police were called in when students set fire to bus shelters in Lyon.
Mr. Sainte-Marie says Mr. Sarkozy most fears a repeat of student protests in 1986, when police killed a demonstrator, forcing the withdrawal of a key education-reform bill.
“If something like that happened, Nicolas Sarkozy would be forced to admit he had lost control and would have no choice but to withdraw the pension reform,” he said.
His best hope may be to hang on until Friday, when mid-term vacations begin.
More protest shutdowns
Unions are promising a series of actions meant to bring the French economy to a standstill to pressure President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government to withdraw proposed pension changes.
Transportation workers including truckers, ambulance operators, movers and armoured-car drivers say they will set up roadblocks at economically important sites. “Nothing will be excluded,” union leader Maxime Dumont said on French radio. Potential targets include warehouses, transportation centres, fuel depots, bus and train stations, airports and toll stations. Truckers have also launched opération escargot – in which convoys of transport trucks block traffic by driving as slowly as possible.
Public transportation, especially train service, will be dramatically reduced. Only about half of local and national trains are expected to run Monday.
Striking refinery workers have shut down 10 of the 12 oil refineries in France and plan to continue their action. Transportation workers said they may take over some refineries or fuel depots. There were reports of panic buying and gas and diesel shortages throughout the weekend. The daily newspaper Le Monde said that in some towns, most gas stations were closed. The government is pleading with people not to panic and has ordered the police to intervene if outside workers try to take over fuel installations.
Students plan to continue blockades and sit-ins at high schools as well as street demonstrations. The main high-school students’ union says protests closed about a quarter of high schools last week.
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