French frustrated by tangled transport stage counter-protest against union walkout

Publié le 18/11/2007 par l'International Herald Tribune via Associated Press

French frustrated by tangled transport stage counter-protest against union walkout

PARIS: Sick of strikes? Take to the streets, says a group of French protesters fed up with shuttered subway stations and a labor walkout they say is holding the country hostage.

A group calling itself Liberte Cherie, or Beloved Liberty, responded to five days of open-ended strikes and union protests with its own "Stop the Strike" demonstration Sunday.

The group is marginal, and was not expected to draw much of a crowd for its march in eastern Paris, unlike the masses that turn out for union-organized events.

But its point is popular: Polls indicate that the French are siding with President Nicolas Sarkozy this time in his standoff with unions over a pension reform.

Train drivers and others are protesting Sarkozy's bid to scrap rules allowing them to retire earlier, part of his sweeping plans to cut government costs and make the French economy more competitive. Their strike has tangled the nationwide high-speed train network and Paris public transport since Tuesday night.

"We want to show that there is a majority that does not support this (strike) movement," said Liberte Cherie organizer Guillaume Vuillemey. "All of France is suffering because of a few strikers."

French commuters have long been accustomed to strikes and many see the right to strike as sacred. Most have tried-and-true methods worked out for coping with transport walkouts: car pooling, bicycling, inline skating, working from home or taking a day off.

The train drivers aren't the only ones angry with Sarkozy's plans. University students have blocked campuses in recent days to protest new rules allowing private funding for public universities. Hospital, school and other public sector workers plan strikes Tuesday over planned job cuts, and judges plan strikes Nov. 29 over a plan to shut down courthouses to save money.

Vuillemey insisted that the anti-strike movement is independent of any political party, though it has enjoyed favorable press in business newspapers and the conservative-leaning Le Figaro.

The anti-strike march caused its own disruptions, with several streets in eastern Paris closed off to allow them through.

Meanwhile, France's leading unions were holding talks Sunday afternoon to decide what to do next. The SNCF nationwide rail authority and Paris transit authority, RATP, warned that traffic would remain seriously disrupted Monday.