Travailleurs vont s'unir

[marmar]

from CBC News:


French commuters squeezed onto limited public transport and fought for rare parking spots on Thursday as another round of strikes against President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 hobbled trains, planes and schools across France.

Fewer than half the lines of the Paris Metro were working normally, according to the RATP public transit network, and half the scheduled long-haul trains were expected to be cancelled, according to the SNCF state-run rail system.

Many flights were cancelled at Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports, the Paris airport authority said. Post offices and even opera houses were hit too.

Security was higher than usual at some Metro stations, where soldiers armed with machine-guns were on patrol. In recent days, top officials have warned that the risk of a terrorist attack on French soil was at a record high.

In all, 232 demonstrations were being held nationwide. Thousands of protesters, many decked out in labour union T-shirts or brandishing signs, streamed into the Place de la Bastille, where the French Revolution began.

Union leaders were seeking a massive show of popular discontent, hoping to beat the Sept. 7 protests that brought an estimated 1.1 million people into the streets over reforms to the deficit-burdened pension system.

One protest in the southern city of Toulouse drew between 25,000 and 120,00 people, depending on whether the estimates came from regional authorities or protest organizers. Those numbers were similar to the Sept. 7 protest. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/09/23/france-retirement-strikes.html#ixzz10P3CMtpV

[Canuckistanian]

1. "risk of a terrorist attack", my ass

These are just pissed off citizens exercising their rights to demand the status quo.

America could take some lessons from the French about the meaning of "social contract"

[marmar]

2. Yep. Sarkozy is channeling his inner Cheney.

nt

[billlll]

3. why are we pegged at 65?

60 looks better to me. LOTS better!