Originally published Friday, November 23, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Strikers are snarling France — and French are snarling back
Labor unrest is being greeted by anger and frustration, signs that the president's economic reforms are gaining in popularity.
Los Angeles Times
PARIS — France has been crippled for more than a week by a wave of strikes against President Nicolas Sarkozy's economic reforms.
The labor unrest has come from public-transit workers, civil servants, teachers, nurses, tobacco-shop owners, air traffic controllers, fishermen, even opera stagehands. On Thursday, nearly half of France's universities were shut down by protests. Soon, lawyers and judges will walk out over their own grievances.
The traffic chaos and street demonstrations stir up memories of a France that is fond of revolution. But this time, something has changed: The public has had it with strikes.
From stranded commuters to students missing exams, there is frustration and anger at those striking in the name of leftist ideology or to preserve special privileges such as early retirement on a full pension.
By Thursday, evidence that the unions had run into a determined president and his supportive public was accumulating as major rail unions voted to return to work while negotiations continued, easing the transit calamity.
For all the talk about the strength of the French labor movement, only 7 percent of workers are union members, fewer than in the United States. In the ranks of those who are striking, there are now divisions as well as solidarity. On Wednesday, some unions were forced to disown saboteurs who set fire to high-speed train tracks, further delaying a stalled system.
And some students were working against the strike plans of other students. Take, for example, Julie Coudry, president of the Student Confederation, a national organization that split four years ago from the main students union.
"They were living in the past, fighting the same old ideological fights with the government," Coudry says.
Coudry, 28, is an economics major at the Sorbonne, the starting point of the 1968 student uprisings. She has supported herself by working as a barmaid and for trade unions over the past nine years for an education prolonged by leading student strikes and involvement in national elections.
Coudry persuaded the main presidential candidates to back a "third mission" for French universities — to prepare students to find jobs, as well as to provide education and promote research. The business world, Coudry argued, disregards university graduates who "don't know about work, who don't know about the economy, who don't know the codes and ethics on the job. We want to change that."
This summer, the government approved a sweeping law that allows universities more autonomy to manage their budgets, recruit staff and design courses, create partnerships with business and seek additional private funding. It also included Coudry's notion of a "third mission."
The "Black November" of rolling strikes and general turmoil replays the perennial French cycle of a government seeking change, unions taking to the streets, the public rallying around the unions, and the government caving in to demands. This has guided national policy for decades.
![]()
Sarkozy, elected earlier in 2007, has picked a fight over special pensions that let railway workers and select groups retire after 37 ½ years, or as young as age 50. These pensions cost the government more than $10 billion a year.
Sarkozy has expressed willingness to negotiate with trade union leaders but has made it clear he will insist on workers paying into the pension system for at least 40 years.
As of last weekend, 66 percent of the French people polled, an increase of 10 percentage points from the previous weekend, were behind Sarkozy's pension reform.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Obama seeks equal partnership in Asia
NYC trial for 9/11 suspects poses risks
Fort Hood gunman contacted Pakistan, lawmaker says
Immigration on White House agenda

Opening day at Crystal Mountain
Skiers crowded the slopes at Crystal Mountain for one of the resort's earliest openings.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks
- Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
- Razor found in muffin an accident, 'mortified' baker says
- Suspect's family shaken by slaying of police officer
- Mountlake Terrace woman reports razor in muffin
- Man says he will protest city's gun ban by carrying gun into community center
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
635 - OSU game thread
370 - Seattle man to pack a pistol into community center to protest mayor's ban
330 - KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
143 - Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
142 - NYC trial for 9/11 suspects poses risks
116 - Wright State game thread
97 - Band of advocates, activists now McGinn's likely insiders
88 - Rang says Locker not ready for NFL
85 - Licata looks at boosting traffic-ticket revenue
81
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- An 802.11n upgrade could make a big difference
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Washington in race for federal education funds
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Goodwill's Glitter Sale is Nov. 14-15








