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French crowds join general strike on 'Black Thursday'
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by Rachel Nixon | January 29, 2009 at 12:17 pm
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Hundreds of thousands of people took part in a general strike in France on Thursday in protest at the government's handling of the economic crisis.
Union leaders said 2.5 million people had taken part in protests across the country - dubbed "Black Thursday" - while the French interior ministry put the figure at 1 million.
These were the biggest protests to hit France since President Nicolas Sarkozy came to power in 2007.
On Thursday evening, President Sarkozy's office announced plans to meet union leaders in February to discuss a program for reforms in 2009.
"Black Thursday" was hailed by union leaders as the country's "biggest workers' protest in 20 years" after marchers in cities across France voiced their anger at the government's response to their economic plight and members of eight unions joined in the industrial action.
While the effectiveness of the action was called into question when the transport network suffered less disruption than had been expected, labour leaders claimed that up to 2.5 million people had joined in the protests, with at least 300,000 on the streets in the capital.
Francois Chereque, head of the CFDT union, said: "We have not seen action on this scale for two decades. It is a cry of anger."
Unlike previous strikes which had effectively shut down transport in Paris, a new law requiring a minimum service appears to have kept commuters on the move.
Workers, mostly government employees, walked off their jobs throughout the country - snarling transportation, closing public offices and schools, and forcing airports to reduce flights. Government estimates suggested that from one-quarter to one-third of public sector workers had joined the protest. Employees of some large international companies joined in, even employees of the bourse operator NYSE-Euronext.
Like many other nations, France finds itself in a difficult economic position:
Economic growth in 2009 is expected to be close to zero in France, with unemployment — now at 7.7 percent — below the double-digit figures of 10 years ago but rising at the fastest rate in 15 years.
Consumer spending has plunged.
Sarkozy recently announced a euro26 billion ($33 billion) stimulus plan, but the unions believe it is not enough.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 15:53 on January 29th, 2009
In 1968 the protest where of such dimension in France that the President Charle DeGaule at the time had to take refuge in Baden-Baden, Germany.
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lestroisstangesat 02:07 on January 30th, 2009
millions of people. the greatest demonstration, i ve ever seen in Paris. I'm working here for 8 years now
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Aleksander_Glogowskiat 03:22 on January 30th, 2009
to Paschen : It's not true that nobody in the EU is listening (read what follows).
PARTY OF EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS
Press Release - 29 January 2009
WAVE OF FEAR SWEEPING ACROSS EUROPE
PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen today expressed his sympathy with and support for French workers on strike today in protest about job losses.
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said “There is a tidal wave of fear sweeping across Europe. People are worried about their jobs, their pensions and their homes. People say that right-wing Governments like Sarkozy’s are very willing to bail out their friends in the banks but are much less concerned about ordinary wage earners losing their jobs.”
“What French workers are doing today reflects the concerns of workers and their families right across Europe.”
“I have said it before and I will say it again - Europe should be taking new and exceptional measures to stop the predicted loss of 3.5 million jobs across Europe this year. These job losses are unacceptable. These are not just statistics or economic trends, we are talking about people with families, with responsibilities, with the hope of giving their loved ones a decent future.”
“The Party of European Socialists has made it very clear that we believe Europe should set a target of maintaining employment at current levels – and that the European Recovery Plan should be made big enough to achieve this objective.”
At a PES leaders meeting on 30 November in Madrid, party leaders agreed that the ambition to “safeguard employment”’ and “promote smart green growth” should “determine the size and components of the European economic recovery plan.”
http://www.pes.org/content/view/1474/72 New measures needed to stop million of job losses, January 2009
http://www.pes.org/content/view/1461/1700098 Socialists demand ambitious recovery plan, December 2008
http://www.pes.org/downloads/PES_leaders_declaration_51108_EN.pdf PES Leaders declaration on taking Europe out of the crisis, November 2008
Julian Scola
Communications Advisor - Media & Campaigns
Party of European Socialists
Rue du Trône, 98
1050 Brussels
Tel +32 2 548 9080
Dir Tel +32 2 548 9085
Mobile +32 486 117 394
julian.scola@pes.org
Flyer edited by the PSE-Paris :
http://www.ps-paris.org/docs/flyer-29janvier-PSE.pdf
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cedstyle33at 05:26 on January 30th, 2009
Manifestation ( grève général ) à Bordeaux le 29 janvier 2009
plus de 70 000 manifestant rassemblé !
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