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(HERALD, XINHUA) Over one million workers march over Sarkozy policies

Over one million workers march over Sarkozy policies
Xinhua.

PARIS. More than 1 million people marched against President Nicolas Sarkozy across France on Thursday in a nationwide strike and protest over what they see as the government’s unjust economic policies.

Across the country an estimated 2,6 million people attended around 200 rallies, according to the General Confederation of Labor, one of the nation’s largest unions.

Police, however, put the number of protesters at 1,2 million. Nevertheless, the national strike, the second of its kind in only seven weeks, was reported as one of the biggest since Sarkozy took office in May 2007.

The protests showed dissatisfaction of French people with social consequences of the global financial crisis.

"The replies from the bosses and the government are not enough," said Francois Chereque, leader of the big CFDT union federation.

"Salaried workers won’t any longer accept being the victims of this crisis, which they had nothing to do with," Bernard Thibault, secretary of the workers’ confederation, was quoted as saying by BFM Radio.

The unions jointly called on the government to do more to safeguard jobs and to improve workers’ purchasing power.

Trains, government offices and schools were disrupted but public transport in Paris worked almost as normal.

According to the Education Ministry, about 30 percent of France’s teachers were on strike on Thursday.

Meanwhile, utilities, ports and refineries were also disrupted. Air France said most of its flights were operating normally from Charles de Gaulle Airport, while about one-third of its flights from Orly Airport had been canceled.

Thursday’s marches included an unusually large number of private sector workers as the past month has seen a daily roll-call of factory closures. In the northern town of Clairoix, around 10 000 people protested over the closure of a tyre plant by the German Continental company with the loss of 1 120 jobs.

Many others are worried about job losses as 2 million were already unemployed and 350 000 more layoffs are expected this year.

According to opinion polls, up to 80 percent of the public supported the protests. France faces mounting dissatisfaction amid rising unemployment as a result of the economic downturn.

French companies shed the most jobs in 40 years during the fourth quarter of last year.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon, referring to the huge national deficit, declined further measures to push the economy.

He said protesters voiced a "legitimate concern" but he urged the people to wait for the 26-billion-euro stimulus package launched in December last year to bear fruits.

A similar strike on Jan. 29 with civil service stoppage and street marches ended after the government pledged over 2 billion euros of new benefits for the low-paid and unemployed. — Xinhua.

Labels: DEMONSTRATION, LABOUR, SARKOZY

posted by MrK @ 5:55 PM