France braces for strikes
2006-04-04 07:58
Paris - Hundreds of thousands of people were set to join in strikes and marches across France on Tuesday in the latest show of force against a contested youth jobs law, with travel disruptions expected across the country.
Unions and student groups, staging their fifth day of nationwide action, hope to repeat their success of a week ago when more than a million people took to the streets against the unpopular First Employment Contract (CPE).
Thousands of police officers are to be deployed to prevent a repeat of the violence and vandalism that marred several previous demonstrations.
The French civil aviation authority is expecting delays and cancellations and has advised passengers to contact their carrier for details.
One third of flights were cancelled during the previous day of action against the jobs scheme, last Tuesday.
Wildcat actions
Rail authorities expect two-thirds of high-speed intercity rail links to be up and running, with 50% of trains running between Paris and Geneva and traffic near normal on rail services to Britain, Belgium, Italy and Spain.
In the capital, the metro underground system was expected to operate two in three trains, while buses were to run normally. More trouble was expected on commuter train lines from the Paris suburbs.
Transport strikes have been announced in 32 other French towns and cities, including Marseille in the southeast and Toulouse in the southwest.
Protesting students, who have partly or totally closed dozens of French universities for weeks, also promised wildcat actions to disrupt road, rail and air traffic.
France has been gripped by two months of strikes and street protests against a government initiative aimed at encouraging companies to take on more young staff, by loosening firing rules during their first two years of employment.
The First Employment Contract (CPE) provoked a massive backlash from unions and students who see it as the beginning of an attack on French job security.
Tuesday's mobilisation comes amid hints that unions and student groups may now be willing to enter negotiations with the centre-right ruling party, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).