Tag: French Rail Strike

Signs of a French Spring against Fierce State Oppression… May 68 to May 18 ?

Grèves aux usines Citroen lors des mouvements et manifestations survenus en France durant les évènements de Mai 68 à Paris, France, en mai 1968 .

By  Cole Stangler    at Jacobin  shared with thanks                             A wave of strikes and a student revolt has shaken France in recent days — but can it provide the first real challenge to Macron’s agenda?Rail workers from the Force Ouvrière union on strike in Paris . FranceInfo

This isn’t the first significant unrest under President Emmanuel Macron — his labor reforms last year were opposed by strikes and days of action — but the current wave is broader in scope. A weekend strike at France’s largest employer, supermarket Carrefour, was followed by strikes on the trains and at airports at the start of this week that have severely impacted transport in the country — and now a burgeoning student movement is joining in support.It’s far from clear whether these various protests will coalesce into a unified movement. They remain largely isolated for now. But the potential for what French left-wing activists term a “convergence of struggles” is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Here’s an overview of the situation:
After joining civil servants in protest on March 22, rail workers across France kicked off rolling strikes Tuesday. Unions are calling on the government to abandon proposed reforms that would cut worker benefits and inaugurate what they see as the first phase of a full-scale privatization of the national publicly owned rail system, the French National Railway Corporation (SNCF). Under strike plans, workers will engage in a series of two-day job actions separated by three-day intervals until June 28. Continue reading “Signs of a French Spring against Fierce State Oppression… May 68 to May 18 ?”