Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PARIS1649
2005-03-11 18:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

GENERAL STRIKE MARCH 10 -- MORE PRESSURE ON

Tags:  ECON ELAB EU FR PGOV SOCI 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001649 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/WE, DRL/IL AND INR/EUR
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB
DEPT OF COMMERCE FOR ITA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB EU FR PGOV SOCI
SUBJECT: GENERAL STRIKE MARCH 10 -- MORE PRESSURE ON
GOVERNMENT TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL DISCONTENT


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001649

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/WE, DRL/IL AND INR/EUR
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB
DEPT OF COMMERCE FOR ITA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB EU FR PGOV SOCI
SUBJECT: GENERAL STRIKE MARCH 10 -- MORE PRESSURE ON
GOVERNMENT TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL DISCONTENT



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A nationwide general strike March 10
called by public sector unions took place peacefully, and
without causing major disruption. Striking public and
private sector employees protested loss of purchasing power,
low salaries and proposed reforms to the 35-hour work week
and the national education system. The mobilization of some
570,000 demonstrators (according to the police) throughout
the country was deemed a success by organizers, particularly
given that a significant percentage of the protesters came
from the private sector. A sour economy, record government
deficits, unemployment stuck at ten percent, rising housing
and consumer prices, and stagnant salaries have produced
significant social tensions. Prime Minister Raffarin on
March 11 promised to "find the right balance between
listening and courage," saying his government would heed the
discontented while staying the course on its unpopular reform
proposals. END SUMMARY.


MARCH 10 GENERAL STRIKE
--------------

2. (SBU) French public and private sector workers went on
strike March 10 to protest the loss of purchasing power and
government plans to reform the 35-hour work week. More than
115 demonstrations took place throughout France. Railroad
workers, public school teachers, and employees at the post
office and state-owned utilities made up the bulk of the
protesters. Students also joined in, continuing their series
of protests against the government's proposed reform of the
education system. Private sector demonstrators came from the
banking, automobile and food manufacturing industries.
Organizers highlighted the participation of private sector
workers, as the unions claim that all French workers -- not
just public sector employees -- are unhappy with the state of
the economy and the government's reform programs. No
specific figures were reported, but press reports indicated
that private sector employees made up a "significant"
percentage of yesterday's protesters.


LOSS OF PURCHASING POWER
--------------

3. (SBU) In an effort to attract a greater level of
participation from private sector workers, the unions made
the steady erosion of purchasing power (due to stagnant wage
levels and steadily rising prices, particularly since the
introduction of the Euro just over four years ago) the focus
of yesterday's protests. Many private sector workers favor
the government's proposal to allow workers the possibility of
working more than 35 hours per week by allowing more
overtime. The government promotes its 35-hour reform
proposals by focusing on the purchasing power theme. "If you
want to earn more," former Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
was fond of saying, "you should be allowed to work more."
Sarkozy was also instrumental in passing a reform measure
allowing greater price competition among France's large-scale
retail stores.



NUMBERS OF PROTESTERS INCREASING
--------------

4. (SBU) There have been three strike/demonstration days in
the last three months, each one larger than the one before.
On January 20, some 250,000 people marched across France. On
February 5, a total of 450,000 was recorded. On March 10,
according to the lower police estimate, there were 570,000
demonstrators in the streets across the country (according to
the unions, there were more than one million).


COMMENT
--------------

5. (SBU) A higher number of protesters turned out for this
strike than did during the most recent such nationwide wave
of protests -- in 2003 against the Raffarin government's
package of retirement reforms. Having "held firm" in the
face of the demonstrators in 2003, Raffarin's center-right
government paid for it in the subsequent March 2004 regional
elections when the left won control of 20 of the 22 regions
in metropolitan France. Media commentators have seized on
this parallel, speculating that if the government "holds
firm" in its reform proposals, protesters and their
sympathizers will use the upcoming EU referendum as an
opportunity to cast a "sanction vote" against the government.
On March 11, at an event commemorating the centenary of the
birth of French political philosopher Raymond Aron, Prime
Minister Raffarin, quoting an observation of Aron's about the
importance, in governing successfully, of finding the right
balance between "listening and courage" committed his
government to taking into account the concerns of the
discontented while continuing to press forward needed, albeit
unpopular, reforms. END COMMENT.
Leach