The CGT is also angry at the government’s use of emergency strike-breaking powers during earlier strikes at oil refineries in October that led to widespread petrol and diesel shortages at filling stations on a national scale. The strike grievances and demands included an increase in the minimum wage, re-evaluation of all salaries in line with inflation in the same way as the SMIC, and re-evaluation of the salary scale for public sector workers. 18 involved 107,000 demonstrators, according to the Interior Ministry, but the CGT said there were at least 300,000 protesters. This is the third mobilization of the unions in a row, after two other nationwide protests on Oct. Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal said: "The slogan of this strike at the RATP was 'zero metro, zero RER,’ but also ‘zero empathy for all the French people I am thinking of today, who have not been able to go to work, who have not been able to travel, who may have had difficulties dropping their children off at school’,” he said, referring to the Reseau Express Regional (Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. Unions have staged strikes across several sectors in recent weeks seeking pay hikes or increased hiring as spiraling energy costs feed into widespread inflation. Thursday's strike came as commuters have grown increasingly angry with Paris public transport, with services still reduced since the COVID-19 pandemic started although traffic levels have broadly returned to pre-pandemic levels. At least half the subway lines were idle and many suburban buses were as well.įive metro lines were fully closed, and another seven only operated at peak hours. The police and the Interior Ministry put the number of demonstrators in Paris at 2,000-4,000, while there were no riots or scuffles during the protest.Īlthough there were other protests scattered around France in cities like Lyon or Montpellier, disruptions were heavily concentrated in Paris, where workers of the Regie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) public transport network have overwhelmingly backed the strike, declaring a Jeudi Noir (Black Thursday) for services. local time (1300GMT) at the Place de la Republique and ended at Place de la Bastille. The CGT was behind the multisector one-day strike, which threatened to paralyze the capital’s public transport network.Īccording to the CGT, 4,000 people took part in the demonstration in Paris, which kicked off at 2 p.m. French unions showed their muscle Thursday in the streets of Paris and dozens of other cities in the country in the latest expression in a campaign of nationwide industrial action to demand improved pay and working conditions, denounce the increased cost of living, and demand relief from the government from soaring prices.Īround 150-200 demonstrations were announced for the day all over France by the Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) labor union.
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