France

Sarkozy promises to meet unions after millions join strikes and demos

Article published on the 2009-01-30 Latest update 2009-01-30 10:57 TU

The demonstration in Paris
( Photo: Reuters )

France's Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday acknowledged that protesting workers have "legitimate" concerns and promised to meet trade unions in February. The pedge followed a one-day general strike which brought up to 2.5 million people onto the streets. Radio France Internationale was affected by the strike, as employees protested at proposed job cuts.

Trade unionists on Friday called on Sarkozy to review his economic policy after mobilising the biggest protests since he was elected in 2007.

The unions claim that 2.5 million people joined the more than 200 demonstrations around the country, with police putting the figure at one million. That makes the protests the biggest in France since 2005's demonstrations against a previous right-wing government's youth employment scheme 

"What's important is the number of workers in the street, including many private-sector employyes," the leader of the CFDT union federation, Jean-François Chérèque, told RFI's French service. "The government says 'I'm listening', now it must come up with some answers." 

"This crisis of an unprecedented scale which is affecting the global economy has provoked in France, as it has elsewhere in the world, legitimate concern," Sarkozy said, in a statement.

He promised to meet unions and bosses during February, "in order to draw up a programme of reforms to carry out in 2009 and the means to carry them out properly".

As the French press debates the effectiveness of the protests, public companies report a high number of strikers. However, public transport suffered less disruption than during previous strikes.

RFI employees on the Paris demo
(Photo: Tony Cross)

Radio France Internationale broadcast music on its French and English channels as a large number of employees joined the strike in protest at proposed job cuts. Trade unionists from RFI led the public broadcasting section of the Paris demonstration.

The European Union today announced that unemployment in the eurozone hit eight per cent in December, the highest level for more than two years.