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France: University and high school students continue anti-government protests
French university and high school students have continued to demonstrate against the Gaullist government’s “First Job Contract” (CPE) legislation, which allows young workers to be sacked without justification during their first two years of employment. The ongoing protests have further exacerbated the crisis facing Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin’s government, which has refused to rescind the CPE.
Student protests were held throughout France on Tuesday—the fourth such action in eight days. Police estimated that 40,000 high school and university students took part in the rallies. Between 5,000 and 15,000 youth marched across the Left Bank in Paris. Demonstrators again clashed with police and 37 young people were reportedly arrested.
The national high school students’ union UNL (Union Nationale Lycéenne) reported that one out of every four high schools in France have been blockaded by striking students. More than half of France’s universities remain on strike, and at least 15 have been shut down by student blockades and academic strikes.
A national student strike is being staged today, and about 100,000 young people are expected to march through Paris. Predominantly public-sector unions agreed to a day of “demonstrations, strikes and work stoppages” next Tuesday. Workers in the energy sector—Gaz de France and Electricite de France—have filed a strike notice, as have railway and Paris’s metro workers. Eight trade unions connected with Air France have also announced a 24-hour strike. It remains unclear how many workers in the private sector will participate in what the Financial Times has described as a “partial national strike.”
Despite the protests and the overwhelming opposition to the CPE among the French population, the government has refused to back down. “With this law, there are three things which are impossible,” Villepin told fellow members of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party on Tuesday. “The first is its withdrawal, because that would be like saying that we capitulate to the logic of ultimatums and preconditions. This our constituency obviously does not want, and they would not forgive us for it. The second is its suspension, because quite simply, that is contrary to our constitution. And the third thing that is impossible is the distortion of our law, because to lose the balance of the project would be to deprive it of any chance of success.”
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/fran-m23.shtml
The national high school students’ union UNL (Union Nationale Lycéenne) reported that one out of every four high schools in France have been blockaded by striking students. More than half of France’s universities remain on strike, and at least 15 have been shut down by student blockades and academic strikes.
A national student strike is being staged today, and about 100,000 young people are expected to march through Paris. Predominantly public-sector unions agreed to a day of “demonstrations, strikes and work stoppages” next Tuesday. Workers in the energy sector—Gaz de France and Electricite de France—have filed a strike notice, as have railway and Paris’s metro workers. Eight trade unions connected with Air France have also announced a 24-hour strike. It remains unclear how many workers in the private sector will participate in what the Financial Times has described as a “partial national strike.”
Despite the protests and the overwhelming opposition to the CPE among the French population, the government has refused to back down. “With this law, there are three things which are impossible,” Villepin told fellow members of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party on Tuesday. “The first is its withdrawal, because that would be like saying that we capitulate to the logic of ultimatums and preconditions. This our constituency obviously does not want, and they would not forgive us for it. The second is its suspension, because quite simply, that is contrary to our constitution. And the third thing that is impossible is the distortion of our law, because to lose the balance of the project would be to deprive it of any chance of success.”
More
http://wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/fran-m23.shtml
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