France Hit by Strikes, Riot Over Pension Reform - Reuters vs Reform

Reuters ^ | 6/10/03 | Paul Carrel

[jriemer]

PARIS (Reuters) - Nationwide strikes and demonstrations over a pensions overhaul descended into a riot outside the French parliament on Tuesday, as Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin presented the reform bill to lawmakers.

Police guarding access to the National Assembly lower house of parliament used water cannon and tear gas to disperse an assault by some 100 rioters. Later, around 350 people stormed the National Opera, interrupting a performance of Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte." Some 60 people were arrested, police said.

Earlier, tens of thousands marched through Paris and other cities calling for unions to have a say in any reform of the pension system, as the third nationwide strike in a month slashed public transport services and caused huge traffic jams.

Unions are seething at plans to make people pay into the pension system for longer to counter a financing crunch as the postwar "baby boom" generation retires.

"With the demographic changes, there are fewer and fewer paying into the system and more and more taking money out of it. This is a necessary reform and everybody knows it," Raffarin told the National Assembly.

Tuesday's strike -- joined by postal, bank, port and telecoms workers, hospital staff and police -- caps a week of sporadic transport chaos in the capital. A fifth of the country's teachers also walked out. Most international flights ran as normal, however, although some delays were reported.

Paris, Marseille, Rouen and Nantes saw street protests.

The unrest is a serious threat to center-right Raffarin's year-old government. Mass strikes in 1995 thwarted the last conservative government's attempt to touch pensions and ultimately led to its fall from power in 1997.

The SNCF railway operator said nearly a third of staff were on strike, leaving one in three trains running. There were 200 miles of backups around Paris as morning rush-hour commuters switched to private cars.

"I'm fed up with this strike," said German tourist Kirsten Paffratch, waiting at Gare du Nord station for a train home. "We came to Paris for a long weekend and with the metro down we've had to walk everywhere. It's been very annoying."

PENSION CASH CRUNCH

Raffarin wants state employees to contribute to the pension fund for 40 years like private workers, up from 37.5 years. From 2009, all workers will have to make contributions for 42 years. The government hopes to pass the bill within two weeks.

Talks between Education Minister Luc Ferry and teaching unions over a separate reform that would hand responsibility for hiring school staff to local authorities prompted teachers to stage their 11th strike this academic year.

Teachers' union leaders later vowed to keep up protests but urged members not to sabotage the prized baccalaureat exam, which starts on Thursday, as some teachers had threatened to do.

The move came after the government said it would retain responsibility for hiring some school staff at national level, and unlock 80 million euros of frozen funds for spending on education to ensure a smooth start to the new academic year.

[jriemer]

OK, now compare this 6/10/03 Reuters article to the 6/18/03 UK The Telegraph article on the linked thread Unions humiliated over pension bill as French tire of strikes where one of the organizers of the rally is a Freeper Sabine Herold, who at 21, led a protest of 18k against the unions and the socialist status quo.

You can see that the Reuters article focuses more on the fear and chaos caused by the strikes rather than the underlying pension debate itself. The Telegraph article on the other hand talks for the need for debate instead of focusing on the ancillary fear and intimidation brought in by the unions and other miscreants.

Can you see the difference a few days and a change of news outlet makes?

[Drango]

I hope the French help bring France to it's knees.

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"With the demographic changes, there are fewer and fewer paying into the system and more and more taking money out of it. This is a necessary reform and everybody knows it," Raffarin told the National Assembly.

For 1,000 extra bonus points - can someone tell me the North American equivalent to the French pension plan? And then, to make it to the lightening elimination round - answer the following question: How is a prescription drug plan going to make it better?

[OpusatFR]

Yeah, Let's ~Fall in Love Again~.

All this and Woody Allen, too.

[jriemer]

Sabine *ping*

[Sarah]

Functionaries in France pay into their retirement 37.5 years vs. 40 years for those in the private sector.
Let alone the job security, numerous other bonuses, and then the fact that the pension rate is taken from at most the last 10 years of the persons work history, unlike private pensions that are calculated from an average of the entire work life.
No matter how disruptive these strikes are, the government cannot back down.
It's amazing how obtuse the demonstrators are.

[Constitution Day]

Great post! BTTT

[schaketo]

Earlier, tens of thousands marched through Paris and other cities calling for unions to have a say in any reform of the pension system, as the third nationwide strike in a month slashed public transport services and caused huge traffic jams.

Perhaps I can help the tens of thousands understand the PERMANENT change in U.S. sentiment as well:

1. french President Jacques Chirac, personally helped Iraq begin its nuclear program.
2. france assisted China in shipping raw materials for chemical weapons to Iraq through Syria.
3. french security services helped suppress opposition groups seeking to depose Saddam Hussein.
4. The french had supplied Iraq with precision switches for nuclear weapons.
5. french companies had resupplied Iraq with spare parts for fighter jets on the eve of the March 2003 invasion. Intelligence reports indicated that Iraq was able to obtain French military spare parts for its Mirage jets and Gazelle attack helicopters in violation of U.N. sanctions.
6. The french helped Iraqi officials escape U.S. capture by issuing them EU passports. The passports allowed the Iraqis to evade detection by U.S. military and intelligence agencies because they were EU travel documents.
7. Intelligence officials said France attempted to conclude an oil deal with Saddam's government days before U.S. military action began March 19.
8. french anti-aircraft weapons smuggled into Iraq prior to the war, the Roland 3 batteries, and Roland 5 shoulder-fired anti-air missiles. Reports have still not been denied that these systems were stamped '2002 date of manufacture.' 9. The french peddled disinformation against the Americans before the war -- this is a war for oil, Resolution 1441 does not authorize military action, George Bush is "cowboy," etc. -- at the very least, they now deserve some of their own.

Those countries who stood against us before the Iraq War are responsible for EVERY life lost in Iraq -- whether the lives be coalition lives or Iraqi lives. france, more than any other country, is responsible for all the deaths of our warriors.

france had an unemployment rate of 9.3% last month (April 03). It’s rising. Can we help them push it over 10%? 20%?. The new reality show on FOX this fall could be the marxists, socialists, and fundamentalist muslim imports (they are about 10% of the population and growing) burning paris to the ground. You can help:

WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET!

Gotta keep this alive. Share this link with all like minded family and friends. They are feeling the heat.

15000 french products that you can boycott:

http://howtobuyamerican.leethost.com/b-db-boycottfrance.shtml

[jriemer]

*Jeopardy theme song*

What is the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs?

[wjcsux]

For 1,000 extra bonus points - can someone tell me the North American equivalent to the French pension plan?
I'll take Social Security for 1000 points.
I'll take a shot at the elimination round. It won't.

[coloradan]

Good job!

[aegiscg47]

How can they tell the difference between a strike and normal French productivity?

[AD from SpringBay]

That's right! You're the first contestant to correctly answer both question.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

The cradle to grave, Socialist, nanny state may appeal to leftists and those unwilling to excell, but sooner or later, the bill comes due. France and Germany are finding that out.

If I were Poland, or any of the former Warsaw Pact countries, I'd be very leery of joining an EU with France and Germany as the leading partners. When they run out of ways of to finance their own welfare state, they won't hesitate to try and force these newcomers to foot their bills.

[1Old Pro]

I hope the French help bring France to it's knees.

They will, the French unions that is.

[SAJ]

Normally, when you tell a froggie that the service is unacceptably poor, he shrugs and stalks off.

When he's on strike, he shrugs, swings at you with his picket sign (and misses), and stalks off.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

lightening elimination round

Is that when they fire a lightning bolt at you and you, well....elimitate?

[aristeides]

Seems Reuters is on the side of the Axis of Weasels, as well as of the terrorists.

[jriemer]

lightening elimination round

Is that when they fire a lightning bolt at you and you, well....elimitate?

Sound pretty close to getting a ZOT! to me. No thanks... 8^)

[Travis McGee]

The solution is so simple. Just print more Francs.

What did you say? There are no more Francs?