Let's Party!

[prole]

I would expect to see more of this.

 

Strike set to pose big test for French government

 

The Associated Press

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

 

PARIS: France was bracing for major disruption of public transportation and government services Wednesday ahead of a nationwide strike by subway, bus and commuter rail employees, teachers and other state workers.

 

The expected show of discontent over job security and salaries amid the worldwide economic crisis has caused anxiety in President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative government, with one anxious minister pleading with his compatriots that now is not the time for "trouble-making."

 

With the strike, France is set to become the biggest European country so far this year to face protests over what is viewed as the government's inadequate response to the economic crisis.

 

Railway workers were setting off the walkout Wednesday evening. Unions representing subway, bus and commuter rail employees have called strikes in nearly 80 cities and towns in what some French were already calling "Black Thursday." Protest marches are planned in some 200 municipalities.

 

"Everybody is aware that we are experiencing a worldwide crisis that hasn't been seen for 70 years," Bernard Thibault, head of the Communist-backed CGT union, was quoted as saying Wednesday in Le Parisien daily. "We can't accept that workers are the only ones to suffer the consequences."

 

The movement was also expected to draw hospital and utility workers, teachers, letter carriers and air traffic controllers. Some private sector workers like bank staffers and automotive assembly line workers also were expected to join the strike. Air France said some flights would be affected, but not on long-haul routes.

 

All parties in the left-leaning opposition back the strike, which appears to have public support. A poll published over the weekend in Le Parisien daily found 69 percent of respondents support or sympathize with the strikers. The survey of 1,007 people was conducted Jan. 21-22.

 

The strikers have a catchall of complaints: Some want better job and salary protection; others want more staff for overburdened schools, hospitals and other public services. They hope a big turnout will force the government to give ground on cost-cutting reforms.

 

In France, which faced strikes as recently as 2005 over an ill-fated government proposal to create jobs for youth, many commuters are used to walkouts that snarl road traffic and clog subways.

 

"I can understand, but when it becomes repetitive, it's exasperating it's odious," said Caroline Charpe, as she got out of a commuter train Wednesday at Paris' Saint-Lazare station. The 20-year-old medical student who commutes into school says she plans to stay home Thursday.

 

Stephane Larcher, a 47-year-old manager at a mobile phone company, said he'll drive work at 6:30 a.m. Thursday early enough to beat the expected bottlenecks instead of commuting by train as he usually does. Others at the station said they supported the walkout, saying the government has doled out aid for the financial sector but not ordinary people.

 

"The government comes up with billions for the bankers, but we in the middle class get nothing," said Alex Balembo, a 46-year-old construction worker. "It needs to create jobs, but there's no plan for relaunching the economy."

--from IHT 1/28/09

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

more spank material for Prole

 

[prole]

Only thing I've been spanking is your sister's bare bottom.

[Fairweather]

Do French govt slackers not read news? Fire them all and replace them with people who are willing to uphold their word and who want to work.

[Jim]

Fire them all and replace them with people who are willing to uphold their word and who want to work.

 

Glad we did that here and sent the Idiot back to his village to clear brush.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Fire them all and replace them with people who are willing to uphold their word and who want to work.

 

Glad we did that here and sent the Idiot back to his village to clear brush.

 

Bush wasn't running for office. His 2 terms expired. Dumbass.

[prole]

Rise in Jobless Poses Threat to Stability Worldwide

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

February 15, 2009

 

PARIS — From lawyers in Paris to factory workers in China and bodyguards in Colombia, the ranks of the jobless are swelling rapidly across the globe.

 

Worldwide job losses from the recession that started in the United States in December 2007 could hit a staggering 50 million by the end of 2009, according to the International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency. The slowdown has already claimed 3.6 million American jobs.

 

High unemployment rates, especially among young workers, have led to protests in countries as varied as Latvia, Chile, Greece, Bulgaria and Iceland and contributed to strikes in Britain and France.

 

Last month, the government of Iceland, whose economy is expected to contract 10 percent this year, collapsed and the prime minister moved up national elections after weeks of protests by Icelanders angered by soaring unemployment and rising prices.

 

Just last week, the new United States director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair, told Congress that instability caused by the global economic crisis had become the biggest security threat facing the United States, outpacing terrorism.--from NYT 2/15/09

[Hugh Conway]

Do French govt slackers not read news? Fire them all and replace them with people who are willing to uphold their word and who want to work.

 

dipshit french.

 

they should fuck up so badly they get trillions of taxpayer money to bailout their fuck ups like Wall Street.

 

And then the public will bash the taxpayers funding the bailout of their fuckup, and complain that those same executives that fucked up are paying too much in taxes.