Clashes across France over reforms
Thousands take to streets to rally against law French say erodes workers’ rights
French riot police fired teargas and stun grenades yesterday in clashes in Paris with angry opponents of labour reforms, in the latest outbreak of violence over the controversial new laws.
Four demonstrators and 15 police were hurt — including two officers who sustained burns due to Molotov cocktails — as tens of thousands rallied against the law forced through by the Socialist Government.
Police used water cannon and tear gas as protests also turned violent in Nantes in western France, one of at least 10 provincial cities in which rallies were staged.
“The violence is unacceptable,” said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, noting that police had arrested 62 people across the country, 32 of whom were kept in custody.
Authorities said some 78,000 people rallied overall nationwide, including 13,000 in Paris. Organisers put numbers across France at around 170,000, saying 40,000 protested in Paris.
The law aimed at loosening France’s notoriously rigid employment laws was forced through in July after months of often violent protests. In all 620 police have been injured since the protests started, said Cazeneuve.
It notably makes it easier to fire workers during downturns and for bosses to negotiate directly with employees on working time.
As well as the protests, scores of flights in and out of the country were also cancelled as air traffic controllers went on strike to protest the law.
“We will show them that, law or no law, we will always stand against them,” Francois Roche, a member of the hardline CGT union demonstrating in Marseille, told AFP.
Turnout nationwide was far lower than at the first rallies earlier this year when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets.
One of the focal points yesterday was the eastern city of Belfort, where the Government is locked in a battle with train- building giant Alstom over the future of a locomotive factory threatened with closure.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city, chanting “Alstom is Belfort, Belfort is Alstom”.
Belfort’s history i s intertwined with that of Alstom, which produced its first steam train there in 1880. The plant now assembles high- speed TGV train locomotives.
Last week, Alstom had announced it would close the plant due to a lack of orders and move production to a site 200km to the north.
The prospect of up to 400 job losses is deeply embarrassing for the Socialist Government eight months ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, in which high unemployment i s expected to be a key issue.
Aviation authorities had advised airlines serving Paris airports to cancel 15 per cent of their flights yesterday over the air traffic controllers’ strike.
Low- cost airline Ryanair cancelled scores of flights to or through France.
The new labour law — one of the few major reforms of President Francois Hollande’s tenure — aims to bring down France’s unemployment rate of around 10 per cent.
Opponents, however, see the measures as an erosion of workers’ hard- won collective bargaining rights.
Such was the opposition to the changes on the Left, including from within the Socialists’ own ranks, the Government had to force through the bill without a vote, causing a deep divide within the ruling party.
“The biggest loser from this law is Francois Hollande,” Jean- Claude Mailly, leader of Force Ouvriere trade union, said yesterday.
The violence unleashed by the reforms peaked on June 14, just four days after the start of the Euro 2016 football championships in France, when around 40 people were hurt and dozens arrested.
CGT leader Philippe Martinez has appealed to workers to continue “fighting tooth and nail to stop it [ the law] crossing the threshold of their companies.
Hollande, who has yet to announce whether he will seek reelection next year, had hoped for a signature reform to boost his dire approval ratings.
Currently, around four out of five French voters oppose him standing for a second term. Why has Britain given it the green light? Several British nuclear power stations are reaching the end of their operational life.
EDF was chosen due to its European Pressurised Reactor, a thirdgeneration design considered the most advanced and safest in the world.
are the Chinese involved and caused jitters? The state- run China General Nuclear Corporation ( CGN) became an investor because EDF did not have the financial clout on its own.
Also, former Prime Minister David Cameron wanted to open up a golden age of relations with China to help pull Britain out of the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, China wanted a foot in the European nuclear energy market.
Nick Timothy, current Prime Minister Theresa May’s joint chief of staff, thought it “incomprehensible” that China could have a hand in Britain’s electricity network, citing risks to industrial security.
Consequently Britain has now set conditions to address concerns about China’s role in a landmark European project.
is it so expensive and who will pay the bill? Nuclear technology always requires huge investment but the Hinkley project is particularly costly due to the use of two reactors that will be among the most powerful in the world.
The project, estimated to cost £ 18 billion ($ 32.5b) also involves land acquisition and tortuous approval procedures.
Besides the investors EDF and the CGN, the final cost will also be met by British energy consumers. The government has guaranteed EDF a price of £ 92.50 per megawatt hour — deemed overpriced by critics.
are the risks and why go ahead despite them? Besides the cost, the project could be subject to lengthy delays, like EDF’s Flamanville plant in France, which is behind schedule and subject to mounting costs.
However, Britain needs to find new sources of electricity going into the future, while respecting its ambitious objective of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 57 per cent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
alternatives do Hinkley opponents propose? Some are proposing smaller- scale nuclear power stations that are easier to get up and running and less catastrophic in case of an accident.
Renewable energy could be developed to a greater extent, notably wind power. Britain has several offshore wind projects.
Critics cite the dominant nature of the Hinkley project, saying it slows down development of alternative technologies, such as storing electricity.