French public sector workers unleashed nationwide strikes yesterday, disrupting train services and schools in another challenge to French President Nicolas Sarkozy after his party’s defeat in regional elections.
Sarkozy dismissed his labor minister and reshuffled his Cabinet after the Socialists and their left-wing allies swept to victory in the regional vote on Sunday, the last ballot box test before the 2012 presidential polls.
All of France’s major unions were taking part in the national day of protest against job cuts and plans for pension reform, a centerpiece of Sarkozy’s agenda in the second half of his presidency.
Paris commuters faced disruption with only half of trains running on some suburban lines, while nearly two-thirds of high-speed TGV trains were up and running, operators said.
Teachers’ unions predicted a strong turnout for the strike, while the CGT, France’s largest union, said 180 protest marches were planned in cities and towns across the country.
CGT leader Bernard Thibault called on Sarkozy to chart a new course for his economic policy to urgently tackle unemployment and falling living standards.
“The issue is getting new direction in economic and social policies,” Thibault said.
Sarkozy was elected in 2007 on promises to boost France’s economy and get people back to work, but last year’s recession has driven unemployment up to 10 percent, its highest level in a decade.
Many observers saw Sunday’s electoral defeat for the government as a verdict on both Sarkozy’s policies and his style.
The president replaced labor minister Xavier Darcos, who suffered a heavy defeat in his western region of Aquitaine, replacing him with Eric Woerth, who previously held the budget portfolio.
Francois Baroin, who had served as a minister during Jacques Chirac’s presidency, was appointed to replace Woerth. His appointment was seen as a bid to appease center-right members of the party.
Many unions were mobilizing over Sarkozy’s plan to raise the legal retirement age, possibly to 62. The government argues this is the only way to keep the system of generous benefits afloat.
Talk of raising the retirement age has been taboo in France, where the right to a pension from age 60 has been enshrined since 1982, a legacy of former president Francois Mitterrand’s administration.
“We must send a strong message to the government,” said Francois Chereque, head of the CFDT union.
French workers are increasingly feeling “abandoned” by Sarkozy’s government and “the government must change its methods,” he said.
Sarkozy’s approval ratings are at an all-time low since his election and commentators concur that he no longer looks unbeatable in 2012.
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