A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MASSIVE STRIKE MOVEMENT AGAINST WELFARE

REFORM IN FRANCE IN 1995.

During November and December of 1995 France was gripped by the largest strike movement the
country had seen in recent years. After three weeks of strikes workers forced a government climbdown
over the issue of changes to pensions of public sector workers.

Comparable in size and strength to the recent movement against the CPE employment law, the strike
movement of 1995 enjoyed popular support and involved hundreds of thousands of workers. The strikes
were responsible for immobilising much of the country's infastructure.

The May presidential elections had seen a victory for Jacques Chirac of the conservative RPR party and
the coming to office of Alain Juppé as the new prime minister. The new prime minister proposed a
series of welfare cutbacks aimed at reducing the deficit of the country's social security system.

The Juppé Plan, as it was known, included increases in premiums for healthcare, reorganisation of the
nation's railway networks, cutting welfare to the unemployed, imposing new taxes and making changes
to the pension eligibility age for public sector workers.

If introduced, these changes to the pension age would have left many workers unable to draw a full
pension until many years after their private sector counterparts had been eligible to receive theirs and
would have heavily increased the amount that workers would have to pay in in order to receive them.

In early autumn the first attempt at practical implementation of the Juppé plan was met with stiff
resistance from workers. In response to proposals of freezes on their pay, a mass walkout of public
workers took place on October 10.

Rail and air travel were paralysed and most domestic and international flights were cancelled. Much of
the railway network came to a halt as did the Paris metro system and bus service. Schools and
universities were closed as teachers and students walked out in protest at the plans, post offices were
forced to shut and mail was left undelivered.

Striking workers filled the streets of every major French city and town and large demonstrations against
the cuts proved an impressive show of strength and an indication to the high level of support that the
strikes were to enjoy in the days ahead.

Another general strike was announced on November 24 after a smaller walkout on November 21. This
strike was to continue in many sectors throughout the weeks ahead. Transport workers again took the
helm, crippling most of the rail, bus and subway systems as well as causing serious disruption to air
travel.

Demonstrations took place in the major cities, with marchers taking up the rallying cries of "Bye, Bye
Juppé". Utility workers joined in the strike, and by November 30 a strike by gas and electricity workers
had forced the government to buy electricity from Britain and Spain. Action by postal workers caused a
45% shutdown in mail operations.
Strikes in the private sector had been sporadic and few, but by early December this began to change. By
December 4 workers in insurance companies and banks had begun to join the strike.

The new month also saw renewed enthusiasm in the strike from healthcare workers, some of whom had
initially been apprehensive towards the prospect of being involved in prolonged walkouts.

Feeling that they must be involved in the growing movement but an unwillingness to endanger their
patients led to the adoption of the "safe strike" tactic. Nurses and other workers maintained safe levels of
staff at work so as not to endanger lives, dividing their time between picketing and caring for their
patients. Strike banners were hung up in wards, and efforts to explain their actions to patients promoted
an atmosphere of solidarity.

December also brought with it a new wave of militant feeling. Although often confined to groups of
workers with a history of militancy, clashes with police became commonplace. Striking railwaymen had
been holding massive public meetings at stations and on the rails since the start of the strike, and
attempts by police to break them up often resulted in pitched battles.

Fighting also broke out at the Channel Tunnel, which had been blocked by workers as the strike entered
its third week. Workers blockaded the toll booths, and with nobody willing to work them the last section
of the country's rail network still operating was shut down.

Ports were also blockaded by dockers and truck drivers, and the government responding by deploying
troops to prevent fuel shortages. The north-eastern town of Freyming-Merlebach saw large battles
fought between striking miners and riot police. Matching the police armoury with crowbars and rocks,
miners built barricades in the roads, on one occasion even burning down the offices of a mine company.

In a country with an unemployment rate of 12%, solidarity with the jobless was seen as important. This
often took form during the demonstrations and marches that filled the streets of France during the weeks
of the strike, with strikers being joined by thousands of unemployed workers.

The Pompidou Centre in Paris was occupied by the homeless and unemployed for a short while, and
meetings took place with strikers to forge links and discuss how practical solidarity between them could
be applied to the movement.

Owing to the extreme pressure that the strike had put on the economy, the strike officially came to an
end on December 15 when Juppé's government agreed to scrap the plans for pension reform, although
refusing to back down over welfare and health cuts.

Nevertheless, the unions still called an end to the strike. Massive demonstrations took place throughout
the coming week however, including one of nearly a million workers in Paris on December 16.

With many strikes being out of the control of the unions, owing to the small percentage of workers who
were actually members of one (around 30% in the public sector), many workers didn't end their strikes
immediately, some holding out as late as December 22.
The strike movement remained popular throughout, and polls showed a majority of French people
consistently supported it.

While mainly a strike of public sector workers, the solidarity shown from sections of the private sector,
the support given to the strikes throughout and the determination and solidity of the strikers ensured a
victory, or at least a partial one.

September 25, 2007

A strike at the SNCF (French National Railway Company) has been called for October 18th.

An inter-union grouping composed of CGT, SUD-rail, FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC has called the action in
relation to government attempts to change their retirement circcumstances. The other two recognised rail
unions are awaiting the Government offer.

Some 500,000 workers and 1.1M pensioners at the SNCF and in several other industries benefit from
special retirement schemes and goverment proposals to 'harmonise' retirement policies look to attack
these special conditions, rather than extend them to other workers.

Workers for the state Gas and electricity suppliers also benefit from the special schemes. Force
Ouvriere's Mines-Energie section announced strike action last week over the retirement reforms and also
at the proposed merger between the government-owned gas provider GDF and the private gas company
Suez. The CGT's energy division announced yesterday that it would join these strikes.

October 18, 2007

Transport workers brought most of Paris and the Ile de France region to a halt today; they were
joined at demonstrations by other workers and strikers.

The one-day strike was originally called by the main rail unions in protest at the end of 'special regimes'
for pensions. They were joined by other strikers such as medical interns, by workers, from EDF among
others, facing the same attacks on conditions and by workers from other industries, such as car
manufacturing.

In Paris only the automated line 14 ran a full service, the RATP expected to run one in five trains on line
1 and a third of trains on line 2; the bus service was supposedly running at 10% capacity and the five
suburban lines were almost entirely out out of operation with management not even attempting to run
services on the two most popular lines.

The strike is the biggest in France for 15 years, Nationwide the TGV system was almost entirely shut
down as were other intercity rail services. Most cities in France saw widespread disruption with at least
130 demonstrations across the country. In Paris and other cities many workers chose to join
demonstrations either in solidarity or to make their own demands, rather than try to get to work.
According to spokesmen 73.5% of SNCF workers (railways) joined the strike, compared to 67% at the
height of strike action in 1995. RATP (metro, bus suburban rail) reported 58% observance; EDF 51.9%,
8% of civil servants and 10% of teachers.

The government responded with tough talk, but this massive mobilisation is a sign of a series of hard
battles to come for both sides. The Sarkozy government's policies will bring them into direct
confrontation with all of France's unions over the next few years and a victory here will be very
significant. The CGT are estimating that 25,000 strikers took to the streets in Paris (although this seems
like an underestimate to me) and the governmet seems heartened by the fact that although many people
did not go to work, many of them did not join demonstrations either. The CGT union is estimating
300,000 demonstrators in France, the police are claiming that numbers were closer to 150,000.

The one-day strike looks to continue, workers began calling general meetings during the day to continue
the strike action. The RATP is predicting that only one in three metro trains will be operational
tomorrow (Friday). Reports are confused but four unions, FO, SUD-rail, Unsa and FGAAC have been
reported as announcing that strike action will continue. FGAAC has also been reported as having
withdrawn it's notification of strike action for tomorrow, citing 'concessions' made by management.
Unsa is widely reported to have called for a continuation of strike action only after large numbers of its
members voted to strike at general assemblies. According to Christian Mahieux of SUD-rail general
assemblies at stations in Paris, Marseille and Lyon voted 95% in favour of continued strikes tomorrow.

The CGT, one of France's biggest unions, has refused to call for strike action to continue tomorrow. The
CGT had a very large presence at the strikes today, with groups of workers from other industries well
represented (assuming that all those behind banners were from the company/industry stated).

November 7, 2007

Workers have decided to build on last month's one-day strike and have called for strike action on
Wednesday.

Although EDF (Électricité de France) and GDF (Gaz de France) workers have only given official notice
of a one-day strike, during the last strikes wildcats and general assemblies meant that the strike largely
held the following day. Rail workers from the SUD union are launching an unlimited strike, the other
unions will hold meetings on Wednesday, although it is unclear whether the leadership plans to make a
decision or let workers decide directly at general assemblies. After the last union-sanctioned one-day
strike rail, bus and metro services in Paris remained virtually at zero the following day and significant
numbers of strikers held out until Monday (five days). Outside of Paris and on the International lines
services were restored more quickly.

The new Sarkozy government is launching attacks on virtually every front hitting workers, claimants
and students across the board. The EDF, GDF and Rail-workers are at the forefront of the so-called
'special regimes' for pensions. Workers in certain industries retire on full pension earlier than others.
Government propaganda presents this as pampered public sector workers being allowed to retire ten
years earlier than those in the public sector. However most of this difference is explained by contrasting
extreme examples of workers who have no gone into further education with those who have, as private
sector workers only need four more years of contributions to qualify for a pension. To add insult to
injury the rail-workers already pay higher social security contributions, so they have actually paid for
their pensions.

Sarkozy said during his recent trip to America "there will be strikes, there will be demonstrations but I
will hold steady...because it's in my country's interests...France is fallen far behind and we are trying to
catch up." The Leader of the opposition Socialist party has accused Sarkozy of provoking the strikes so
that he can win a crushing victory over the unions. As provoking the banlieue riots of 2005 helped
Sarkozy show his law and order credentials this almost certainly true. Hollande fails to mention that his
party would have tried to push through similar 'reforms' and lost the election largely because they failed
to convince the electorate that they had the steel to do so.

In the last few days SUD-Rail, one of the more militant unions, backed by the federation of passengers
and user of public services (FUT-SP), has proposed a fare strike. This type of strike, ruled legal by the
European Court of human rights last year, has the advantage that it will not turn the public against the
strikers. The major disadvantage is that rather than bring Paris and much of France to a halt the strike
will instead simply lead to a loss of income from fares. The pressure such a strike would bring to bear on
the government would be greatly reduced.

According to government figures the last one-day strike cost €150M. These estimates seem to be based
on most finding alternative transport, rather than staying home. Something which was not evident in
Paris.

November 14, 2007

Workers fighting to defend their pension rights have launched a second strike.

This time the strike is reconductible, meaning that although it is not an unlimited strike it is renewable
on a daily basis. The strike warning given by the unions was for a strike beginning from 8pm on
Tuesday.

The strike began early in Lille where workers begin cancelling trains from midday, in Marseille action
also began early after a staff member was assaulted. The metro system in Paris is virtually shut down,
with just one train in four running on line 1 and a full service on the automated line 14. The Paris
Transport authority (RATP) claims one in ten buses and trams will be running. Two of the suburban
lines are expected to have no service at all.

The French rail company (SNCF) has stated that 90 out of the usual 700 TGV services will run, eurostar
services are unaffected; the international Thalys service can expect delays. For the regional trains both
the TER and Corail services are expected to be almost completely shut down by strike action.

National energy supplier EDF was hit as a third of its staff walked out, reducing power output by 12%.
Blackouts have not yet resulted.

The national co-ordination committee for the student strikes had called for solidarity occupations of
stations, there was a short occupation at Nanterre University and 100 students were driven back from the
Gare d'Austerlitz by riot police.
November 14, 2007

The strike action that has paralysed France's public transport system since Tuesday is set to
continue for at least another day.

The TGV ran 90 out of 700 trains. The other national service, Corail, ran only 12 trains out of a normal
service of 300. With the local TER services few trains ran, although a scab service of 2000 buses was in
operation. Transport authorities are promising to improve the situation tomorrow, claiming one in three
TER services will run, 50 Corail and 150 TGVs. The Parisian transport authorities have made similar
promises. Traffic jams peaked during the morning, covering 350km of roads.

In Paris most of the transport system was shut down. Three of the five suburban lines ran no service, the
other two ran only two trains per hour. The bus service was at 15%. On the metro, according to the
RATP, line 1 ran two out of five trains; the automated line 14 ran a normal service; lines 2 and 3b ran
one in three trains; line 4 ran a fifth of its normal servic; lines 3 and 9 ran just a tenth; lines 5 and 10 ran
almost no service and lines 6, 7, 7b, 8, 11, 12 and 13 ran no service. At Republique metro station, a
major hub for five metro lines only three trains were listed as coming in the next hour. On the platform
the time of the next train slowly updated from 71 to 70 minutes. On another a train was listed as arriving
in six minutes because the display only had two digits.

The demonstrations in Paris seem to have been smaller than during the previous one-day strike, with
numbers reported at between 24000 and 53000 as opposed to 150000 to 300000 for October 18th.
The numbers of workers striking appears to be lower than for the previous strike as well, with the SNCF
claiming 61.5% observance compared to 73.5%, the RATP 44% down from 58% and GDF and EDF
reporting 37% down from 53%. The effect on services could suggest that management are manipulating
figures or hopefully that workers are coordinating strike action to minimise loss of pay and maximise
disruption, allowing them to prolong the strike.

The CGT union has stated a willingness to enter into tri-partite negotiations with the government but it
is clear that workers are willing to reject deals made by the unions. In Marseille, for example, rail
workers held AG and decided to continue the strike tomorrow before the unions announced the decision
to continue. Messages from government have been mixed, with Sarkozy hinting that a deal may be
possible and the Prime Minister stating that the government will not retreat on pensions.

November 17, 2007

Although the CFDT union advised its members to vote at AGs to return to work from Friday, the
strike appears to be at least holding at a similar level.

The CFDT leadership argued that as the strike was visibly weakening each day it was better to return to
the negotiating table, the government demanding an end to strikes as a condition of negotiations. The
number of official strikers on Friday fell to 23% on the metro and 32% on the SNCF. Another key factor
appears to be the apparent loss of public support, in 1995 during a similar strike public support grew as
the strike continued, according to recent surveys by Le Monde a week of action has seen public
opposition rise from 60 to 70%. Reports from the ground indicate that the AGs are better atttended with
those present more militant.
According to official sources the metro system will run one train in five with six lines closed entirely: 6,
7, 7b, 8, 10 and 12. However official predictions have frequently contradicted evidence on the ground.
They further claim that 40% of buses and trams will operate. On the subruban RER lines there is a 20%
service on line A, no service on line B and a train every half an hour on lines C and D which is roughly
10% of normal service.

On the railways 180 out of 700 TGV are expected to run (compared to 250 yesterday). The regional
transilien network is still experiencing massive disruptionand expects to run a 40% service (50%
yesterday) and the Corail service expects to run 40 out of 300 trains (60 yesterday).

The SNCf has denounced as 'vandalism' reports that pickets have blocked scabbed trains from leaving
depots and stations and manually changed signals to stop trains, they have further accused strikers of
breaking windows and ticket machines at Saint Lazare using fireworks to set off fire alarms systems and
of jamming points using stones, notably at Lille, Metz and Sète stations. The unions have denied acts of
sabotage and reports of assaults on scab drivers.

A massive demonstration has been called for today at Saint Lazare station by the unions, with other
striking workers and students also attending.

Four of the five represented unions at GDF and EDF have agreed to attend negotiations with
management today. The strike held on Friday but has seen falls in observance over the week.
Management appears to be offering a salary increase in an exchange for a longer working career and an
end to pensions being index-linked to salaries.

November 19, 2007

The strikes, which seemed to be tailing off, appear to be affecting more services as workers renew
strike action ahead of negotiations on Wednesday.

The six unions involved in the strike (CGT, FO, CFTC, Unsa, CFE-CGC and SUD after the CFDT
withdrawal on Friday) called on workers' assemblies to vote to continue strike action.

The Paris transport authorities predict a fall in bus services to 30%, a 25% service on Tramline 1 full
service on 2 and 50% on 3. Buses to Orly airport are running a 2/3 and the Roissy bus service appears to
be closed. On the metro lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 7b and 11 are expected to run a train every 10 minutes; 3b, 7, 9
and 13 every 15 minutes (with one branch of line 13 closed); 5 and 6 every 20-25 minutes and 8 and 12
every 40 minutes. The automated line 14 continues to run a full service.

The SNCF claims to be able to offer 300 out of 650 TGV services (last week the total number of
services was isted as 700); 76 out of 300 Corail services; 1 in 2 TER services (although replacement bus
services are being included in this figure); the supposedly strike-proof Thalys service is running three
quarters of its usual service and for the suburban rail services a skeleton service is available during rush
hour. The international routes to Frankfurt and to Switzerland will both only run a third of normal
services, it is unclear whether this is a new development or simply was not previously reported by the
SNCF.
The SNCF has also announced that it will not be giving refunds to passengers whose trains are delayed
by strike action. Normally if a train is over 30 minutes late the passenger can claim a refund of a third of
the value of the ticket. The company is losing between €20M and €50M per day of strike action.

The militant SUD union, the second largest in the SNCF, has accused the government of bad faith in
trying to exclude it as a negotiating partner. They have also rejected CGT proposals to negotiate pension
reforms in each business seperately, arguing that the reforms are a collective attack on conditions and
must be responded to collectively.

A spokesman has also stated that raising conditions for other workers is the way to end the supposedly
unfair retirement system. He also pointed out that over the last 20 years the percentage of company
income given to shareholders has increads by a third from 30 to 40% and that if this trend were reversed
it could easily cover increases in pension and salary costs.

November 21, 2007

Hundreds of thousands of health workers, civil servants, printers postal workers and air traffic
controllers yesterday joined transport and energy strikes over pensions and pay.

Thousands joined street protests in Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg, Marseille, Grenoble, Lyon and other cities.

The 24 hour strike left many schools closed, hospitals providing a reduced service and newsagents
without newspapers.

The BBC reported that the French capital's two airports and Marseille airport in the south suffered
delays and cancellations.

French energy workers, who began a third 24-hour strike on Monday night, have cut nearly 9% of
capacity at nuclear plants, union officials said.

And rail and bus workers are on their seventh day of an indefinite stoppage against planned pension
cuts.

Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said the dispute was costing France up to 400m euros (£290m) a
day.

Half of the country's high-speed TGV trains were operating on Tuesday, while in Paris only one metro
train in three was in service and less than half of buses were expected to run.

State rail operator SNCF, which is due to hold talks with transport unions on Wednesday, says the
number of its workers on strike had fallen since last week.

But with traffic gridlock on the capital's roads on Tuesday morning, the stoppage still caused havoc for
commuters.
Opinion polls suggest voters back the French leader's plans to reform "special" pensions which allow
transport and utility workers to retire early, but a majority sympathises with civil servant grievances.

The education ministry said 40% of teachers had walked out but union officials said the figure was more
like 60%.

Eight unions representing 5.2 million state employees - around a quarter of the entire workforce - say
their spending power has fallen 6% since 2000, though the government disputes that figure.

They also oppose plans to cut 23,000 jobs in 2008, half in education.

Students are continuing to block access to campus buildings in half of the country's 85 universities.

They have been protesting since the start of November over plans to let faculties pursue non-government
funding.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Monday the government was ready to talk with unions but
insisted it would not budge on plans to overhaul the French economy.

Meanwhile, the main daily newspapers were not available in shops as printing workers struck against
planned job cuts.

November 27, 2007

After nine days of strike action rail workers finally ended their strike, although they did not win
their demands the strike still had many positive aspects.

There is a certain bitterness amongst rail workers, with other strikers abandoning solidarity actions and
their own unions selling them out. However what must be noted is that the strike itself was a victory for
the rank and file.

It was pressure from the ranks that lead to the unions calling the first strike in October, the largest since
1995, and it was workers that decided to continue that action independently with some staying out for as
long as five days. In the west of Paris, for example, workers organised a strike coordination committee
immediately and independently of union structures.

Faced with such militancy from their own members the unions were forced to call the second strike and
to make it an unlimited strike. Although observation generally dropped day by day during the strike
there were surges. One of the major problems was that not enough effort as made to win public support,
for example at the massive demonstration last Tuesday most of the CGT vehicles were more interested
in selling sandwiches and drinks than trying to communicate with other workers.

The demonstration on Tuesday took place against the context of the biggest civil servants' and teachers'
strikes since 1995. The presence of students and schoolchildren as well as electricity and other workers
was a good sign.
The main CGT union had already divided workers by agreeing that negotiations would take place on a
company by company, allowing workers to be picked off seperately and preventing solidarity actions.
This was notable in the EDF and GDF where the lower level of militancy saw these workers back down
quickly. The rail workers were isolated and made to look greedy and as if they were trying to hang on to
unfair privileges and sadly their unions allowed this, letting their members be painted as cosseted civil
servants. Although many workers, individually and in groups tried to address these preconceptions and
the strong efforts to paint them as ungrateful civil servants whose privileges are paid for by poor
conditions in the private. The two most common slogans were based either on workers' solidarity: "37.5
years to qualify for a pension for all"; or mocking their demonisation as greedy by the president: "I'll
have a 175% rise like Sarkozy."

In other news workers in Rouen, home of the first university to vote for strike action, saw workers stage
a 24-hour stoppage yesterday. The strikes crippled the Rouen transport system (TCAR) with only two
out of twenty-eight metro services running and four out of fifty buses.