French students and unions stepped up pressure on the government Monday, calling for a strike on March 28 to fight a contested new labor law that makes it easier for companies to fire young employees.
This is called as a nationwide day of strikes and protests, and as transportation unions are involved, they have the power to shut down the country.
From Libcom.
Tbey also report that a union demonstrator was trampled by police and badly injured. Police then refused to call for medical help. He is in a coma, the union is furious, and this movement has a rallying symbol.
Street protests have been a French tradition since the storming of the Bastille in 1789.
The protagonists/participants of the riots a few months ago were the marginalised suburban poor while the middle classes are in the vanguard withese riots.
There is a curious uniformity in government response. Sarkozy painted himself into a corner a few months ago just as Villepin has managed to do this time. Just like Sarkozy, Villepin doesn’t dare backtrack as that is political suicide in the forthcoming elections.