French rail staff brought the country to a standstill yesterday with the first day of a three-month rolling strike in protest over Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul state transport and liberalise the economy.
Dubbed “Black Tuesday” by the French media, the strikes are expected to see more than 75% of drivers walk out for two days out of every five until the end of June. All four main rail unions are observing the strike, with only one in eight high-speed TGV trains scheduled to run.
The coordinated protest, which followed a nationwide ‘day of action’ last week, “threatens to become the largest and most chaotic industrial action” against Macron’s reforms, says The Guardian.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Air France employees are also on strike, and there are calls for rubbish collectors and energy sector workers to walk out in solidarity.
The Guardian says the rail sector is “traditionally one of France’s riskiest political issues; a battleground on which Macron is refusing to budge in order to prove that he can face down strikes and continue with a liberalising overhaul of other sectors”.
The BBC says the unrest “presents Macron’s biggest challenge since his election last May”. However, “there are three reasons why President Macron feels relatively optimistic about the rail strike”, says the BBC’s Paris correspondent, Hugh Schofield.
First, unlike the last successful mass strike in the 1990s, “this time there can be no mistaking the government’s intention to reform”, fulfilling as it does one of Macron’s central campaign pledges on which he was elected.
Second, there is far less sympathy for rail workers after years of steadily declining services. And third, changes to working practices in recent years means more people can work remotely, lessening the impact of the strike.
All that said, “these will be tense weeks for the government”, says Schofield, “a wrong move and public opinion could easily shift back behind the strikers”.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
The France-Indonesia push for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solutionTalking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
