FRANCE: Striking petrochemical workers continue to blockade refinery despite Senate approval of controversial pension law

Record ID: 572518

  • Title: FRANCE: Striking petrochemical workers continue to blockade refinery despite Senate approval of controversial pension law
  • Date: 24th October 2010
  • Summary: LOUDSPEAKER ON VAN VARIOUS OF PICKET LINE/ PEOPLE WITH FLAGS
  • Embargoed: 8th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA8ISIHZQXPCCHS7GSXPYL1PKQ
  • Story Text: About 100 striking petrochemical workers blockaded a refinery west of Paris on Saturday (23 October) in one of the few protests to take place following the approval by the Senate of a controversial pension reform bill.
    The bill, which raises the minimum retirement age in France from 60 to 62, was rushed past a first hurdle in the National Assembly last month and cleared a second on Friday (October 22) when the government used a special procedure to speed the vote in the Senate. It will become law next Wednesday (October 27) when parliament formally ratifies it.
    The atmosphere at Saturday's demonstration was more one of a rainy barbecue in a parking lot than a heated protest, as demonstrators gathered in the main car park outside the installation, their brightly coloured flags sodden with rain.
    Union leaders said they were merely doing the same as other striking workers.
    "Blocking this refinery makes a difference, because we're all united on the question. But our friends in the banks and secure transport workers (who transport money) have proved that they could block everything. So we're not the only ones who are able to block everything," said CGT union member, Olivier Le Doiron.
    Protesters vowed they could still make President Nicolas Sarkozy back down, despite the fact that the bill is only days away from receiving its final ratification that will bring the measure into law. They pointed to historical precedents for laws that had been passed and were then withdrawn, such as president Francois Mitterrand's climbdown in 1982 over abolishing state schools or the government's cave-in in 2006 over plans to ease the hiring of young people, which sparked widespread demonstration.
    "So tomorrow, it'll be Mr Sarkozy's turn," said Le Doiron, a member of the CGT trade union in front of the plant.
    The law has been one of the most fiercely contested reforms among austerity measures being taken by European governments as the continent emerges deeply indebted from the worst recession since World War Two.
    Unions have signaled their determination to keep fighting the bill despite the fact it now looks certain to make it on to the statute book. All France's main unions have called for two more days of protests on October 28 and November 6.
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