FRANCE: THOUSANDS OF ENERGY SECTOR WORKERS MARCH THROUGH PARIS TO PROTEST GOVERNMENT PLANS TO SELL SHARES IN STATE UTILITIES
Record ID:
648166
FRANCE: THOUSANDS OF ENERGY SECTOR WORKERS MARCH THROUGH PARIS TO PROTEST GOVERNMENT PLANS TO SELL SHARES IN STATE UTILITIES
- Title: FRANCE: THOUSANDS OF ENERGY SECTOR WORKERS MARCH THROUGH PARIS TO PROTEST GOVERNMENT PLANS TO SELL SHARES IN STATE UTILITIES
- Date: 15th June 2004
- Summary: (U4) PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 15, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. CU: BANNER EDF (Electricit de France) /GDT (Gaz de France) HELD BY PROTESTERS 0.06 2. PROTESTERS MARCHING WITH BANNER AT START OF PROTEST 0.16 3. PROTESTERS MARCHING WITH BANNER 0.21 4. WS: PROTESTERS WITH BANNER READING : "NO TO THE LAW PROJECT" 0.23 5. VARIOUS: PROTESTERS MARCHING (4 SHOTS) 0.48 6. (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER SAYING "It is in every way the dictate of Maastricht, with the opening to competition which today calls for the need of privatisation. If we go ahead with the Maastricht criteria, it will be the confirmation of a logic that Mr Sarkozy but others before him, put in place." 1.05 7. VARIOUS: PROTESTERS MARCHING 1.16 8. ZOOM OUT: PROTESTERS WITH BANNER ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY 1.23 9. PROTESTERS MARCHING 1.26 10. BALLOON WITH UNION NAME 1.30 11. PROTESTERS MARCHING 1.34 12. (SOUNDBITE) (French) BERNARD THIBAULT, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE CGT, SAYING: "The main point is of course that we are talking about the new dossier of EDF/GCT which is the object of debates in Parliament today, as well as the objective of social security which will be discussed in parliament in the coming days, confronted by the same interlocutors who have all shown to be offering just a dead ear." 1.54 13. VARIOUS: PROTESTORS MARCHING (2 SHOTS) 2.08 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 30th June 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Reuters ID: LVAEWVWKCHXMXHX6KJYRZK73H7HP
- Story Text: Thousands protest against plans announced by French
government to sell shares in state utilities
A few tousands workers from the energy sector
marched along the streets of Paris on Tuesday (June 15, 2004) on
the day of a Parliamentary debate on government plans to
change the utilities' legal status into limited liability
firms. Some 3,000 employees from the state-owned
Electricit de France (EDF), Gaz de France (GDF) and some
other public sector unions supporting the utilities workers
cause, converged in Paris for the protest. The powerful
utilities unions, who fear for jobs and the French
tradition of public services, are concerned that the debate
will be a key step before a sell-off of shares in the
firms.
"It is in every way the dictate of Maastricht, with the
opening to competition which today calls for the need of
privatisation. If we go ahead with the Maastricht criteria,
it will be the confirmation of a logic that Mr Sarkozy, but
others before him, put in place!", a protestor told Reuters
Television during the rally.
France's Communist-linked CGT labour union had vowed on
Monday (14 June) to trigger possible power cuts by
orchestrating a nationwide drop in electricity output to
take place in tandem with the street protests. The
coordinated action, they said, would be primarily aimed at
France's nuclear reactors and could oblige EdF to implement
a number of power cuts.
EDF workers have carried out various commando-style
actions in recent weeks as the government prepares
legislation to change the status of the fully state-owned
utility and pave the way for the sale of a stake in EdF's
capital to private investors.
"The main point is of course that we are talking about
the new dossier of EDF/GCT which is the object of debates
in Parliament today, as well as the objective of social
security which will be discussed in parliament in the
coming days, confronted by the same interlocutors who have
all shown to be offering just a dead ear", said Bernard
Thibault, secretary general of the CGT.
Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy is due to present the
bill to parliament later on Tuesday (15 June), and unions
expect protests to take place also in other cities outside
the capital from the morning onwards, to voice their
grievances over a sale they believe will lead to
privatisation.
One of the most spectacular operations by workers
involved a direct cut in power supplies to three Paris
railway stations at the beginning of last week, leading to
the cancellation or delay of trains ferrying half a million
people to work. Last week also, media reported that dozens
of households that had been cut off because of unpaid bills
were reconnected by staff as part of the protests.
Strikes and go-slow protests in the past decade have
rarely led to direct cuts in national power supplies and
experts say
unions are unlikely to do anything that could lead to cuts
in household supplies for fear of losing public support.
While France has been slow to open its own doors to
competition in the utilities industry, EDF has been quick
to expand globally. One of the world's top electric
utilities (as well as one of the last major state-owned
energy monopolies in Europe), EDF has a generating capacity
of more than 100,000 MW and provides power to 32 million
French customers. Internationally, the company has
interests in electric and gas utilities that serve 15
million customers, and it operates power plants that
generate 20,000 MW of capacity in Europe, Africa, the
Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.
Nuclear plants provide more than 60% of EDF's domestic
power supply; other sources include hydroelectric and
fossil-fueled plants. The company is also developing
renewable energy facilities. Making use of its extensive
experience, especially in developing nuclear power, EDF
builds power plants and provides plant management and
consulting services worldwide.
EDF is investing aggressively abroad, including in the
liberalized markets of its European neighbors, which has
spurred criticism for the company since it has been
relatively intransigent in opening its own market.
Currently only 30% of the French market has been opened,
just more than the percentage required by European Union
rulings. Deregulation of 70% of the market is scheduled for
July 2004, with full competition taking effect in 2007. EDF
is auctioning off capacity rights to some of its domestic
generation facilities to comply with EU regulations, it is
also working to create partnerships with other European
utilities to allow more access to the French market.
The French government nationalized hundreds of regional
private firms to form Electricit de France in 1946 as part
of an effort to rebuild the nation's badly shaken post-war
economy. This was a marked difference from the notoriously
complex and inefficient pre-war electrical industry.
By the 1950s EDF had taken advantage of the centralized
control and developed massive hydroelectric projects.
Hydroelectric power would account for more than 70% of
EDF's power. But in France as elsewhere, hydro wasn't
enough to keep up with the growing demand for electricity,
and fossil fuels became an increasingly important power
source. Then came the oil shortages of the 1970s, and
France -- with limited domestic supplies of oil and gas --
began searching for alternatives to fossil-fueled plants.
Nuclear power was determined to be the answer.
The 1990s brought with them deregulation. EDF fought to
keep its UK-France grid closed to other energy sellers.
After the government forbade the utility from diversifying
into areas other than electricity in 1995, the company
turned its attention to foreign investment, especially in
Latin America.
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