CORSICA: Thousands of stranded tourists were set to leave Corsica on Sunday (2 October) as workers ended a strike blocking the ports

Record ID: 858867

  • Title: CORSICA: Thousands of stranded tourists were set to leave Corsica on Sunday (2 October) as workers ended a strike blocking the ports
  • Date: 3rd October 2005
  • Summary: TOURISTS WITH BIKES WAITING TO BOARD GERMAN CAR NUMBER PLATE TOURISTS ON BICYCLES (2 SHOTS) MEDIA PAN TO WAITING TOURISTS ON CYCLES TOURISTS BOARDING THE FERRY (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 18th October 2005 13:00
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  • Topics: Employment
  • Reuters ID: LVAECKG1OKUV33U4IGF1C4QF6VE6
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  • Story Text: Around 7,000 stranded tourists were set to leave Corsica on Sunday (2 October) and workers striking over a ferry privatisation said they would clear the rest of the French island's blocked ports until Tuesday when their action will resume.
    Police in riot gear were forced to intervene to reopen the blocked port of Ajaccio on Saturday to allow in food and medical supplies and let the first tourists leave.
    Port authorities said all holidaymakers should be able to leave by Monday evening.
    Ajaccio had been the only open port until Corsica's main union decided at a meeting on Sunday to allow traffic at other ports to pass.
    At the old port of Bastia, long lines on cars as well as tourists on bikes or bicycles lined up to board the first ferry getting ready to leave the port on Sunday (2 October).
    "From Bastia, this is the first crossing and we had the feeling of freeing the people, specially the passengers who had been blocked here for several days. We are leaving at 1:30, then we have another later on", said Roland Ferrari, commercial representative for the Corsica Ferry company as he escorted passengers getting ready to leave.
    The union plans to resume the blockade on Tuesday, when workers across France will strike to protest against high unemployment, low wages and several privatisations.
    The strikes were called over the government's planned privatisation of the SNCM ferry company with the expected loss of 400 jobs including some in Corsica.
    The police on Saturday removed workers from the Girolata ship that they had been occupying since Wednesday blocking Ajaccio to other craft carrying cargo and passengers.
    The strikes have provoked violent protests and ignited political tensions on the island where separatists have carried out low-key attacks since the 1970s.
    Around 15,000 tourists had been stuck on the island, some for nearly a week.
    Five ferries were expected to collect thousands more holiday makers on Sunday after about 7,000 of them were taken to the French ports of Nice, Toulon and to the Italian port of Savona during the night.
    Each ship was searched before departure in order to prevent a repeat of the bomb alert on the Girolata that left on Saturday morning with 525 passengers.
    A bomb squad was forced to land on the ship by helicopter in the middle of the sea, causing concern to the passengers. It was found to be a false alert.
    French police also intervened on Saturday to clear the mainland southern port of Marseille, including the Lavera and Fos petrochemicals and oil terminals, which had also been blocked by workers protesting the SNCM privatisation.
    Docking workers declared a strike in response to the police action so any incoming ships could not be unloaded.
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