Hundreds of thousands of workers marched in nearly 200 cities in France on March 23 in a one-day strike to protest President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to enact pension reform in the country. Estimates from unions in France say that, along with union workers from the railway and suburban train sector, over half of the country’s teachers took part in the strike.
During the strike, workers raised issues such as job security, unemployment and the growing woes caused by the economic crisis. The massive outpouring of the country’s workers came after Sarkozy’s announcement that he was getting rid of his minister of labor following a massive electoral defeat.
Though the president is expected to meet with labor unions later in March and into April, it can be expected that the government will try to make workers continue paying for the economic crisis. Workers will have to maintain unity and momentum to successfully push back this offensive.
