FRENCH TRADE unions regularly compensate for their organisational weakness by staging spectacular days of action enjoying pronounced public approval. Yesterday’s national strike was a case in point. Eight of the country’s unions combined in a protest about how the government is handling the economic crisis and dealing with rising levels of unemployment and inequality.
The large impact on everyday life certainly ensured their case was heard, rebutting President Nicolas Sarkozy’s remark last year that when strikes happen these days in France, nobody notices. Opinion polls show widespread public approval for the actions, reflecting a disenchantment with government policy, disappointment with his failure to deliver on promises and dissatisfaction with the unbalanced way the recent €26 billion stimulus programme has been organised. He will have to take account of this protest if it is not to escalate.
In fact France has not yet been quite as badly affected by the worldwide downturn as other European Union member states, like Spain, the United Kingdom or Ireland, since it is not as exposed in the financial sector or through property bubbles. But unemployment is rising fast and strategic industries are being hit hard. On top of that the reversal of economic fortunes since Mr Sarkozy’s election in 2007 undermines his capacity to combine structural reforms to encourage innovation with continuing growth. No wonder he made another remark last month that France is not the easiest country to govern. That was after he withdrew a reform of the secondary school system for fear it would embolden a student union influenced by the wave of violent street protests in Greece. Yesterday’s events were stimulated by a radical new rank and file trade union movement influenced by a resurgent extreme left commanding widespread support among workers disillusioned with the existing union leaders. In response, that leadership took the initiative to organise a national action.
Only a small minority of French workers in most industries and services are actually trade union members, but many more are willing to support them on these occasions. As a result direct action takes the place of the grinding negotiations between social partners we are used to in Ireland, where union membership is higher and national strikes more rare. But it would be a mistake for other EU states not to take proper notice of what happened yesterday in France, since their citizens are subject to the same socio-economic pressures.