US embassy cable - 05PARIS1649

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001649 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/WE, DRL/IL AND INR/EUR 
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB 
DEPT OF COMMERCE FOR ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, ELAB, EU, FR, PGOV, SOCI 
SUBJECT: GENERAL STRIKE MARCH 10 -- MORE PRESSURE ON 
GOVERNMENT TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL DISCONTENT 
 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  A nationwide general strike March 10 
called by public sector unions took place peacefully, and 
without causing major disruption.  Striking public and 
private sector employees protested loss of purchasing power, 
low salaries and proposed reforms to the 35-hour work week 
and the national education system.  The mobilization of some 
570,000 demonstrators (according to the police) throughout 
the country was deemed a success by organizers, particularly 
given that a significant percentage of the protesters came 
from the private sector.  A sour economy, record government 
deficits, unemployment stuck at ten percent, rising housing 
and consumer prices, and stagnant salaries have produced 
significant social tensions.  Prime Minister Raffarin on 
March 11 promised to "find the right balance between 
listening and courage," saying his government would heed the 
discontented while staying the course on its unpopular reform 
proposals.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
MARCH 10 GENERAL STRIKE 
----------------------- 
2. (SBU) French public and private sector workers went on 
strike March 10 to protest the loss of purchasing power and 
government plans to reform the 35-hour work week.  More than 
115 demonstrations took place throughout France.  Railroad 
workers, public school teachers, and employees at the post 
office and state-owned utilities made up the bulk of the 
protesters.  Students also joined in, continuing their series 
of protests against the government's proposed reform of the 
education system.  Private sector demonstrators came from the 
banking, automobile and food manufacturing industries. 
Organizers highlighted the participation of private sector 
workers, as the unions claim that all French workers -- not 
just public sector employees -- are unhappy with the state of 
the economy and the government's reform programs.  No 
specific figures were reported, but press reports indicated 
that private sector employees made up a "significant" 
percentage of yesterday's protesters. 
 
 
LOSS OF PURCHASING POWER 
------------------------ 
3. (SBU) In an effort to attract a greater level of 
participation from private sector workers, the unions made 
the steady erosion of purchasing power (due to stagnant wage 
levels and steadily rising prices, particularly since the 
introduction of the Euro just over four years ago) the focus 
of yesterday's protests.  Many private sector workers favor 
the government's proposal to allow workers the possibility of 
working more than 35 hours per week by allowing more 
overtime.  The government promotes its 35-hour reform 
proposals by focusing on the purchasing power theme.  "If you 
want to earn more," former Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy 
was fond of saying, "you should be allowed to work more." 
Sarkozy was also instrumental in passing a reform measure 
allowing greater price competition among France's large-scale 
retail stores. 
 
 
 
NUMBERS OF PROTESTERS INCREASING 
-------------------------------- 
4. (SBU) There have been three strike/demonstration days in 
the last three months, each one larger than the one before. 
On January 20, some 250,000 people marched across France.  On 
February 5, a total of 450,000 was recorded.  On March 10, 
according to the lower police estimate, there were 570,000 
demonstrators in the streets across the country (according to 
the unions, there were more than one million). 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
5. (SBU) A higher number of protesters turned out for this 
strike than did during the most recent such nationwide wave 
of protests -- in 2003 against the Raffarin government's 
package of retirement reforms.  Having "held firm" in the 
face of the demonstrators in 2003, Raffarin's center-right 
government paid for it in the subsequent March 2004 regional 
elections when the left won control of 20 of the 22 regions 
in metropolitan France.  Media commentators have seized on 
this parallel, speculating that if the government "holds 
firm" in its reform proposals, protesters and their 
sympathizers will use the upcoming EU referendum as an 
opportunity to cast a "sanction vote" against the government. 
 On March 11, at an event commemorating the centenary of the 
birth of French political philosopher Raymond Aron, Prime 
Minister Raffarin, quoting an observation of Aron's about the 
importance, in governing successfully, of finding the right 
balance between "listening and courage" committed his 
government to taking into account the concerns of the 
discontented while continuing to press forward needed, albeit 
unpopular, reforms.  END COMMENT. 
Leach