Of course, Air France could not miss this chance to raise a little havoc just before the weekend... so they joined in! Postal workers and other public service staff are expected to protest and even the police intend to hold action in support of the strikes from 10am to 3pm across all police services.
It continues with lorry drivers intending to blockade major French roads from December 7 onwards. Ambulance drivers and hospital workers, who by the way were on strike last week already, will likely join the fray and recent striking firefighters might be added to the mix.
Bienvenue en France! Even for a country with a reputation for strikes, today's walkouts could be the biggest the country has seen in years.
What are they protesting against? The French government’s proposed pension reforms. What's worrying is that the RATP (Paris transport network) have called for “unlimited strikes” and want this to be only the first, so it’s likely to continue.... some say even until Christmas.
Jogging past some main road accesses this morning traffic around Trocadero, Porte Dauphine and the Arc de Triomphe did not seem worse that usual. I was a pleased to see a great deal of people walking and clearly taking the annoyance of not being able to ride their beloved metro with a pinch of salt.
There were many more joggers than usual out in the freezing temperatures this morning which I took as a good sign. Clearly the French are used to this kind of disruption in their daily routine, they even support it.
Growing up in a country where strikes were against the law, it is beyond my understanding how an entire country can be so stubborn. France has the 5th highest GNP in the world where 22% of its workforce are "foncionnaires" occupying civil services. The 35-hour week is the official length of the working week in France, one of the shortest working weeks in Europe.... and STILL they are complaining.
But in France today it’s simply business as usual... nothing works the way it should!
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