With much of the world looking on in bewilderment, France remains in turmoil amid its most disruptive wave of strikes, blockades and street protests in 15 years.
Unions, students and other demonstrators protesting against Nicolas Sarkozy's proposed pension reforms have closed about a third of the country's petrol stations, paralysing everyday life in many areas.
Numerous flights and trains have been cancelled and port blockades in the second city of Marseille have prevented a fleet of tankers from delivering oil to refineries.
Serious outbreaks of lawlessness are adding to the impact of the industrial action. Rioters have set fire to cars and schools, looted shops and clashed with police, confronting the country with its worst civil unrest since violent disturbances spread from the immigrant-dominated suburbs of Paris to most cities and towns in 2005.
It is the combination of widespread strikes and rioting that makes the present crisis deeper than any since 1995, when the then prime minister Alain Juppe was forced to abandon his attempt to reform the pension system.
Although the upper house of the French parliament may pass Mr Sarkozy's plan as early as today after the government moved yesterday to accelerate its passage through the Senate, unions and students are already considering how to continue their action into next week.
With masked young thugs of no obvious political alignment on the fringes of demonstrations, there is fear on both sides about where the crisis is leading.
The president says he will not back down, describing the reforms, which would raise the minimum age of retirement from 60 to 62, and the age for entitlement to full pensions from 65 to 67, as "neither left nor right wing but good sense". Pension deficits have reached €32 billion (Dh164bn) a year, a level he insists the country cannot sustain.
Mr Sarkozy has ordered police to clear blockades of fuel depots and knows he would forfeit credibility internationally, and among his centre-right voters, if he succumbed to street power.
But comparisons with the spring revolt of 1968, when workers and students seemed on the point of bringing down the government, are now commonplace, dominating television and radio discussion programmes only a few weeks after being dismissed as exaggerated.
The stakes are high even if the immediate cause of the discontent seems, to many outsiders, relatively trivial. In most other countries, where people are already accustomed to working until 65 and will have to wait even longer for retirement in future, the bid to overhaul the system to take account of greater longevity appears to fall far short of revolutionary.
However the French, cushioned by a generous welfare state that has produced a much-envied health service and strong protection for employees as well as comfortable pensions, are in no mood to give up what they see as hard-won benefits.
Mr Sarkozy was elected on a platform of reform, but has shared the fate of presidential predecessors – popular resistance – when trying to implement his programme.
No one is surprised that recent opinion polls show 70 per cent of the country in support of the strikes and his own rating as its lowest since he took office.
Mr Sarkozy may be counting on public opinion turning against the strikers. But Bernard Thibault, leader of the powerful CGT union, called in a radio interview yesterday for a new round of protests.
"The government remains intransigent," he said. "We need to continue with massive action."
Jerome Sainte-Marie, the head of political research for the CSA polling institute, says both the government and the unions are losing control, with even the socialist opposition apprehensive "because they could be largely discredited if there are excesses".
He told the business magazine L'Expansion that popular support for strikes had peaked and may now fall with opinion swayed by fuel shortages, roadblocks and, above all, images of violence by youths beyond union control.
Yet some analysts attach most blame to Mr Sarkozy and say he will emerge severely weakened even if his gains ground.
Jacques Reland, head of European research at the left-leaning Global Policy Institute, said: "Although it is surprising to see certain groups – refinery and rail workers who would not suffer too much from pension reform – acting so strongly, they see what is happening as the thin end of the wedge. They feel that to give in on this would hand a blank cheque to the government to dismantle France's welfare state."
Mr Reland feels that even if Mr Sarkozy wins this battle, he will have alienated so many people with his style of government that he would stand little chance of winning a second presidential term.
crandall1@gmail.com
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
