Facing a push for deep reforms by President Emmanuel Macron targeting the public sector and businesses, French unions begin a wave of strikes on Tuesday that analysts say will test how much weight they still carry.
Workers at the state rail operator SNCF will start downing tools two days out of every five – a strategy aimed at limiting lost wages – but the disruptions are likely to spill over into non-strike days as well.
Unions are reacting to government plans to revamp the debt-laden and loss-making SNCF which they believe – despite consistent denials from the government – is a first step towards privatisation.
Under the reform plans, new employees would not benefit from a special status historically given to railway workers, which guarantees them a job for life and early retirement.
SNCF chief Guillaume Pepy warned on Sunday that some train lines might be closed due to the walk-outs, which are projected to last until June and could lead to disruption increasing over time.
"Three days after normal services resume, another strike sequence will start. It'll completely disorganise our work," he told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
Mr Pepy, who has warned that just "one train in five or one in eight" trains will be running, urged passengers to stay away from stations unless their train was confirmed, starting from Monday night.
Transport minister Elisabeth Borne, interviewed in the Sunday version of the Parisien newspaper, called the industrial action "incomprehensible".
A new poll by the Ifop survey group published on Sunday showed that 46 per cent of respondents found the strike "justified", an increase of four points from two weeks ago.
Only a slim majority, 51 per cent, thought the government "should complete the reform as it has been announced".
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Opinion: As Europe drifts away from its roots, Macron fizzes with ideas
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Rail workers will be joined by striking rubbish collectors in Paris and other major cities who demand the creation of a national waste service as well as the right to early retirement.
Electricity and gas employees will also launch strike action, although it was unclear what the consequences might be for their customers.
The protests follow a series of demonstrations or strikes by civil servants, teachers, pensioners and students who have been stirred up by Mr Macron's multi-front reform drive.
Unions have so far failed to block any of the changes proposed by the centrist leader since his election last year, a victory that virtually swept away the Socialist Party, long the political champion of the labour movement.
But by taking on the SNCF, a totem of French unionism, Mr Macron has inevitably drawn comparisons to a previous turning point in Europe's industrial relations: Margaret Thatcher's showdown with British coal mine unions in 1984.
Mr Macron appears to be seizing the opportunity provided by his surprise victory in presidential and parliamentary elections last May and June, when he stood as a reformist candidate promising to transform France.
Like controversial labour market reforms last October, he has promised to push through the SNCF overhaul by executive order to avoid a lengthy debate in parliament, while also pressing ahead in other areas.
With French opinion divided between "resignation" and "deep conviction that things must move forward," French political scientist Philippe Braud said: "the planets were aligned: so many reforms have been aborted over the past 20 years".
France's union landscape has also shifted markedly, with the hardline CGT recently dethroned as the biggest player by the more moderate CFDT, which has refused calls for a "convergence" of the various protests.
Union membership has also plummeted, with just over 11 per cent of French workers unionised, according to the Organidation for Economic Co-operation and Development, one of the lowest levels in the EU.
However, unions continue to punch above their weight and even the CFDT chief Laurent Berger has warned Mr Macron against "knocking over everything", describing his method as "You discuss, I decide".
Fresh on the heels of loosening France's strict labour rules to make hiring-and-firing easier, Mr Macron appears eager to take advantage of his momentum.
But he will need to overcome union resistance and hope that the various groups affected by his changes do not form a united front against him.
CGT head Philippe Martinez, whose union is the biggest at the SNCF, said last week that France was poised for another May 1968, when a series of strikes snowballed into a social revolution.
Fifty years ago, "There was no general call for a strike, but a chain reaction of mobilisations that came together," Mr Martinez told L'Humanite newspaper.
The%20specs%3A%20Panamera%20Turbo%20E-Hybrid
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Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
How to help
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Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5