France Is on Strike But the Real Problem Is Even Worse: Q&A
- New labor actions expected this week as transit workers join
- PM Valls says he won’t back down on controversial labor law
Protesters block access to an oil depot in western France on May 27.
Photographer: Jean-Sebastien Evrard/AFP via Getty ImagesFrench President Francois Hollande is facing the most serious public unrest since he came to office four years ago. Most of the country’s refineries have been on strike for a week. Protesters have blockaded refineries and fuel depots, causing shortages and long lines at gasoline stations. Air traffic controllers and electrical workers have joined in. And the turmoil has exacerbated a labor dispute already underway at the national railroad.
While the French have stoically gone on with their lives, some protests have turned violent: a police car was torched on the streets of Paris May 18. This week, railroad workers, Paris transport employees and air-traffic controllers plan to strike, and some unions are threatening to disrupt the 24-nation Euro 2016 soccer tournament that begins June 10.