Sarkozy Wins a Round with French Unions

French President Nicolas Sarkozy may be on the way to achieving some of the reforms he promised the French electorate in the recent campaign. After nine days, the French train drivers went back to work and to start negotiating with the government. As one official said, “The very fact that the unions have come to the table is a breakthrough.”

According to the French national railway company [SNCF], two percent of its workers were still out on strike, or at least off the job, after the union voted to go back to work. The high speed Tres Grande Vitesse trains are operating as usual in and out of Paris, but traffic is still at about 50% between other cities. SNCF expects the week-end to be normal.

The whole strike stemmed from the president’s decision to cut back on special retirement privileges that the train drivers enjoy. These were established in the 1940s when train driving was a much more dangerous occupation. Realistically, the union is going to have to bend, but the walk-out probably bought its leadership some credibility with the firebrands in the ranks. Once the base is shored up, they can make concessions.

Mr. Sarkozy isn’t out of the woods yet, though. Sud-RATP, a union that accounts for about 7% of the striking workers, has vowed to go back out on strike if the talks about to begin don’t result in some kind of success. Olivier Cots, the Sud-RATP boss, said his workers would walk off the job again around December 18, about the time the talks are scheduled to end.

A Christmas strike would be a huge inconvenience for the French, and indeed, for most Western Europeans. Travel in France affects travel across the continent. This means Mr. Sarkozy has won only one round. He needs to be careful in how he uses the victory.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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