A LEADING French trade union has announced a fresh week of demonstrations and possibly strikes next month in protest against the overhaul of the social welfare system. This is despite a major climb down by the Government which has left little of the originally sweeping reform.
The communist run CGT, which was in the forefront of the three week public service strikes which crippled the country in November and December last year, announced a new week of action starting on February 5th.
Its leader, Mr Louis Viannet, said the protest would be against what remains of the Government's plans to reform the indebted social security system, but also to campaign for higher wages, pensions and reduced working hours. He urged both public and private sector workers to take part in the protests, which, he said, should culminate in a national day of demonstrations on Sunday, February 11th.
"The dispute over our demands is a long, very long way from being resolved," he said. "The enormous industrial movement which saw action by millions of wage earners, pensioners and unemployed continues to bear fruit."
The action may be joined by one of the main teachers' unions, the FSU, which is to announce its protest plans today.
The new protests will come just after the first of the Government's reforms a new 0.5 per cent tax to repay the social security debt further erodes nearly all incomes from February 1st.
. The ruling French conservative party, Rally for the Republic (RPR), yesterday urged that the rotating EU presidency be limited to Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain and that the remaining 10 EU countries be excluded.
The proposal was worked out by an RPR parliamentary working group on Europe, chaired by Mr Pierre Lellouche, ahead of the intergovernmental conference on reforming EU institutions, due to begin in Turin, Italy, in late March.
Mr Lellouche said yesterday "The most effective solution would be to copy the UN Security Council formula," adding, "The presidency would rotate every 21/2 years (half way through the European Commission's mandate) between the five great permanent member states France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain." At present, the IS EU member states rotate in turn for a six month presidency.