New strikes push France to the brink

The French government was heading for the worst conflict with its trade unions for more than a decade last night after two of the biggest unions called for an escalation of the 10-day old strikes.

In response, the government announced emergency transport measures to get France moving by breaking the strikers' grip.

Dropping a pledge not to talk domestic politics during the Francophone summit in Cotonou, Benin, President Jacques Chirac, said that France had no alternative but to put its economic house in order. "France is at something of a crossroads," he said. "Either she continues on the road to decline, continuing to take the soft option ... or she attacks with courage this disease that is gnawing away at us and which we call public deficits."

The strikes, which began as a protest against planned reforms to France's health and social security system, have brought to a halt the national rail system and many local transport and public services.

From this morning, the Paris authorities have hired more than 1,000 coaches from commercial operators which will ply between suburban stations and designated points inside the city's inner ring road. The Paris tour boat company, Bateaux Mouche, has also placed two of its 1,000-seater boats at the disposal of the city to facilitate east-west travel across the capital. Similar measures are being introduced in other big cities.

Public transport in Paris has been at a standstill for more than a week, and traffic jams have made commuter journeys of 20 minutes three- and four-hour trials of patience.

Damage to the economy has yet to be estimated, but the industry minister, Franck Borotra, said at the weekend that more than half of all French small and medium-sized businesses were either closed or facing difficulties with supplies. Trade in city centre shops is said to be down 40 per cent compared with this time last year. Car makers Renault and Peugeot, have warned of impending lay-offs.

Intent on turning the screw on the government, Marc Blondel, who heads France's second biggest union, the Force Ouvriere, called on Saturday for the strikes to be extended into the private sector, demanding the "total withdrawal" of the planned social security reforms.

Louis Viannet, the leader of the CGT, with members in the power sector and hospitals, was less categorical, calling at the union's annual congress for "negotiations, but real negotiations" with ministers. He was also more cautious about the extent to which the private sector - where fewer than 10 per cent of employees belong to a union - would join in.

The strikes also currently affect more than half the country's postal sorting offices and the power sector. Telecommunications workers, and hospital staff (but not doctors), will strike from today, as well as some tax clerks and state bank employees, while the airlines plan to strike from Thursday.

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