Street riots mar Paris bid for 2012 Olympics

[Bluezoo]

Street riots mar Paris bid for 2012 Olympics
By Henry Samuel in Paris
(Filed: 09/03/2005)

The chances of Paris hosting the 2012 Olympics suffered a setback yesterday with scuffles and tear gas spreading through the city centre as inspectors from the International Olympic Committee arrived.

Rowdy demonstrations by tens of thousands of students resulted in clashes with the police and smashed shop windows, the very worst welcome for the IOC's 13-member team.

The skirmishes also marred a march by an estimated 40,000 secondary school pupils through central Paris to protest against the government's education reforms.

But the Olympic officials avoided the violence and were quickly shuttled to the Grand Hotel Intercontinental, where they spent the night ahead of their four-day inspection.

"Social democracy cannot be put on hold for seven years just because of the 2012 Olympics," said Bertrand Delanoë, the city's mayor, putting a brave face on the disruption. "We are a democratic country, where debate is freely expressed."

The timing of the IOC's visit could not have been worse. The student protest is merely the start of a week of nationwide industrial action, set to culminate in the total shutdown of public transport tomorrow, the day the inspectors will be touring the city's venues and infrastructure.

"We mustn't hide it from abroad. France is seen as a country of strikes," said Philippe Baudillon, general director of the Paris bid committee. "A candidate city doesn't deny problems, she shows how to overcome them."

Yet there are fears that the protests could prove fatal to Paris's bid. The city has, until now, been considered the narrow favourite to hold the 2012 Games, with reported support from more than a third of the IOC delegates.

Today laboratory technicians will take to the streets to call for more state research grants.

Tomorrow hundreds of thousands of public sector workers will vent their anger on issues ranging from the reform of the 35-hour working week to employment policies and wages.

The Paris bid committee is hoping that the main CFDT union's pledge to respect an "Olympic truce" during the Games will calm inspectors' concerns about industrial strife sabotaging the event.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=FUTGAQFREQ5IBQFIQMFSM5WAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2005/03/09/woly09.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/03/09/ixworld.html

[stephane from Paris]

bluezob again.....singing again....

NEVER MIND THE BOLLOX OF Olympic games

And about riot: 50 yougsters who benefits of the mass people to rob some shops what a riot!!!! :)

Save in mind that french people are certainly the one who go the more often in the steets, it's our history!
From Middle age, Paris people did several hard revolts against the King!
One of the last was a revolution!
Here people don't like to be slave of the powerfull ones!
Here people don't thinks that leaders says is alway right!

I knows for you it isn't possible to understand that.

ps: it's not CFDT (center left) but CGT (commies) who is the menace!

[Bluezoo]

Protests and Strikes Give Paris Olympian Headache

By Kerstin Gehmlich

PARIS (*******) - Tens of thousands of French workers marched on Paris on Thursday and strikes crippled public transport, embarrassing the government as Olympic officials visited to assess the city's bid to host the 2012 Games.


"We would have preferred a better advertisement for the candidacy, obviously," Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour told Le Figaro newspaper.


Paris is competing against four other cities to host the Games, but is widely regarded as the favorite.


The demonstration against labor reforms was one of many across the country. Organizers said 150,000 were on the streets in Paris and 800,000 across France.


Unions expressed support for the capital's Olympic ambitions and stressed that the strikes by rail and energy workers, teachers and post office staff were to protests against job cuts and government moves to make the 35-hour work week more flexible.


Queues built up at railway stations as only one train in four served Paris suburbs and some services to cities in southern France were cut by two-thirds. Some 30 percent of rail workers took part in the strike, operator SNCF said at midday.


"What a waste of time!" said Sebastien, a civil servant getting out of the metro. "But I understand people who are on strike. It's important to defend our 35-hour work week."


"I'm quicker on my blades than with the metro," said one young boy speeding through Paris on his rollerskates.


Waving banners reading "For 35 hours, against cut backs," tens of thousands protested in southwestern Bordeaux and Toulouse. Organizers said around 100,000 demonstrated in southern Marseille, but police put the number at 20,000.


"We want to stop the inevitable decline in our purchasing power," said Jean-Louis Peydecastaing, a worker at an oil firm.


Action by air traffic controllers axed up to a quarter of flights at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport, officials said. Delays averaged two hours at theh capital's two main airports.


Thursday's strikes followed protests this week by students and scientists against government reforms, adding to the woes of center-right Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin as he seeks to rally support for a 'Yes' vote in a referendum on the European Union constitution in May.


"Our watchwords are clear: jobs, wages, the 35-hour week," Bernard Thibault from the CGT trade union told Le Parisien daily, saying the government should withdraw its plans to make France's rules on working time more flexible.


OLYMPIC SUPPORT


Unions said the strike was not targetting the four-day visit by the International Olympic Committee inspectors.


"In the march, you will be able to spot T-shirts and banners in favor of Paris's candidacy for the 2012 Games," Francois Chereque from the CFDT trade union told Liberation daily.


The IOC's 13-strong evaluation team were due to inspect France's proposed Olympic venues in and around the capital on Thursday. They have already visited rivals Madrid, London and New York and will visit Moscow next week.

Unsuccessful in bidding for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics, Paris has not hosted the Games since 1924. The IOC will announce the winning city on July 6 in Singapore.

This week's protests come at a delicate time for Raffarin, as surveys indicate a French 'Yes' vote on the EU constitution on May 29 is far from certain.

Some 60 percent of voters would back the constitution, an Ipsos survey in Le Figaro daily showed on Thursday. But only 58 percent of people questioned said they were absolutely certain to cast their ballot.

The government is worried that discontent over reforms might lead voters to reject the EU treaty and they might have cause for concern. On Thursday, protesters waved banners reading "No to the EU text!" next to others saying "Defend the 35 hours!."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=732&e=7&u=/nm/20050310/wl_nm/france_protests_dc

[Bluezoo]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20050310/capt.par10403101000.france_strikes_par104.jpg
Commuters wait for subway trains in Paris early Thursday, March 10, 2005, as unions call for major transport strikes and a massive demonstration to defend the 35-hour work week and to push for more jobs and pay talks. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20050310/capt.par12703101606.france_strike_par127.jpg
Protesters, walking past a banner against Paris' bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, march through Paris, answering the call of unions for a massive turnout to defend France's 35-hour workweek and to push for more jobs and salary talks, Thursday March 10, 2005. Protests nationwide drew big crowds. Banner reads: No to the Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

Strikes Disrupt French Transportation

By JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press Writer

PARIS - Many planes, trains and subways were idle Thursday and postal workers and teachers stayed home in a day of national labor protest that also risked embarrassing organizers of Paris' bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.


Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Paris, answering the call of unions for a massive turnout to defend France's 35-hour workweek and to push for more jobs and pay talks. Protests nationwide drew big crowds, including 35,000 people in Bordeaux and 25,000 in Marseille, police said.


The strike forced commuters in Paris to cram aboard the few trains that were left running. Rush-hour road traffic snaked for miles outside the capital; many schools were shut; and French newspapers devoted their front pages to the mess. Conservative daily Le Figaro carried the banner headline: "France Paralyzed."


Paris' commuter trains and subways were badly hit by the strike that started after rush hour Wednesday and was to last until early Friday. Up to 80 percent of suburban lines were suspended and the Paris Metro was severely disrupted with two lines pulled out of service.


Most Paris buses, specially bedecked with little flags to welcome inspectors from the International Olympic Committee, were running, although service on a dozen lines was rerouted because of street protests.


Unions called for a massive demonstration through Paris to defend the 35-hour work week and to push for more jobs and pay talks.


Nationwide, roughly half of high-speed TGV trains, the pride of France's rail network, and one in three slower Corail trains were running, the SNCF said.


Across France, 55 cities suffered various degrees of disruption, with the Riviera city of Nice crippled by a complete lack of bus service.


Air travelers faced cancellations and delays averaging 45 minutes at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and 90 minutes at Paris' other main airport, Orly, airport authorities said.


Further confounding harried travelers, some all-news radio stations, including France Info and France-Inter, were disrupted by staff walkouts, forcing them to fill airtime with music.


France's postal service said 15 percent of its employees stayed home, while half the nation's teachers skipped class, according to the SNES trade union.


The strike, while not connected with a visit by Olympic inspectors, may give them a sour taste of French labor unrest.


Widely perceived as the favorite over rivals New York, London, Moscow and Madrid, Paris is trying to avoid any missteps ahead of the IOC vote on July 6 that will pick the winning city for the 2012 Olympics.


The 13 IOC inspectors, who arrived Tuesday for a four-day visit, were shown videos and presentations of sites that would be used and the $2.52 billion Olympic Village that would be built on what is now a disused railway yard in northern Paris.


Unions pledged not to disrupt the Olympic committee's visit and were working Thursday with police to ensure that protesters and the IOC inspectors did not cross paths.


Trade unions have pledged support for Paris' Olympic bid and say the strike's timing was unrelated to the IOC tour Thursday of the Eiffel Tower and proposed competition sites.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&ncid=732&e=6&u=/ap/20050310/ap_on_re_eu/france_strikes

[Frogg]

.

Good grief! What are the French not protesting these days?

.

[Bluezoo]

bluezob again.....singing again....

NEVER MIND THE BOLLOX OF Olympic games

And about riot: 50 yougsters who benefits of the mass people to rob some shops what a riot!!!! :)

Save in mind that french people are certainly the one who go the more often in the steets, it's our history!
From Middle age, Paris people did several hard revolts against the King!
One of the last was a revolution!
Here people don't like to be slave of the powerfull ones!
Here people don't thinks that leaders says is alway right!

I knows for you it isn't possible to understand that.

ps: it's not CFDT (center left) but CGT (commies) who is the menace!

France: the last true monarchy in Europe?
Financial Times - Dominique Moisi

COULD France be the last true European monarchy? That is the question raised by the scandal over a state-funded apartment that led to the forced resignation of the finance minister, Herve Gaymard, last month, and the release of a fictionalised film about the last year in the life of Francois Mitterrand.

His lack of common sense may end up being just a sad footnote to recent French political history, but it sheds light on a fundamental flaw in the attitude of French elites, their understanding of the nature of power, and the gap between those who incarnate the state and French society.

The failure of Gaymard and his wife — a powerful public figure — to appreciate how their choice of a huge and expensive apartment would be seen by the rest of France shows how the elite continues to assume it will be offered exceptional privileges in return for serving the republic.

This flaw is very well-described in Le Promeneur du Champs de Mars, a film based on the book written by the young journalist Mitterrand chose to be his confidant during his last year in power.

Mitterrand is portrayed as a dying monarch, obsessed with the deterioration of his body through cancer and preserving his image, despite the revelation of his ongoing postwar contacts with some of the Vichy regime’s most dubious figures.

Boasting about outlasting Charles de Gaulle and comparing his presidency with the long reign of Napoleon III, the screen Mitterrand sees himself as the last true French president, convinced that, after his death, France will be led by “accountants”.

Countries, it is said, get political leaders they deserve. It seems unlikely France’s ruling class will ever voluntarily embrace a style more in line with the Protestant modesty of northern Europe’s leaders.

French citizens do, however, have a split personality when it comes to their attitude towards the state. They expect much — from protection to prestige — and yet they are ready to rebel against the state’s daily incarnations and are quick to take to the streets to block any attempt at reform. ;)

France’s political elite normally thrives on exploiting the contradictions of French society’s relationship with the state. But French leaders also risk losing the electorate’s respect if they abuse their position.

Traditionally, the political class exploits French people’s expectations of a certain type of leader — a monarch rather than an accountant — by assuming it will receive certain privileges in return.

The French elite craves powerful jobs not only to serve the public good but as a means of escaping normal life — using motorcades to beat traffic jams, to cite one mundane example. The longer such power is exercised, the more its holders lose touch with reality.

The French may punish the elite’s unwillingness to give up its privileges in two ways. They may vote “no” in the forthcoming referendum on the European constitutional treaty to show their distaste with those in power, or they may back a politician from a new generation — Nicolas Sarkozy — to become the next president.

Neither vote would amount to a real blow to the monarchical tendencies of the French elite. Opposition to the constitutional treaty would slow European Union integration, which is likely to rein in the excesses of national politicians. A vote for Sarkozy might not be a vote for change: his critics already accuse him of demonstrating imperial tendencies.

- Moisi is senior adviser at the French Institute for International Relations.
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A26662

[Malc]

Is anyone really surprised that the French are striking? it just pisses me off cus when the French strike they have to close the ports which means all the fright waiting to leave the UK for France has no where togo, which means they shutdown half of the M20 (My local motorway) to use it as a lorry park.

But on the upside this improves London's chances.

[roland]

Yeah, those srikes suck and not only because of the Olympics. This is always the same that are whinning: the civil servants and the like.
There system is costly and ineficient, if only it made them happy ! but no so I don't see the point of keeping there archaic social system.
But hey I guess those domestic problems doesn't interest our foreigners friends does it ?
Unfortunately, the only interested are those who don't miss an occasion to bad mouth about France. I don't understand that. :cantbeli:

[Bluezoo]

Yeah, those srikes suck and not only because of the Olympics. This is always the same that are whinning: the civil servants and the like.
There system is costly and ineficient, if only it made them happy ! but no so I don't see the point of keeping there archaic social system.
But hey I guess those domestic problems doesn't interest our foreigners friends does it ?
Unfortunately, the only interested are those who don't miss an occasion to bad mouth about France. I don't understand that. :cantbeli:

Yup, Associated Press and the press in general are colluding to bring France down. I've seen better days. rofl

To those who report news about France: "se taire" ! Why? But, butt..."Tais-toi" !

[roland]

Yeah, those srikes suck and not only because of the Olympics. This is always the same that are whinning: the civil servants and the like.
There system is costly and ineficient, if only it made them happy ! but no so I don't see the point of keeping there archaic social system.
But hey I guess those domestic problems doesn't interest our foreigners friends does it ?
Unfortunately, the only interested are those who don't miss an occasion to bad mouth about France. I don't understand that. :cantbeli:

Yup, Associated Press and the press in general are colluding to bring France down. I've seen better days. rofl

To those who report news about France: "se taire" ! Why? But, butt..."Tais-toi" !

I was speaking of lowlife kids like YOU moron. obviously, I'm affraid, you don't understand things like normal persons.

[Bluezoo]

Yeah, those srikes suck and not only because of the Olympics. This is always the same that are whinning: the civil servants and the like.
There system is costly and ineficient, if only it made them happy ! but no so I don't see the point of keeping there archaic social system.
But hey I guess those domestic problems doesn't interest our foreigners friends does it ?
Unfortunately, the only interested are those who don't miss an occasion to bad mouth about France. I don't understand that. :cantbeli:

Yup, Associated Press and the press in general are colluding to bring France down. I've seen better days. rofl

To those who report news about France: "se taire" ! Why? But, butt..."Tais-toi" !

I was speaking of lowlife kids like YOU moron. obviously, I'm affraid, you don't understand things like normal persons.

Wow, very feisty & touchy grouch! rofl