STRIKE AFFECT LIFE IN FRANCE

(Courtesy The Hindu 4-6-03)

PARIS June 3. French commuters limped into work on crowded buses and trains today and airports were deathly quiet as public sector employees launched further strike action over the Government's planned pension reforms.

The latest in a series of protests over plans to make people work longer for state pensions, the action halved train and bus services in Paris and an air traffic controllers strike grounded 80 per cent of flights in and out of France.

Less severe than the stoppages of May 13, dubbed ``Black Tuesday'', the action still caused 150 km of traffic jams around the capital. Numerous schools were also closed by the 10th walkout in as many months by teachers over decentralization plans.

Postal workers, ambulance drivers, port workers and toll road staff were among others on strike. Few leading French newspapers were printed.

The strikes come at an embarrassing time for the President, Jacques Chirac, as he hosts the final day of the G-8 summit in Evian.

Mr. Chirac's ally Alain Juppe, Prime Minister in 1995 and the ill-fated planner of pension reforms back then, said today he could not understand the latest unrest.

``People should think twice before going out onto the streets,'' he said.

Meanwhile in Austria, schools remained closed and trams and buses were idled on Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of public sector employees took part in post-war Austria's biggest strike to protest planned pension cuts.

The strike was the second nationwide in less then a month and affected all public transport, major industries, schools, kindergartens, utilities and a wide range of services.

Police were conspicuously absent from the streets, with officers responding only to emergency calls.

Many Austrians, who normally drive to work, stayed at home. Others switched to bicycles, scooters and inline skates.