As the dust settles, what have the French learned about themselves?
FRANCE has begun to clamber back to its feet after weeks of strikes, demonstrations, blockades, petrol shortages and sporadic violence. Despite delays, this week both houses of parliament voted to raise the legal minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 years; this should become law by mid-November. Oil refineries began to reopen and oil depots were forcibly unblocked on government orders. Rotting rubbish was cleared from the streets in Marseille. Although a further day of strikes was called for October 28th, unions are divided over whether to push their case further. And with schoolchildren on half-term holiday, university students seemed too half-hearted to keep the protests going.
As the French digest the turmoil of recent weeks, and businesses count the cost, what lessons might be drawn about the nature of protest and reform in France? One is that, even though union leaders are still able to draw huge numbers of protesters on to the streets, the disruptive power of strikes is not what it was. This is because the law now guarantees minimum service on public transport and in schools on strike days, and workers who down tools are no longer paid. The strikes have not prevented people getting to work altogether, nor paralysed the country. ...
Read the complete article in The Economist here.
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