Is the Macron Government strong enough to push through these reforms without the country being thrown into chaos by the Syndicates who think they control SNCF?
It is the transport unions who hold the country to ransom.
Flight control officers taking strike action at peak holiday times is now almost expected.
We see the gendarmerie standing by when roads are blocked by burning tires and the awful scene of the head of Air France running for his life and scrambling over a wire fence shows how out of control French strikes and their oversight has become.
Just a couple of reminders - firstly, union membership in France is really low and currently at an all-time low. Secondly, the main unions are heavily subsidised by the State / tax payer - enshrined in law.
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Simon, exactly Union membership is really low, yet they weild a power disproportionately to the size of that.
Their illegal actions, blocking major european routes, etc. seem to be condoned by the gendarmerie.
Macron is doing all he can to improve the economy of France and he needs the support of all those who are fed up of being held to ransom.
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Couldn’t agree more Jane - I’ve always thought the right to work should far outweigh the right to strike!
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Hi,
The most effective thing Macron could do would be to abolish government subsidies to the unions. This would put a stop to the crazy situation of taxpayers financing the illegal actions of the very people who are preventing them from travelling to work , to earn the money to pay the taxes out of which the subsidies are paid to …ad infinitum!
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