French Unions Unite for Strikes        11/05 06:21

   

   PARIS (AP) -- French trade unions are joining forces on Thursday for 
nationwide strikes and demonstrations for higher wages and in support of the 
high school protest movement, piling new pressure on the beleaguered government.

   After more than a month of regular and large protests across France, major 
rallies are again taking place in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, with hundreds of 
thousands of people likely to turn out. Unions said that around 260 rallies 
against rising living costs were to take place across the country.

   Hundreds of high schools were closed or couldn't operate, some because of 
protests, others because teachers were joining the strike. Public 
transportation was heavily disrupted. Police in the northeast city of 
Strasbourg warned people to be extremely cautious around certain schools.

   Police are prepared but violence flares again 

   French Interior Minister Laurent Nuez said that 70,000 police officers are 
being deployed, backed by armored vehicles, drones and helicopters. Police have 
been criticized for injuring protesters with heavy-handed tactics.

   Many of the demonstrations have been marred by violence, much of it 
committed by masked rioters not supporting the demands of students or workers.

   Authorities in the western region of Brittany said that "masked individuals" 
tried to block roads in the city of Rennes on Thursday. Young people, often 
accompanied by adults, committed "serious acts of violence," including throwing 
steel balls at police.

   Unions aim to send a warning 

   In a joint statement, France's main unions warned that the country is on the 
brink of recession and that layoff plans are multiplying: "Fuel, food products, 
rent, gas, electricity ... everything's going up except wages and pensions," 
they said.

   France is mired in debt and is one of the worst economic performers in 
Europe, along with Italy and Belgium.

   The unions put President Emmanuel Macron's government and employers on 
notice.

   "Anger is immense," they said. "The situation in this country is fragile. 
The pressing social and environmental challenges must be addressed without 
delay."

   Before the strike action, the government had been negotiating with unions -- 
a familiar scenario in French politics -- in hopes of limiting the rioting, 
which has resulted in France's worst civil unrest in years.

   Protests are drawn into election campaigning 

   The movement grew from a protest over staff shortages at one high school 
southeast of Paris in September and spread nationwide, attracting students 
demanding more education funding and workers seeking help with soaring fuel and 
other costs and demanding better pensions.

   The rallies come as the election campaign to replace Macron as president 
next May heats up, and parties have been taking political advantage of the 
movement. Macron is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive 
presidential term. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is the favorite to win.

   Some of the candidates, including veteran far-left and anti-capitalist 
firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, have radical solutions, but they appear difficult 
to put in place, according to Paul Smith, associate professor of French history 
and politics at the University of Nottingham in England.

   "There is a sense of absolute frustration at the government's failure to 
operate," Smith told The Associated Press. "Whoever wins the presidential 
election is going to have a stack of problems to cope with."

   "It's very difficult to see exactly where things go," he said.