The Missing Link

April 04, 2006

The Sick Man of Europe

Job protests continue in France:

PARIS (AP) - Demonstrators opposed to a new jobs law swarmed parts of downtown Paris on Tuesday, throwing stones, tearing down street signs and ripping up park benches. Riot police, firing tear gas canisters and making several charges, carried away protesters in handcuffs.

Police said at least 1 million people poured into the streets around the country in the latest protests against the law, which makes it easier to fire young workers. Organizers said 3 million people marched.

A nationwide strike shut down the Eiffel Tower and snarled air and rail travel for the second time in a week while students barricaded themselves in schools.

It was the second time in a week that unions and student groups had succeeded in mobilizing such numbers. The largest march, in Paris, drew at least 80,000 people, while 935,000 marched in other parts of the country, police said.

(AP) Protestors in Lille, northern France, Tuesday April 4, 2006 burn dustbins following a students'...
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Organizers put the figure in the capital at 700,000.

Violence erupted at the end of the largest protest, in Paris, with youths pelting police with stones, fighting and using metal bars to break up chunks of pavement that they hurled at helmeted riot officers.

One young woman twirled flaming batons. The sounds of blowing whistles were heard throughout the plaza.

Officers carrying batons and shields charged several times, making arrests.

Protesters have mounted ever-larger demonstrations for two months against the law. But President Jacques Chirac signed it anyway Sunday, saying it will help France keep pace with the global economy.

(AP) French riot police officers detain students in Lille, northern France, Tuesday April 4, 2006 after...
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He offered modifications, but students and unions rejected them, saying they want the law withdrawn, not softened.

Posted by Conor at April 4, 2006 07:34 PM