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Politics
Who blinks first
Eurostar has not commented on reports that it intends to schedule its non-French drivers to take out the first trains on its launch this month of the new, faster service from St Pancras International to Paris, to make sure that it was not hit by the ongoing strikes of French rail workers. However, the stranglehold the unions have on the pride and joy of the French rail system – less than 50 TGV services ran out of 700 on one recent strike day – has never included Eurostar, whose French drivers have always been reluctant to forego high wages and bonuses.
The dispute is said to be over plans by Président Sarkozy to end the generous public sector workers’ pension arrangements, which allow many transport and energy employees to retire at 50 on full pensions, a privilege widely acknowledged to be unaffordable. Although Sarkozy has repeated his commitment to the reform, political commentators recall similar words from former president Jacques Chirac, whose efforts to bring an end to these special pension arrangements back in 1995 floundered after three weeks of strikes, and it remains to be seen who blinks first.
Meanwhile, the disruption has led to a healthier lifestyle among Paris commuters. Many are walking to work, dodging the firecrackers let off in demonstrations by the workers, while the city’s new self-service bicycle scheme known as the Vélib (the name of the bike) has reported twice as many renters as usual.
November 2007
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