French Strike to Defend Right to Strike

A quarter of France's railway workers went on strike yesterday to defend their right to go on strike. Suburban services and regional trains were disrupted and a third of the long-distance trains on the TGV network were cancelled.

Over half of all the days lost to strikes in France are on the railway network, the SNCF. The government has threatened to pass a new law what would force railwaymen, and workers in key industries, to maintain a minimum service during strikes. This proposed bill led four rail unions to call the 36-hour stoppage that ends at 8am today.