FRANCE: COMMUTERS DEMAND A SKELETON TRANSPORT SERVICE

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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French/Nat Hundreds of French commuters have been marching through the streets of Paris, calling for the right to ride. Their rally follows 17 days of strike action which has crippled the country's public transport system. They are demanding at least a skeleton service on the trains and buses. As the protesters marched through the heart of the French capital, Prime Minister Alain Juppe called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis, and later announced for the first time he was prepared to negotiate directly with union leaders. Fed-up French commuters took to the streets of Paris today to vent their anger over the wave of strikes which have been hitting their country for more than two weeks. The unrest has brought public transport to a standstill, leading to chaotic traffic jams and frustrated commuters. Hundreds of would-be bus and train passengers marched through the capital, Paris, to protest at the ongoing unrest. Some of them say they have some sympathy with the striking workers who are against the so-called Juppe plan to cut social welfare, but others feel the disruption has been going on for too long. SOUNDBITE (English translation from French) Two days of strike is enough. More than two days puts many companies in trouble and makes a lot of people suffer. They should realise that. SUPERCAPTION: Therese Meillon, commuter Many commuters say they feel hijacked by the strikers. They believe they have the right to work and they are demanding at least a skeleton public transport service. Some commuters claim a minority of union activists are holding the country hostage. SOUNDBITE (English translation from French) You know what a silent majority means. It is silent but it is a large majority of people. At least two French out of three are against this strike. SUPERCAPTION: Jacques Berger, commuter For these frustrated commuters, the sooner the strikes end the sooner they can get back to living a normal life. As the commuter protested, French Prime Minister Alain Juppe called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis, and later expressed his readiness for direct talks with the unions. For more than two weeks now, Juppe's government has been struggling with the labour unions over his social welfare cuts. Yesterday, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jacques Barrot broke the ice and began talks with the unions. The emergency cabinet meeting was called to assess the initial outcome of the mediation effort and to decide what to do next. Ministers said nothing as they left the meeting, although Juppe is due to speak on French television later on Sunday evening. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9ab589f18208e8cba73e789f27717772 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork