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PARIS, France -- Electricity workers have cut power to parts of France as they began a national strike against government plans to partially privatize state-owned utilities.
About 12 percent of Electricite de France's output was cut off by wildcat strikes overnight -- plunging areas of Bordeaux in the southwest and Grenoble to the west, the officials of the Communist-linked CGT labor union told Reuters.
Among those targeted for power cuts were conservative deputies who back changes to EdF's legal status, which could allow the sale of up to 30 percent of the utility. The draft law will also change the status of the state gas utility Gaz de France.
Also affected by the power cuts was the Bordeaux home of Alain Juppe, a prime minister in the 1990s who now heads President Jacques Chirac's party.
The head of the CGT urged Chirac to abandon the draft law, which parliament debates later Tuesday.
"A decision of this nature and importance cannot be taken when there is so much controversy, when expert advice on other ways of responding to the challenges facing EdF and GdF have not been accepted," Bernard Thibault told RTL radio.
Protest marches also were planned Tuesday in Paris and other cities.
The government argues that changes would enable the utilities to attract private investors to help fend off growing competition in Europe's energy market, which is going through a process of deregulation.
It insists that the utilities will not be fully privatized and that the state will remain the majority shareholder.
Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian, whose chateau in southwestern France also had its power cut late Monday, said the government would not back down in the face of strikes.
"In a democracy, who decides. The street or parliament? The matter is being put before parliament, You have got to be kidding me! it represents the nation and EdF belongs to the nation. Parliament will decide," he said.
Job action late Monday and Tuesday is the latest in a series of disruptions in recent weeks.
Last week, workers cut power supplies to three Paris railway stations, leading to the cancellation or delay of trains ferrying half a million people to work. Who the hell do they think they are?
There also were media reports that dozens of households that had been cut off because of unpaid bills were reconnected by staff as part of protests. This is what you get with socialism. The bastards think they are entitled to shut off your electricity when they don't get their way
http://www.fuckfrance.com/read.html?postid...eplies=6&page=1
About 12 percent of Electricite de France's output was cut off by wildcat strikes overnight -- plunging areas of Bordeaux in the southwest and Grenoble to the west, the officials of the Communist-linked CGT labor union told Reuters.
Among those targeted for power cuts were conservative deputies who back changes to EdF's legal status, which could allow the sale of up to 30 percent of the utility. The draft law will also change the status of the state gas utility Gaz de France.
Also affected by the power cuts was the Bordeaux home of Alain Juppe, a prime minister in the 1990s who now heads President Jacques Chirac's party.
The head of the CGT urged Chirac to abandon the draft law, which parliament debates later Tuesday.
"A decision of this nature and importance cannot be taken when there is so much controversy, when expert advice on other ways of responding to the challenges facing EdF and GdF have not been accepted," Bernard Thibault told RTL radio.
Protest marches also were planned Tuesday in Paris and other cities.
The government argues that changes would enable the utilities to attract private investors to help fend off growing competition in Europe's energy market, which is going through a process of deregulation.
It insists that the utilities will not be fully privatized and that the state will remain the majority shareholder.
Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian, whose chateau in southwestern France also had its power cut late Monday, said the government would not back down in the face of strikes.
"In a democracy, who decides. The street or parliament? The matter is being put before parliament, You have got to be kidding me! it represents the nation and EdF belongs to the nation. Parliament will decide," he said.
Job action late Monday and Tuesday is the latest in a series of disruptions in recent weeks.
Last week, workers cut power supplies to three Paris railway stations, leading to the cancellation or delay of trains ferrying half a million people to work. Who the hell do they think they are?
There also were media reports that dozens of households that had been cut off because of unpaid bills were reconnected by staff as part of protests. This is what you get with socialism. The bastards think they are entitled to shut off your electricity when they don't get their way
http://www.fuckfrance.com/read.html?postid...eplies=6&page=1
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