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| French Unions Clamor for Workers’ Rights, and Relevance | French Unions Clamor for Workers’ Rights, and Relevance |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PARIS — This week, it was the oil refinery workers who were striking, provoking shortages of gas and long lines at the pump. | PARIS — This week, it was the oil refinery workers who were striking, provoking shortages of gas and long lines at the pump. |
| Next week, it will be airport staff members, including traffic controllers, forcing some travelers to consider canceling their plans or taking the train. (I’ve reserved a rail ticket to Spain in addition to my airplane ticket because I don’t want to miss a friend’s wedding.) | Next week, it will be airport staff members, including traffic controllers, forcing some travelers to consider canceling their plans or taking the train. (I’ve reserved a rail ticket to Spain in addition to my airplane ticket because I don’t want to miss a friend’s wedding.) |
| Unions are also calling for unlimited strikes in the train and Paris Métro transport sector, and June 14 will be a nationwide day of strikes. One newspaper, Le Parisien, has taken to periodically publishing a roundup listing the next day’s strikes to alert Paris-area readers what to expect and how to alter their routines. | |
| It may seem that the French are constantly on strike, or dealing with one. Yet overlooked in all the chanting, banner waving and tire burning is that the strike in France today is often a carefully choreographed dance between labor, government and the public and it is just the latest chapter in a 132-year tradition, dating from the founding of the country’s first trade unions in 1884. | It may seem that the French are constantly on strike, or dealing with one. Yet overlooked in all the chanting, banner waving and tire burning is that the strike in France today is often a carefully choreographed dance between labor, government and the public and it is just the latest chapter in a 132-year tradition, dating from the founding of the country’s first trade unions in 1884. |
| Today, the unions can still turn out a mass protest that brings both their members and supporters into the streets, giving a sense of strength. But at least some of it is illusory; rarely do strikes shut down the country entirely — rather, they inconvenience it. | Today, the unions can still turn out a mass protest that brings both their members and supporters into the streets, giving a sense of strength. But at least some of it is illusory; rarely do strikes shut down the country entirely — rather, they inconvenience it. |
| Although unions retain a special significance here, especially to left-leaning political parties, their heyday in France has passed, labor experts say and union leaders, in their more candid moments, concede. | Although unions retain a special significance here, especially to left-leaning political parties, their heyday in France has passed, labor experts say and union leaders, in their more candid moments, concede. |
| Workers nearly everywhere are facing an onslaught of global pressures that seem only to gather with each passing decade. Those in France are no exception. The government’s proposed new labor law — which is the focus of most of the strikes — is an attempt to grapple with some of those forces by loosening worker protections in the hopes of spurring hiring and economic growth. | Workers nearly everywhere are facing an onslaught of global pressures that seem only to gather with each passing decade. Those in France are no exception. The government’s proposed new labor law — which is the focus of most of the strikes — is an attempt to grapple with some of those forces by loosening worker protections in the hopes of spurring hiring and economic growth. |
| The law is now poised for debate before the Senate in mid-June, after the government forced it through the National Assembly this month, bypassing a vote with a rarely used executive power. | The law is now poised for debate before the Senate in mid-June, after the government forced it through the National Assembly this month, bypassing a vote with a rarely used executive power. |
| It is hardly surprising when right-leaning governments, which generally tend to be antagonistic toward unions, push through legislation that unions oppose, but this is a Socialist government, which the unions supported at the ballot box and expected would protect their interests. | It is hardly surprising when right-leaning governments, which generally tend to be antagonistic toward unions, push through legislation that unions oppose, but this is a Socialist government, which the unions supported at the ballot box and expected would protect their interests. |
| The sense of betrayal stings, and that is part of the current round of protests against the government’s new labor law. Opinion surveys show that while the public is not consistently enthusiastic about the strikes, it does not support the government’s backing of the new measure, either. | The sense of betrayal stings, and that is part of the current round of protests against the government’s new labor law. Opinion surveys show that while the public is not consistently enthusiastic about the strikes, it does not support the government’s backing of the new measure, either. |
| Yet the unions are divided as they fight to retain not only their workers’ benefits, but also the relevance of the unions themselves. | Yet the unions are divided as they fight to retain not only their workers’ benefits, but also the relevance of the unions themselves. |
| The union fighting hardest, the General Confederation of Labor, known as the C.G.T., represents many workers in the transportation and energy fields and still has enough power to make life deeply inconvenient across the country. | The union fighting hardest, the General Confederation of Labor, known as the C.G.T., represents many workers in the transportation and energy fields and still has enough power to make life deeply inconvenient across the country. |
| But whether it could bring the country to a true halt is far less clear. | But whether it could bring the country to a true halt is far less clear. |
| “The more a union is weak, the more it tends to resort to protesting to be heard,” said Guy Groux, a sociologist specializing in trade unionism at Sciences Po, a political science institute in Paris. | “The more a union is weak, the more it tends to resort to protesting to be heard,” said Guy Groux, a sociologist specializing in trade unionism at Sciences Po, a political science institute in Paris. |
| After World War II, one in four French workers was a union member, according to the French national statistics bureau. But union membership has slowly dwindled. | After World War II, one in four French workers was a union member, according to the French national statistics bureau. But union membership has slowly dwindled. |
| Today, less than 8 percent of all French workers are unionized, one of the lowest percentages in Western Europe. Scandinavian countries, by comparison, have union membership above 60 percent, according to the Office of Economic Cooperation and Development. | Today, less than 8 percent of all French workers are unionized, one of the lowest percentages in Western Europe. Scandinavian countries, by comparison, have union membership above 60 percent, according to the Office of Economic Cooperation and Development. |
| The decline in France is partly explained by the fact that, unlike other European nations, joining a union in France does not necessarily give a worker more benefits. Rather, the agreements negotiated by a union apply to all employees regardless of union membership. | The decline in France is partly explained by the fact that, unlike other European nations, joining a union in France does not necessarily give a worker more benefits. Rather, the agreements negotiated by a union apply to all employees regardless of union membership. |
| Equally important, however, are the divisions among union members today, with some unions willing to accept the government’s new labor measure and the C.G.T., one of the country’s oldest, standing firm against it and railing against what it sees as a sellout by the government. | Equally important, however, are the divisions among union members today, with some unions willing to accept the government’s new labor measure and the C.G.T., one of the country’s oldest, standing firm against it and railing against what it sees as a sellout by the government. |
| A former head of the C.G.T., Louis Viannet, denounced the government for perpetrating an “aggression that is antisocial, anti-democratic, and I would say also anti-republican,” an insult in France where to be a republican implies a loyalty almost to the concept of France. | A former head of the C.G.T., Louis Viannet, denounced the government for perpetrating an “aggression that is antisocial, anti-democratic, and I would say also anti-republican,” an insult in France where to be a republican implies a loyalty almost to the concept of France. |
| It is a government that has become a “a spokesman for management,” he said. | It is a government that has become a “a spokesman for management,” he said. |
| François Hollande, the president, is hardly right leaning, but he has moved his party right in order to fight an economic stagnation that has hardly budged over his last four years in office. | François Hollande, the president, is hardly right leaning, but he has moved his party right in order to fight an economic stagnation that has hardly budged over his last four years in office. |
| He has promised to bring down the unemployment rate, which is over 10 percent. The labor law is his last-gasp attempt to do so before national elections next April. The unemployment rate has decreased slightly over the past two months, which had not happened since 2011, but Mr. Hollande’s assertion that “ça va mieux” — “things are going better” — has been met with skepticism. | He has promised to bring down the unemployment rate, which is over 10 percent. The labor law is his last-gasp attempt to do so before national elections next April. The unemployment rate has decreased slightly over the past two months, which had not happened since 2011, but Mr. Hollande’s assertion that “ça va mieux” — “things are going better” — has been met with skepticism. |
| Faced with censure from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for not doing enough to stimulate the French economy, Mr. Hollande has tried to thread the needle between his left-wing supporters and those who are more moderate. He has tried to preserve many worker protections — France still has among the most generous terms for workers in Europe — but to modify them enough to entice businesses to create jobs. | Faced with censure from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for not doing enough to stimulate the French economy, Mr. Hollande has tried to thread the needle between his left-wing supporters and those who are more moderate. He has tried to preserve many worker protections — France still has among the most generous terms for workers in Europe — but to modify them enough to entice businesses to create jobs. |
| His problem is that the hard left will brook no modifications in the social contract as it stands. | His problem is that the hard left will brook no modifications in the social contract as it stands. |
| Mr. Groux, the sociologist, noted that it takes many fewer strikers to set fire to tires dragged in front of the entrances of refineries than it would to mount street protests, making the union’s strength look more impressive than it may in fact be. | Mr. Groux, the sociologist, noted that it takes many fewer strikers to set fire to tires dragged in front of the entrances of refineries than it would to mount street protests, making the union’s strength look more impressive than it may in fact be. |
| On Friday, there were just 200 union members burning tires and debris blocking an oil depot in Donges, in northwestern France, and the police dispersed them peacefully by midafternoon. | On Friday, there were just 200 union members burning tires and debris blocking an oil depot in Donges, in northwestern France, and the police dispersed them peacefully by midafternoon. |
| At the same time, however, at a Total refinery, workers voted to go on strike until the government withdrew the proposed labor law. | At the same time, however, at a Total refinery, workers voted to go on strike until the government withdrew the proposed labor law. |
| The number of strikers blocking roads, however, is small because many within unions are conflicted about whether to strike. The differences among the unions make the strikes less able to fully immobilize the country than simply to inconvenience it. | The number of strikers blocking roads, however, is small because many within unions are conflicted about whether to strike. The differences among the unions make the strikes less able to fully immobilize the country than simply to inconvenience it. |
| In fact, that is part of what makes strikes in France tolerable, if still a headache. It is rare that everything actually stops. | In fact, that is part of what makes strikes in France tolerable, if still a headache. It is rare that everything actually stops. |
| Even union members concede that their greatest hope is not to lose ground — at least not yet. “For a while now most of the fights are defensive ones,” said Mr. Viannet, the former head of the C.G.T. | Even union members concede that their greatest hope is not to lose ground — at least not yet. “For a while now most of the fights are defensive ones,” said Mr. Viannet, the former head of the C.G.T. |
| “That’s typically the case with the labor law at the moment,” he said. “The fact that we are forced to fight defensively isn’t stimulating for the development of unionism, but we have to do it. The only battles that you are sure to lose are the ones you don’t fight.” | “That’s typically the case with the labor law at the moment,” he said. “The fact that we are forced to fight defensively isn’t stimulating for the development of unionism, but we have to do it. The only battles that you are sure to lose are the ones you don’t fight.” |