Bus drivers strike at Autobus Venise in fight for higher wages

Vol. 87/No. 32 - August 28, 2023

SALABERRY-DE VALLEYFIELD, Quebec — Unifor Local 700 bus drivers working for Autobus Venise commemorated four months on strike here Aug. 3. They are fighting against inadequate and patronizing boss proposals. “We want to negotiate, but we won’t negotiate for nothing,”…


Thousands protest after cops kill teen in France

Vol. 87/No. 26 - July 17, 2023

Protests and rioting have gripped the Paris suburb of Nanterre, home to tens of thousands of Arabs, Africans and other Muslims, since cops killed Nahel Merzouk, a teenager from the area, June 27. Merzouk came from an Algerian and Moroccan…


Protests continue against retirement age hike in France

Vol. 87/No. 16 - April 24, 2023

AMIENS, France — Thousands of workers in this small city in northern France took to the streets as part of a nationwide day of work stoppages and demonstrations April 6. More than 130 protests were held around the country, involving…


Paris strike boosts fight against gov’t raising retirement age

Vol. 87/No. 14 - April 10, 2023

PARIS — After two-and-a-half weeks on strike, workers at three garbage incinerators, including the Paprec Energies plant in Saint-Ouen, a northern suburb, returned to work March 24. The strike was part of the ongoing mass opposition to French President Emmanuel…


Unionists resist French gov’t attack on pension age

Vol. 87/No. 12 - March 27, 2023
Paris demonstration, part of March 7 national protests against Macron government proposal to raise retirement age. CGT union banner says, “Decontaminate society of capitalist virus.”

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron’s push to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 continues to meet mass resistance by workers across the country. March 7 was the sixth day of strikes and protests since mid-January, with at…


Workers in France strike over attempt to raise retirement age

Vol. 87/No. 5 - February 6, 2023

PARIS — Striking workers led over a million people at some 220 demonstrations across the country Jan. 19 to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to raise the retirement age. Protests were accompanied by strikes of gas, electrical and rail workers,…


Strikers demand higher pay at two refineries in France

Vol. 86/No. 41 - November 7, 2022

Strikes by members of the Confederation Generale du Travail union (CGT) continue at two refineries owned by Total Energies in France Oct. 24. Workers at the Gonfreville and Feyzin refineries are demanding a 10% pay hike. Their union points to…


French book fair: ‘We absolutely have to change the world’

Vol. 86/No. 36 - October 3, 2022

BRETIGNY-SUR-ORGE, France — “I’m happy to buy this book. We absolutely have to change this world, but first we have to understand it,” said Marie Dechelle, a computer science student in Paris, as she bought the French edition of the…


May Day rallies across France protest Macron gov’t

Vol. 86/No. 19 - May 16, 2022
May Day rallies across France protest Macron gov’t

Some 250 rallies took place across France on May Day, with over 100,000 people protesting the anti-working-class policies of the newly reelected government of President Emmanuel Macron, especially his plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65. Among…


Macron imposes another ‘French values’ attack on working people

Vol. 85/No. 30 - August 16, 2021

French President Emmanuel Macron is using deadly assaults by Islamists to push through legislation restricting free speech and freedom of worship. The laws make what he calls “separatism” a criminal offense in the name of imposing “French values.” The Law…