Economic Reality Hits Socialism Hard.

France Deploys Police Amid National Strike

By JAMEY KEATEN , 03.28.2006, 07:51 AM

Paris deployed police by the thousands Tuesday before the latest massive protest over a new youth employment law, and commuters across France struggled to get to work during a nationwide strike over the measure.

The strike hit public transport, cutting deeply into air traffic and the number of trains and buses.

In the largest rollout of forces since unrest connected with such protests first erupted more than two weeks ago, some 4,000 police were deployed and patrols were stepped up at train and subway stations, officials said. Protests were expected in about 200 French cities and towns.

Authorities were bracing for a flood of youths from troubled suburbs like those who infiltrated a Paris student march on Thursday and clashed with police near the golden-domed Invalides building.

President Jacques Chirac canceled a planned trip Tuesday to the English Channel port city of Le Havre "in light of events," his office said. Lawmakers were expected to discuss the showdown over the jobs law at a session of the lower house of parliament Tuesday.

The strike and protests were a major test for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in a crucial week in his ongoing standoff with opponents of the so-called first job contract - his recipe to reduce sky-high youth unemployment levels in France. Many opponents fear the law, which is to take effect next month, will damage coveted job security.

France's top five labor union federations balked at an invitation from Villepin to meet Wednesday over the jobs plan, insisting that he shelve it before they will agree to talks.

Tuesday's strike marked the first time that French unions have walked off the job to throw their weight behind university students who have spearheaded the string of demonstrations and blockaded many universities in recent weeks.

Opponents vowed further strikes and protests unless the government cancels the law, which is to take effect next month.

Villepin has offered talks but refused to budge on the major provisions of the job contract. The dispute could weigh on both his political future and France's presidential elections next year.

Sluggish commutes rang in the start to the strike day, with many people opting for cars, or staying home altogether, to avoid bottlenecks in public transportation.

An array of public service workers, including bus and subway drivers, air traffic controllers, utility workers and unemployment office staffers joined Tuesday's strike. More than a quarter of the country's teachers were on strike.

About seven in 10 subway trains were operating in Paris, but commuter trains were as few as one in two, the city's transportation authority said. Public transportation was disrupted in 76 cities and towns, LCI television reported.

Air France noticed spotty disruptions to traffic. One flight in three was canceled at airports nationwide, the national civil aviation authority said.

A group of Council of Europe members observing the Ukrainian parliamentary elections, who were due to fly Air France from Kiev to Strasbourg, in eastern France, had to reroute their itinerary amid disruptions to air services, council spokesman Angus MacDonald said.

Newsstands were empty of national dailies. State-run radio France-Info, a top source of daily news, aired only music.

Even for those who did want to get to work, commutes were troublesome.

"It's really annoying," said secretary Monique Paquet, who waited with about 30 other people as a crammed bus arrived at a stop near the Opera Garnier. "I have a two-hour commute between buses and trains, and these strikes really slow me down."

But many French people, accustomed to sporadic strikes, have learned how to prepare. Crammed train platforms "are a thing of the past," said Jean-Paul Boulet, spokesman for the national train operator SNCF. "People get organized, or will stay home."

The contested law would let companies fire workers under 26 years old without cause during their first two years on the job. The government hopes the greater flexibility will encourage companies to hire young workers, who face a 22-percent jobless rate.

A day before the demonstrations, two cars were set on fire at a protest in front of a high school in Seine Saint Denis, police said. The suburban Paris region was a focal point of fall unrest in immigrant communities that spread across France.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has said many suburban youths behind November's rioting were involved in Thursday's violence at the Invalides. He was meeting with police before the Paris march begins Tuesday.

Social welfare programs have a price, and the bill has come due in France.