France fuel strikes pose threat to Euro 2016 with petrol stations left dry
Source: The Independent
A collision between the French government and the country’s largest union federation threatens to paralyse the country two weeks before the Euro 2016 football championship.
One quarter of all French petrol stations were closed or running short of fuel after the militant CGT union federation blockaded refineries and depots in a dispute over reforms of employment law.
After the government sent in riot police to clear pickets from a large refinery near Marseille, the union federation retaliated by calling for strikes in all eight of the country’s refineries.
The Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) – the largest and oldest of the eight multi-industry trades union federations in France – has also called for an open-ended strike on the Paris Metro from next Thursday and a strike on the French railways from next Thursday. CGT has also called for a one-day strike in power stations on Thursday. CGT also called a strike by air traffic controllers for three days the weekend after next, the weekend before the football tournament begins.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-fuel-strikes-leave-petrol-stations-dry-and-pose-threat-to-euro-2016-a7047311.html
