Colkurt

Please,do not exaggerate.

TrayflowInUK

As usual, Steve's delivery is painful and perhaps a bit exagerrated, but there's a kernel of truth in there. After 3+ yrs in the UK, I have personally been affected by strikes in France on two separate occasions, once when the air traffic controllers went on strike (leaving us stranded) and another time when lorry drivers blocked motorway (was that due to fuel prices? can't remember). Both of these happened on leisure trips to France (we take about 3/yr) and caused great aggravation and considerable extra expense.

Okay, maybe I'm unlucky and this is purely anecdotal but I've never had a strike affect me anywhere else.

For those of us on this side of la Manche it seems every time we pick up a paper and read about a strike, it's happening in France!

So please forgive British people for having this impression of France but please also understand it wasn't concocted out of thin air!

Now, back to topic...

Andy_S

If it's an exaggeration, you have to wonder why, during the recent Olympics presentations in Singapore, Chirac made a point of getting the French trade unions to promise not to strike if Paris got the games. Surely the French don't have a reputation for this sort of thing!!

Colkurt

It was to reassure English traumatized by the only strike they experienced in their life(since Thatcher), which led them to think French workers spend their whole time taking strike action. You have a stereotyped vision of France which is particularly disturbing. Hearing you one can think 1789 has never ceased!!

BTW since Steve Fenton seem to hold a precise calculation of the many strikes which occur everyday in France, maybe he can tell us how many strikes he counted yesterday?

NickB

Well, this is the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it? No less a stereotyped vision of the UK as of France.
It is a matter of perspective. Having lived for 25 years in France and some 15 years in the UK, it does feel, seen from here, that dsiruptions to the transport system, whether in the form of strikes or blockades, are substantially higher than in other European countries (perhaps with the exception of Italy), which is rather surprising given the very low level of unionisation in France (perhaps more French workers should put their money where their mouth is and pay their union dues ).
It seems that strikes are used more often pre-emptively in France, comparatively early on in negotiations so as to establish a stronger negotiating position or as a routine mode of expressing discontent with governmental policy, rather than as a last resort as tends to be the case in the UK. It feels that French unions need to compensate for their relatively low representativity by striking.

Colkurt

I totally agree with you!

You catch on quickly! I prefer your statement -scientifically set out- to the Steve Fenton's verbal diarrhoea.

dctorres

ok, can we now please get back on topic of the eventual AF strike at CDG and enough of labour policies of France and the UK? This thread has very little to do with FB right now!

Thanks!

hfly

The problem is not who strikes, it is the "fraternite" among all the workers. I will never forget being on a flight in Nice when the cleaners were on strike. I was on the plane and about 5 minutes before pushbackl three workers walked onto the plane and SAT in the aisles. They remained there for at least 40 minutes and the cabin crew not only didn't ask them to leave but SERVED THEM WATER and talked nicely with them (they didn't bother serving any passengers anything!!). After 40 minutes the police entered the plane, as soon as they did the workers got up and walked off, the police were EXTREMEMLY nice to them and did not arrest them. This of course made 3/4 of the plane miss its connections which of course cost AF untold thousands of dollars (although of course AF tried to make it difficult to give everyone hotel rooms, etc. , to be expected at all times by AF).

I have never ever seen anything close to this anywhere else.

Steve Fenton

Like I said to the origional post this is something I would expect to be seen a lot of now the merger has taken place

dg4255

a strike at AF?? noooo.. never.. I cannot believe it...