PARIS: Tens of thousands took to the streets in towns and cities across France yesterday in union-led protests against public spending cuts that closed down the Eiffel Tower to tourists and coincide with strikes by air traffic controllers and state radio workers.
The nationwide marches, with the biggest rally in Paris, were a test of how much support unions can muster over spending curbs they say undermine public service and purchasing power to the general detriment of the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
One of France’s largest trade unions, the pro-reform CFDT, declined to join the movement, arguing that savings being made in France were not on the same scale as the austerity undergone in other eurozone countries such as Spain, Ireland and Greece.
President Francois Hollande’s government said it still expected economic growth of just one percent this year and trimmed its forecast for the next two years, underlining the fragility of the recovery. The Bank of France, however, raised its estimate for first-quarter growth to 0.4 percent from 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, citing stronger foreign demand.
Turnout across the country was mixed. In the eastern city of Strasbourg, some 1,000 took to the streets, while demonstrators in the southwest city of Toulouse said they numbered 8,000.
In the southern port of Marseille police said 7,000 joined a rally while organisers said the total was nearer 45,000. In Lyon 4,000 people joined the protest.
The Eiffel Tower, normally packed with tourists, was shut.
The hardline CGT union said more than 300,000 people demonstrated across France, including 120,000 in Paris. The police estimated the numbers at 32,000 in the capital.Reuters
