France
France: Caterpillar workers in revolt against the unions
By Antoine Lerougetel, April 28, 2009
Workers at Caterpillar and Continental plants in France fighting to defend their jobs revolted last week against sackings negotiated by the trade unions with the employers and the state.
Europe faces ever deepening recession
By Chris Marsden, April 28, 2009
The IMF has predicted a deepening recession in Europe, with the euro zone’s economy contracting by 4.2 percent this year, significantly worse than its January forecast of a 2 percent decline.
French and German Continental workers protest against plant closures
By our reporting team, April 25, 2009
A large delegation of workers from the French Continental Tire Manufacturing plant traveled to the city of Hanover Thursday for a joint protest with German workers against plant closures and massive r...
France: Tamils arrested in protest against Sri Lankan mass killings
By Antoine Lerougetel, April 23, 2009
Monday evening French police attacked a spontaneous street protest by 500 Tamils in Paris’ La Chapelle district against mass killings perpetrated by the Sri Lankan army on their people.
France: Ségolène Royal fears return of “class struggle”
By Antoine Lerougetel and Alex Lantier, April 15, 2009
Ségolène Royal, the defeated Socialist Party candidate in the 2007 French presidential elections, has provoked a major controversy, coming out in defense of several groups of workers who have seques...
France: Strike and occupation at FCI factory in its 45th day
By Kumaran Ira and Antoine Lerougetel, April 10, 2009
Two hundred workers at the FCI Microconnections factory, situated in Mantes-la-Jolie in the western suburbs of Paris, have been on strike in defense of their jobs and mounting an occupation for 45 day...
NATO backs US escalation of war in Central Asia
By Chris Marsden, April 6, 2009
The NATO 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg ended with a headline commitment for Europe to provide “up to” 5,000 additional troops for Afghanistan.
US-Europe tensions erupt on eve of G20 summit
By Chris Marsden, April 2, 2009
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held an extraordinary joint press conference on Wednesday, the eve of the G20 summit of leading economies, to underscore their comm...
France: Caterpillar workers detain bosses
By Antoine Lerougetel, April 2, 2009
Workers Caterpillar’s two plants in Grenoble, France, detained 5 of their management team in their offices on Tuesday morning and held them until 1 a.m. the next day.
EU leaders cancel “jobs summit” to avoid protests
By Stefan Steinberg, March 25, 2009
With unemployment increasing across Europe EU leaders decided to cancel “jobs summit” in order to avoid protests.
German-based tire maker announces European plant closures
By Kumaran Ira, March 24, 2009
The decision of German-based tire maker and auto-parts supplier Continental AG to close plants in France and Germany is provoking widespread opposition and controversy in France.
Reports on the March 19 demonstrations in France
By a WSWS reporting team, March 21, 2009
The World Socialist Web Site spoke to workers and youth participating in demonstrations in France on March 19.
