Word: movements
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...very shocked to hear the head of government declare before a large social movement has even begun that he will not change anything," added Socialist Party official and former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, speaking on radio station RTL. "Either the government is totally disdaining, or it's incompetent, or it's stubborn. Without doubt it's something of all three...
...millions of French protesters took to the streets Thursday for a repeat of the nationwide strikes that slowed the country to a crawl on Jan. 29, there was the feeling that the mass social movement had become distinctly personal. More than ever before, marchers said they were not just denouncing the government's minimalist response to the worsening recession, but were singling out President Nicolas Sarkozy as the defiant embodiment of attention to ideological orthodoxy rather than the peoples' pain. As a result, public and political challenges to Sarkozy's leadership are growing - including from members of his own conservative...
...swelling movement appeared to cause fewer logistical problems than did the near lock-down in January, when rail traffic and municipal transport was almost crippled, scores of flights were canceled, and countless schools and public administration offices remained shuttered. By midday on Thursday, 60% of France's high-speed TGV trains were still operating and 45% of regional rail service was functioning. Air France maintained 70% of its short- and medium-haul flights in and out of Paris' two airports, and long-haul service was normal. And while several provincial cities such as Lyon experienced considerable disruption of public transport...
...Less than 48 hours before Thursday's marches, however, Sarkozy brushed off their calls, scolding critics with the reminder that "I was not elected to raise taxes [but] to reconcile France with the workplace and factory." But with polls indicating that 78% of French voters support Thursday's strike movement - three points higher than in January - union leaders and political opponents warn that Sarkozy will ignore the popular call for relief at his own peril. (See pictures of Sarkozy...
...Meanwhile, Jean-François Copé, president of Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement majority in parliament, has similarly aired his differences with the president. On the eve of Thursday's strike, Copé described the protest as a "comprehensible" way of communicating "the main message of concern for [peoples'] jobs and purchasing power...