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Sarko: 'No Surrender' to Strikers

French prez vows his reforms will not stop

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2007 4:50 PM CST
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(Newser) – Nicolas Sarkozy, in his first public comments on the matter, said today he will not back down from pension reform in the face of a week-long transit strike, the AP reports. "France needs reforms to meet the challenges imposed on it by the world," he said as he called for transit employees to return to work.

"We will not surrender and we will not retreat," Sarkozy continued, referring to reforms he has instituted. If he prevails, other professions will be less likely to strike as he institutes nationwide labor cost-cutting measures. Public opinion is an important ally for Sarkozy, and it appears to be working in his favor: Some transit workers are already back at work, and poll respondents favor the president's stance.

French policemen demonstrate in Lille, Northern France, Tuesday Nov. 20, 2007, against the government plans to reform special retirement benefits. Civil servants, from teachers to postal workers, began a mass walkout across France on Tuesday, on the seventh day of a transport strike that has caused havoc on French rails....
French policemen demonstrate in Lille, Northern France, Tuesday Nov. 20, 2007, against the government plans to reform special retirement benefits. Civil servants, from teachers to postal workers, began...   (Associated Press)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech at a meeting of the French mayors association in Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007. President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted, in the face of broad strikes by civil servants and transit workers Tuesday, that France needs reform, saying we will not surrender and we will...
French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech at a meeting of the French mayors association in Paris, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007. President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted, in the face of broad strikes by civil...   (Associated Press)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives to deliver a speech at the meeting of the French mayors association in Paris, Tuesday, Nov, 20, 2007. President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted, in the face of broad strikes by civil servants and transit workers Tuesday, that France needs reform, saying we will not surrender and...
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives to deliver a speech at the meeting of the French mayors association in Paris, Tuesday, Nov, 20, 2007. President Nicolas Sarkozy insisted, in the face of broad...   (Associated Press)
Students joining civil servants marching in Toulouse, southwestern France, Tuesday Nov. 20, 2007. Civil servants, from teachers to postal workers, began a mass walkout across France on Tuesday, the seventh day of a transport strike that has caused havoc on French rails. But the government said it would not cede...
Students joining civil servants marching in Toulouse, southwestern France, Tuesday Nov. 20, 2007. Civil servants, from teachers to postal workers, began a mass walkout across France on Tuesday, the seventh...   (Associated Press)
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Sarkozy breaks silence on strike, urges for an end
Bloomberg

 
Nicolas Sarkozy • France • transit strike

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