Over One Million Join Student Fight Against CPE
features | 18.03.2006 17:39 | French CPE uprising 2006 | Education | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
Update Tuesday 21st March:
French unions and student bodies have called for a general strike and massive protests throughout France on 28th March.
On Saturday 18th March: Over one Million people demonstrated against the CPE in France following weeks of student unrest. Clashes with police broke out after the CPE demos. For breaking news see French IMCs: Paris | Lille | Toulouse | Marseille | Nantes | Liege | Auvergne | Grenoble and Libcom Blog
Since the start of March, protests, occupations and direct action against the new CPE employment law in France have been increasing, with university and school students leading the dissent. Railways have been blockaded, airports disrupted, and up to two thirds of France's universities have been occupied or disrupted, as well as many schools. Clashes with police have occured throughout the country.
On Thursday 16th March well over 300,000 people took part in growing protests throughout France [report and pics] as more universities were occupied, roads blockaded and the town hall in Rennes was occupied. In Paris up to 120,000 protested [report and pics | gallery] followed by clashes with police using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon [report and pics | gallery]. Around 150 arrests were made in Paris bringing the total to around 300, with over 40 police injured. (See also Censier University occupation report and pics).
Much international publicity came from the occupation and violent eviction by riot police of the Sorbonne university in Paris on Saturday 10th March [Video | Report + Pics | Gallery 1 2]. On Tuesday 14th the protests escalated as a student day of action saw thousands of school students taking part in occupations and blockades [report and pics | gallery] as well as more street fighting around the Sorbonne area [gallery].
The CPE is a new employment contract due to take effect in April. The CPE would allow firms to hire people aged under 26 for a two-year trial period, during which they could be easily dismissed without a reason. Students and others complain this will only increase the precarity of everyday life in France where unemployment currently runs at 10% and 50% in some areas.
See other reports [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ] Plus recent features at IMC Germany | Poland | March 22nd London CPE report back | STOPCPE | UNEF
French unions and student bodies have called for a general strike and massive protests throughout France on 28th March.
On Saturday 18th March: Over one Million people demonstrated against the CPE in France following weeks of student unrest. Clashes with police broke out after the CPE demos. For breaking news see French IMCs: Paris | Lille | Toulouse | Marseille | Nantes | Liege | Auvergne | Grenoble and Libcom Blog
Since the start of March, protests, occupations and direct action against the new CPE employment law in France have been increasing, with university and school students leading the dissent. Railways have been blockaded, airports disrupted, and up to two thirds of France's universities have been occupied or disrupted, as well as many schools. Clashes with police have occured throughout the country.
On Thursday 16th March well over 300,000 people took part in growing protests throughout France [report and pics] as more universities were occupied, roads blockaded and the town hall in Rennes was occupied. In Paris up to 120,000 protested [report and pics | gallery] followed by clashes with police using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon [report and pics | gallery]. Around 150 arrests were made in Paris bringing the total to around 300, with over 40 police injured. (See also Censier University occupation report and pics).
Much international publicity came from the occupation and violent eviction by riot police of the Sorbonne university in Paris on Saturday 10th March [Video | Report + Pics | Gallery 1 2]. On Tuesday 14th the protests escalated as a student day of action saw thousands of school students taking part in occupations and blockades [report and pics | gallery] as well as more street fighting around the Sorbonne area [gallery].
The CPE is a new employment contract due to take effect in April. The CPE would allow firms to hire people aged under 26 for a two-year trial period, during which they could be easily dismissed without a reason. Students and others complain this will only increase the precarity of everyday life in France where unemployment currently runs at 10% and 50% in some areas.
See other reports [1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ] Plus recent features at IMC Germany | Poland | March 22nd London CPE report back | STOPCPE | UNEF
features
Additions
Fresh French inspiration
20.03.2006 06:43
Great short video of french riots and occupation of the Sorbonne with very witty sound track.Highly refreshing in these days of dense media dictatorship and mass censorship. allez.The imperialist capitalist order is crumbling by the day through out the world.The French students and workers are a huge inspiration as are the Ecuadorian,Thai,Mexican,Cuban,Venezuelan,Bolivian,US and Native American,Aboriginal,Tibetan,Nepalese,Phillipino,Argentinian,Uruguayan,people currently in more visible struggle .The struggle continues.Vive Viva
Patrick Black
Comments
Hide the following 10 comments
24/7
19.03.2006 02:14
Also articles at www.libcom.org/news
Jef Costello
Homepage:
http://www.libcom.org
solidarity in this country?
20.03.2006 17:17
squirrello
help me, i cant watch the video
20.03.2006 17:55
cheers
squirrello
RE: help me, i cant watch the video
21.03.2006 14:54
Euan
"Work is a climate controlled gulag"
21.03.2006 17:15
lurpak
report on virtual sit-in
21.03.2006 23:31
Also today, BrigadaElektronica is doing a virtual sit-in against the police in Manila for being a rampant human rights violator. Join now!
sd@narchist
Homepage:
http://sdhacklab.org
MARCH 23 PARIS DEMONSTRATION
24.03.2006 18:03
sí
The protestation in France changes face
09.04.2006 22:15
On the 31 march, in Paris, after the president Chirac anounce the CPE law validation, many student gather on the evening to the Bastille place and start a spontaneous protest march all around the town claming: "Paris, wake up !". Video link:
In many town if France, student assemblees agree on a economic paralysis strategy.
On the 3rd april, 200 protesters free a highway paying point in Mantes la jolie.
On the 4th april, in Caen, 3000 student invade the roundway.
On the 5th, in Toulouse, students block a postal sorting center. On the same day, in Nantes, 600 protesters block the MIN (International Interest Market). In Reims, the 500 demonstrators ends with the march and blocking the main train station. In Lyon, 150 precarious workers and students symbolically invade an ASSEDIC (social assistance agency).
On the 6th, in Montpellier, students invade the UMP (the main french right party) agency and empty it into the street. A same action tooks place on the same day with a MEDEF (the main french employer association) agency in Avignon. In Nancy, 400 students block highways on the morning and the postal sorting center helped by employees on the afternoon. In Brest, students block the Iroise bridge. In Toulouse, the Matabiau train station is blocked, the police reacts violently, two studend are seriouly wounded and bring to the hospital. In Paris, four of the main train stations have are blocked by more than 2000 protesters. In the same day, other groups block the Paris roundway in some point.
And so on...
bo
CPE is announced to be canceled
10.04.2006 17:27
Considering that those State helps are not aim to "help" those youngs but make them even more flexible and precarious,
Considering that the movement cannot give up a party of the french population to the capitalist greed,
Considering, also, that this movement cannot end up on so limitted aspect as others are now legalizing the 14 years old young work (and 15 years old for work by night),
Considering that another CPE-like law, called CNE, has been voted and is already applied to small buisnesses since a few month,
Considering again, the recent law, proposed by the Éric RAOULT deputee, to criminalize next protests in France is unacceptable,
Considering that, at final, this movement should not be a specific protest against this or that law, but a global and deep questioning on the capistalism system, and its corollary aspect such as wage-earning work,
More and more french universtities are now declaring that they will not give up the protest and blocades on such a thin result.
Let's hope we will see effects, in the few comming days, of all those declarations.
bo
Need updated articles...
17.07.2007 12:25
Luis Alberto Barandiaran
e-mail:
info@universidadperu.com
Homepage:
http://www.universidadperu.com/blog-peru.php