Unions stage new strikes against budget plan as nationwide turnout dwindles

This month in labour history

1-12-1997 Committees of the unemployed occupy Assedic branches and ANPEs in the provinces and in Paris demanding a reassessment of social minima. The movement will continue until June 1998. [more]

7-12-1994 1.75 million workers protest during a series of general strikes against gov cuts & exploitation, shutting down country. [more]

12-12-1964 9 million workers participate in a public sector strike against the de Gaulle government. [more]

12-12-1995 2 million people in the street shouting "All together!" against the Juppé plan to reform pensions and social security. [more]

15-12-1995 The government withdraws its pension reform plan but maintains its reform of Social Security. The "defence of social gains" won. [more]

16-12-1912 The CGT launches a one day general strike against war, with protests involving 600,000 workers. [more]

19-12-1947 Creation of the CGT-Force Ouvrière whose leaders wish to preserve their neutrality vis-à-vis the government, employers and especially the Communist Party. [more]

22-12-1972 Law on gender pay equity takes effect. [more]

24-12-1912 The CGT holds its extraordinary congress in Paris with a view to organizing a general strike against a possible war. There are 750 delegates representing 1,452 unions. [more]

26-12-1916 In the midst of the war, Renault's bricklayers began a strike that lasts until January 20, 1917. [more]

27-12-1892 The law on conciliation and optional arbitration in disputes between employers and workers comes into force. [more]

27-12-1974 An explosion in the coal seam in Saint-Amé pit #3 kills 42 miners in Liévin. The disaster marks the closure of the site. [more]

28-12-1917 Banks in Paris are shut as financial services workers strike. [more]