Hundreds of thousands of strikers marched through French cities on Thursday to demand pay rises and protection for jobs, challenging President Nicolas Sarkozy to do more for ordinary workers.
The streets filled with flag-waving protesters, but the one-day strike failed to paralyze the country and support from private sector workers appeared limited.
After dark, as Paris crowds thinned, some protesters clashed with police, throwing bottles, overturning cars and starting a fire in the street, but no major violence was reported.
Labor leaders hailed the strikes and rallies, which marked the first time France's eight union federations had joined forces against the government since Sarkozy took office in 2007.
"This is one of the biggest days of worker action in the past 20 years," said Francois Chereque, head of the large, moderate CFDT group.
Unions said 2.5 million people took part in dozens of rallies across France, including 300,000 in Paris. Police put the figure at just over a million nationwide.
"The government has taken measures for banks but today it is the workers who are suffering," said striker Charles Foulard, a technician at a refinery run by energy giant Total.
"This crisis comes from the United States, it's the financial bubble that is bursting. It's not for the workers to pay for that," he said as crowds gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris, birthplace of the French Revolution.
In a rare show of unity, the unions drew up a joint list of demands for the government and companies, saying Sarkozy should drop reforms they see as a threat to public services and aim stimulus measures at consumers rather than companies.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50S1MX20090129Well The shit will hit the fan. GTO
