Black Thursday II as France goes on strike - again

Oh dear. This is becoming more than a little tedious (in terms of writing about it). But once again - guess what? It's a national day of action here in France. This time around it's Thursday 19 March.

It is, if you will, the follow-up to the last general strike or "Black Thursday" held on January 29.

And once again all the signs are that hundreds of thousands will take to the streets in protest over job losses, dissatisfaction with government reforms, reduced purchasing power and privatisation plans.

So moving nicely along, what can those visiting France or even living and working here expect on Thursday according to the French media?

If you're booked to arrive on an Air France flight the chances are that you'll only experience minimal delays.

That's what the company's management is promising.

But once again, after you've landed the "fun" begins.

And rather helpfully a number of national newspapers and broadcasters have already listed which areas are likely to be affected, what the unions are hoping for and what the French can look forward to, and it makes pretty grim reading.

All the expectations seem to be that the strike will not only hit the public but also the private sector.

First up then the public sector, where unions are calling on civil servants, teachers, health workers and all state employees to strike to "stop the political blindness to job losses and set up a moratorium immediately over the details of the 2009 budget."

The country's education system will once again be in "the thick of things" with a number of unions representing teachers from primary through secondary schools, universities and research institutes calling on members to demonstrate against proposed job losses; 13,200 in schools and 900 in universities and research institutes.

Just to add to the chaos, even though there's supposed to be a statutory "minimum service" by local authorities to provide cover when schools are closed, several cities - Paris most notably - have called on parents not to try to send their children to school on Thursday.

Getting around the country could prove to be the usual strike-day headache.

All the unions representing train drivers and SNCF (the French national railway) employees are backing the strike and have called for action from eight o'clock on Wednesday evening until eight o'clock in the morning on Friday.

In Paris, travel won't be a joy either as four of the eight unions representing workers for RATP - the capital's transportation system - have called for action, and once again it's likely to be a pattern repeated in many of the large metropolitan areas around the country.

The only "concession" being made by the unions in Ile de France - the area surrounding Paris - is transportation for those planning to take part in demonstrations.

And so the list continues in the public sector; France Telecom (the country's main telecommunications company), La Poste (the post office), the energy giants, such as EDF, GDF and Suez, hospitals, civil servants.

All right that's the public sector "done and dusted" how about the private one?

It won't be spared either. Top of the list in terms of newsworthiness perhaps is Total - the French oil giant, which last year reported record profits of €13.9 billion and just last week was roundly condemned by politicians from across the spectrum when it announced it was getting rid of 555 jobs.

In the financial services, all the unions representing bank employees have called for action, as have those in the private medical sector, car manufacturers such as Renault and Peugeot, and major private French companies such as Saint-Gobain, Auchan and Carrefour.

Oh yes - and let's not forget journalists! So no newspapers or weekly magazines on Friday probably.

So how do the French in general feel about all of this? That's a question you might well be asking.

In the run-up to January's general strike, public support was overwhelming, with seven out of every 10 at the time saying they "supported" or "had sympathy" with the call for action.

And now - almost two months later - the figures are more or less the same, according to a survey released this week by the French opinion institute, BVA.

A whopping 74 per cent of those polled said they thought this Thursday's strike was justified, with just 23 per cent saying it wasn't.

As the left-of-centre weekly news magazine, Nouvel Observateur shows in its round up of what some of the regional press here in France has been saying ahead of the strike, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his government will more than likely be looking on to see just how much support there actually is on the day.

All right already, the message has been delivered loud and clear. And it would appear to be there are several plans of action if you intend coming to France, or are already here.

a) Don't plan to come to France on Thursday
b) If you have no alternative, then be prepared for long delays and transportation problems.
c) If you're already here - stay at home - or at least don't expect to get to where you want to get to.
d) Join in the demonstrations.

Bienvenue en France - another public service announcement?