Sarkozy calls in the cops
FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday moved to wrest control back from strikers who have brought the country to its knees.
He said yesterday he has ordered police to clear access to fuel depots after workers protesting about changes to the retirement age blocked access with human chains and piles of burning tyres.
All 12 of the country’s refineries were forced to stop production altogether and pathways for imported fuel were also blocked. Fuel was also stopped from reaching jets at some of France’s biggest airports.
Sarkozy said: “The disorder provoked by those blockades produced numerous injustices.”
Transport minister Dominique Bussereau added: “To get back to a normal situation we need four to five days.” Workers across France, from teachers to rail staff, are protesting against Sarkozy’s austerity measures, including plans to raise the minimum retirement age and the age from which a full pension will be paid by two years each to 62 and 67 respectively.