| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Firemen and police clash in Paris |
| 2004-03-25 |
| French police have fired tear gas and water cannon at firemen protesting against cuts in their pensions, three days before a regional election expected to punish the ruling conservatives over reforms. Riot police hid behind shields on Thursday as bottles and other objects thrown by a few hundred firemen wearing helmets and uniforms rained down on them in a square in front of Paris’s ornate 19th century opera house, the Palais Garnier. The confrontations lasted more than two hours but police said there were no serious injuries. The bitter end to a noisy march by several thousand firemen highlighted the depth of feeling over cost-cutting that has made Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin’s team unpopular. "It’s a dangerous job and we’re tired of the government not appreciating us," one angry fireman said as his colleagues were hosed down. "It’s no surprise it turned violent." The firemen’s march was the latest in a wave of protests over reforms, wage demands and unemployment as the government tries to cut its public deficit. |
| Posted by:TS |
| #3 I don't care if Monday's bleu Tuesday's gris and Wednesday too Thursday I don't care about vous It's Friday I'm on strike |
| Posted by: BH 2004-03-25 11:04:11 PM |
| #2 Who did the the trash men side with? This is better than the Nika revolt. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-03-25 10:03:40 PM |
#1 the government tries to cut its public deficitLooks like the Frogs are beginning to recognize economic reality, rather than their utopian socialist dreams. It ain't gonna be pretty. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-03-25 10:02:55 PM |