Union leader calls for more strikes

PARIS - The leader of France's pro communist CGT union, which spearheaded crippling 24 day public sector strikes last year, called…

PARIS - The leader of France's pro communist CGT union, which spearheaded crippling 24 day public sector strikes last year, called yesterday for more stoppages and for the dismissal of the Prime Minister, Mr Alain Juppe.

Mr Louis Viannet, a key player in the strikes over government welfare reforms and a railway restructuring plan, told the weekly Votre Dimanche that more strikes were "a necessity" and that replacing Mr Juppe would not be enough to solve the crisis.

A Louis Harris poll for the same newspaper showed that 49 per cent of public sector workers favoured a new strike, with 46 per cent opposed. A large majority, 74 against 24 per cent, said stoppages were likely in coming weeks.