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Hewitt, Gavin
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2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Strike in France a test for Europe
France is once more beset today, Tuesday, by nationwide strikes against the planned pension reform. Public transport employees as well as teachers and other public sector employees have joined the protests. The fourth major day of strikes in France will be a test for all of Europe, writes Europe editor Gavin Hewitt in his blog for the BBC: "This particular strike is a weather vane. If the protestors were to succeed it would embolden others. There have already been general strikes in Greece and Spain. A general strike is due in Portugal. In the UK, the rail union leader Bob Crow suggested that British workers follow the French in opposing pension reform. So this is a critical moment. Increasingly workers are understanding that cuts may not be a one-off. Some countries like Spain and Ireland may have to embrace years of cuts to regain competitiveness, while the unemployment queues refuse to shrink. So as the battle lines are drawn up in France, Europe will be watching."
» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Labour, » France, » Europe
Law hardly enforceable
The burqa ban will be difficult to enforce, writes the European correspondent Gavin Hewitt in his blog for the BBC: "Initially there will be a six-month period where women who wear the full-face veil are stopped and told about French laws and the reasons behind them. But after that period a police officer could tell her to remove the veil or risk a fine. Clearly, in some suburbs of Paris with strong Muslim communities it would be very sensitive to order a woman to remove her veil. It will also be hard to prove that a woman is wearing a veil against her wishes. Another risk is that the ban will create martyrs. ... But today marked an important moment in the debate over multiculturalism. Increasingly the French want new arrivals and members of ethnic minorities to integrate more. There will be those in the banlieues - the suburbs where many minorities live - who will argue that they are the ones who are prevented from integrating into mainstream French society."
» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Religion, » Integration, » Minorities, » Gender equality, » France, » Europe, » Global
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