Should Sarkozy fear the strikes ?

"Sarkozy's government is paying a high price for six months of facility and illusion. ... Soon after his rise to power, a golden rain poured down upon middle and upper classes. For the working class, the only thing on the horizon was the promise of sacrifices. The contrast was definitely too sharp, the class politics too arrogant", considers columnist Jacques Julliard. "Sarkozy's government, according to all probability, is bound to loose the great test of strength that has begun. I hear people saying that he will not back down on the special pension reforms, because that would be giving up on any hope of other future reforms. This is true, but he has already given in. He has given in to medical students, fishermen and train drivers. Oh! He won't officially go back on the forty years of pension contributions demanded. But he will negotiate compensation that will reduce the financial effects of the reform to nothing."

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