Sarkozy must confront the power of the street

The business paper Les Echos takes stock of the general strike in France: "Is the strike culture now the privilege of radical left-wing unions, for whom it is more a weapon of destabilisation than of negotiation? Yesterday's demonstrations were highly successful. The unions had predicted a mobilisation on a par with that of 2006 against the CPE [first employment contract]. They were not disappointed. This is spectacular in a country everyone knew was worried and disgruntled, but few suspected was as angry as this. Yesterday's storm was composed of many winds, all born of the economic depression. It was fed by discontent at unemployment, the call for higher wages, the rejection of the reforms, disappointment at the recovery plan, expectations of better working conditions and ... anti-Sarkozyism. Yes, many who took part in the 200 demonstrations across France were expressing their opposition to the head of state. ... Like his predecessors, hardly two years after his election Nicolas Sarkozy must confront the sole adversary worth its salt: the street."

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