[Guest post by DRJ]

French transit workers went on strike last week to protest government action restricting their ability to retire in their 50s. Just hours before talks between the government and the union were scheduled to begin, multiple incidents of arson were reported on four rail lines across France. The sabotage – which may have occurred on train lines operated by workers who want to suspend the strike – suggests it may be aimed at union defectors as much as the government:

“Some SNCF workers – who operate regional trains, the high-speed lines and other long distance trains – voted Wednesday in several major cities to suspend the strike, but others in Normandy and Nantes voted to continue.

On Tuesday, François Chérèque, secretary general of the CFDT, was forced to flee a union rally after jeering members surrounded him to protest his support of negotiations. They hooted and whistled and some carried signs that read, “Chérèque, no knife in our back” and “Yes to unity. No to collaboration.”

On Wednesday morning, Chérèque participated in a radio interview on Europe 1, where he expressed concerns about some of his membership. “French unions have a real problem with democracy,” he said, noting that the majority of his members had decided to return to work.

We have had debates with our militants for four years,” he added, “and they know very well that the change in their special retirement benefits is inevitable. That’s why we have decided to return to negotiations.”

Government officials said Wednesday that the number of striking workers had fallen. About one in five were now absent, they said, compared with the start of the strike last week when 61 percent of workers took part. But a minority of workers can still disrupt most train services.”

As a footnote, the report contained this explanation of the origin of the word sabotage:

“What the government called sabotage – a distinctively French word that dates to the railroad strike of 1910, when workers destroyed the wooden shoes, or sabots, that held rails in place – took place at the start of the commuting day.”

[Edit: Maybe not. See the comments for more thoughts on the origin of the word sabotage. — DRJ]

The report also notes an interesting public response to the transit strike:

“As the negotiations began, public attitudes seemed to be hardening against the strikers, according to a survey for the conservative French newspaper Le Figaro.

The poll showed that almost 70 percent of those surveyed said the strike was unjustified and the government should not back down from its efforts to eliminate special retirement privileges that allow transit workers to retire in their 50s.”

It’s extremely generous to have a program that lets workers retire in their 50s. Maybe Sarkozy’s election and polls like these are signs the French are rethinking their ability to provide generous social welfare programs.

— DRJ