10 Paris Metro lines closed - Strikes will hit transport in France on Thursday
The Local - 11 December 2019
Now one-week into mass strike action, unions are prepared for another day of protest.
Unlimited transport strikes will enter their eighth day today Thursday, and there will be yet more one-day walk-outs and protests by certain groups and unions.
On the railways, SNCF is advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Around 80 percent of services are cancelled.
Nearly a quarter of high speed TGV services are running, with roughly one in four trains also running on Intercité and suburban Transilien services.
On the local TER network only 4 in 10 services will be running, but many of those will involve replacement bus services.
In Paris workers on the city's RATP network have already announced that their strike is continuing until at least Friday, with considerable disruption to services.
Today, 10 Paris Metro lines are set to close, although in recent days line 11 has been operating a reduced service at rush hour, despite RATP saying it would not be operating.
A slight improvement perhaps in the Metro, with fewer lines closed completely, and some offering limited rush-hour only services, but still a skeleton service.
Only Metro lines 1 and 14, which operate driverless trains, will operate normally, but expect push and shove crowding during rush hour.
Buses, trams and the suburban RER network are very disrupted. RER B services to Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports will only operate at rush hour and that will be on a reduced service. Passengers travelling to Charles de Gaulle airport from southern Paris will have to change trains at Gare du Nord.
In the air there is some good news. Flights to and from Paris, and other French cities, are running closer to normal. But passengers are still advised to check with their airline.
On the roads blockades at oil depots are continuing, although some fuel is still getting through. Several hundred filling stations across the country are either closed or have limited petrol and diesel supplies.
Click here for an interactive map of the areas affected.
On the streets there will be more demonstrations.
Unions have designated Thursday, December 12th and Tuesday, December 17th as further days of protest, with demonstrations in most major cities. Turnout at protests has fallen sharply since the first day of the strike on December 5th. But marches in the big cities like Paris are registering tens of thousands.
It looks like Paris unions say they are focusing their efforts on December 17th.
One teachers' union said they are focusing their efforts on December 17th, so there shouldn't be too much disruption in the classroom today.
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French government unveils pension reforms
The Local - 11 December 2019
Despite the widespread anger over proposed pension reforms, full details of the have not yet been released. The government is still at the consultation stage of its reforms.
But more details were revealed on Wednesday by French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
A universal system - this is the over-riding principle of the reforms.
Instead of the current system of 42 different pension regimes, with big differences in both how pensions are calculated and the age at which workers can retire, the government wants to introduce a systèm universel which would be the same for everyone.
Invoking the French principles of solidarité and egalité, Philippe announced the end of the 'special regimes' which allow - for example - Metro drivers to retire at the age of 55, and announced that in the future everyone would be on the same pension regime with "no exceptions".
This is the issue that has caused widespread anger among transport workers, the majority of whom are currently on special regimes. But although the current system works well for some people, in particular public sector workers, others such as low-paid workers in the private sector, farmers and women who take career breaks to look after children lose out.
A points-based system - Under the new system "every hour worked will earn rights". In the present system, calculation of pensions for workers on special regimes is based solely on their salary during the final six months of their career, while many others have a calculated based on their highest earnings over 25 years.
The government wants a more equitable system which counts a person's whole career, with every euro earned gaining that person 'points' towards their pensions.
A fairer deal for women - Women "will be the big winners of a universal system" said Philippe. Time out of the workplace for maternity leave will be compensated by 100 percent, and extra pension provision will be added for mothers from their first child, not from the third as is the current system.
A minimum monthly payment - €1,000 per month minimum, with pensions pegged to the French minimum wage going forward, so that no pensioner will get less than 85 percent of the minimum wage of the day.
Start date - the reforms will be introduced in phases, with anyone born before 1975 not affected at all. The government previously planned to include everyone born in 1963 or later, but chose to push back the age-limit in response to the strikes. Those entering the labour market for the first time in 2022 will be put straight on to the universal system, with change phased in gradually for those in between.
No change to the legal retirement age - the legal age to retire will remain at 62, but a 'pivot age' - where the maximum pension kicks in - will be introduced at 64. Although 62 is the current legal age, many people who are on 'special regimes' in fact retire earlier and the average retirement age in France is 60. If special regimes are scrapped, the average retirement age will likely rise.
However Philippe did add that there would be special provision for people doing certain physically demanding jobs, such as nurses, to retire two years earlier. Police officers, firefighters, prison guards and soldiers would also continue to benefit from early retirement provision.
Teachers - Teachers have been joining the strike, worried that a universal system would see their pensions - currently calculated based on their final six months salary - lowered. They were singled out in the speech, with Philippe saying: "It would be unacceptable for teachers to lose a single euro of their pension". The Prime Minister did not specify how this would be ensured.
Self employed - Proposals were suggested for a reform to the system for self-employed workers, but on a longer time frame, with Philippe suggesting a "15-year horizon" for the changes. In the meantime, the pension pots that self-employed workers have built up, will not be transferred into the universal system.
The next stage in the process is for the proposals to be presented to ministers on January 22nd, then debated in the French parliament, which will happen at the end of February.
An IFOP poll conducted last week showed that 74 percent of French people support the idea that the country's pension system needs to be reformed, although 64 percent added that they do not trust the current government - which many see as too ' pro business' - to accomplish acceptable reforms.
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The French Alps valley where traditional log fires will soon be banned
The Local - 11 December 2019
A fire place seems a prerequisite for an Alpine chalet in winter, but not for much longer, as authorities in the department of the Haute-Savoie are set to ban the use of open fireplaces because they say they produce too much pollution.
The Haute-Savoie préfect, Pierre Lambert, has signed a decree to forbid the use of traditional fireplaces in the Arve valley, reportedly the most air polluted valley in France. The blame is being placed on fireplaces.
Pierre Lambert said in an interview on radio station France Bleue in 2017 that they were causing up to 80 percent of the pollution in winter.
ATMO, a local environmental organization, backed up this claim, stating that “fireplaces contribute up to 70 percent of the fine-particles emission, whereas the industry and transport respectively represent 12 percent and 16 percent”.
Traditional fireplaces are a crucial selling point for many holiday homes.
“Many cottage owners highlight in their advertisements exquisite pictures of traditional Savoyard fireplaces,” said Muriel Auprince from Coll’Air Pur, a residents association fighting against air pollution.
“Tourists enjoy a cosy log fire. I am not really looking forward to getting rid of it,” Jean-Luc, the owner of a bed and breakfast in Saint-Gervais, told Le Parisien.
The decree forbidding the use of traditional fireplaces will come into effect on January 1st, 2022. Forty-one towns in the Arve valley will be affected by this directive.
Since 2012, the French government has been urging residents to modernize their heating systems and get rid of open fires, which are both polluting and inefficient.
For that purpose, the “Air Bois” fund has been set up and offers grants of up to €2,000 for the replacement works.
On the downside, banning wood-burning heating systems removes personal autonomy, and makes homeowners more dependent on external gas and electricity supplies. Fuel oil systems are also being criticized by ecologists.
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Dordogne bypass must be demolished - appeal court
Connexion - 11 Dec 2019
An appeal against the cancellation of the controversial Beynac bypass in the Dordogne has been turned down.
A Bordeaux appeal court this week ruled that the Dordogne departmental council cannot continue work on a partially built bypass through a beauty spot valley.
Instead it must demolish it, and put the site back to the state it was in before works began, the court said.
However the department says it will appeal again, to the highest administrative appeal court, the Conseil d’Etat.
The department was given the go-ahead for the bypass by the prefecture in 2018 and has argued that the €32million road is necessary to avoid congestion in the medieval village of Beynac, classed as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France.
Opponents however say it is a waste of public money on an unnecessary, costly road requiring two bridges and a tunnel in a short 3.2 km stretch, as the village is only congested at the height of the tourist season.
A year ago the Conseil d’Etat ordered work to be suspended pending further review, after finding there to be ‘no imperative public interest’ for the cost and environmental impact.
The Bordeaux administrative court then ordered the work to be dismantled and discontinued. But the department is determined to complete the road, necessary for the safety of inhabitants in Beynac. Environmental issues have been addressed. And Dordogne residents will have to foot the bill if the demolition is imposed.
The departmental council says it will now fight this decision before the Conseil d’Etat and ask for the demolition to be put on hold pending that.
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France bans sale of thirty-six products containing glyphosate
RFI - 11/12/2019
In 2018, products containing glyphosate accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total tonnage of weed-killers sold in France for agricultural and non-agricultural uses, according to the French environment agency Anses.
These products "can no longer be used from the end of 2020, due to insufficient or missing data to avoid any genotoxic risk," according to the environmental watchdog Anses.
Anses has initiated a review of all the marketing authorizations for products based on glyphosate marketed in France, following the five-year re-approval of the weed killing chemical by the European Union in 2017.
The process must be completed by the end of 2020.
"Only glyphosate-based products meeting the requirements of efficiency and safety defined at European level, and which cannot be substituted in a satisfactory way, will ultimately be allowed access to the French market," adds the statement.
The French environment agency also refused to authorize the sale of four new products.
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Non-binary pronoun ‘they’ sparks French language debate
Connexion - 11 Dec. 2019
A language debate has been sparked after a US dictionary said "they" was now used "to refer to a single person whose gender identity is non-binary”
A debate has been sparked in France over the lack of an official gender-neutral French word for “they” and “them”, after the pronoun “they” was voted Word of the Year 2019 in the United States.
In English, the pronouns “they” and “them” can be used not only in the plural to describe a group of people, but also for one person, singular, without determining their gender.
In this way, in English, the pronouns can replace the words “him/her” and “he/she” as a neutral equivalent. As such, within the LGBTQ+ and non-binary communities, the pronouns “they” and “them” have become commonly-used by people who do not identify with one of the usual binary genders (male or female).
The US dictionary Merriam-Webster - the equivalent of the Larousse dictionary in France - has chosen the pronoun “they” as its Word of the Year 2019, in reference to this growing use. Online lookups for "they" increased by 313% in 2019, the dictionary said.
It explained: "This is a special case, and a consequence of shifts in the way 'they' is used."
A new definition in the dictionary says: “Used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is non-binary”. As an example, the definition continues: “The person I was interviewing...they had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago…”.
The American Psychological Association has also officially adopted the pronouns as a way to refer to non-binary people, and the American Dialect Society had already named “they” its own word of the year in 2015, for the same reason.
This growing use has sparked a debate in France, as French does not have an “official” way of referring to a gender-neutral or nonbinary individual, as “they” would always be translated as either “ils” (male) or “elles” (female).
The male word “ils” is also used for a group of people of different genders - including male and female - but this is not the same as not specifying a gender at all, and would also not be used to refer to just one person.
In French, people have begun to use the pronoun “iel” (and sometimes “ille”) to refer to a nonbinary person. Linguistically, these are a mix of “il” and “elle”, but they are so far yet to be officially adopted into the French language by the Académie Française.
Some people have also begun to use pronouns in French such as "ol", "al", "ul" or "yul".
Yet, these new pronouns still do not solve the problem of adjectives that align with gender in French - for example, “content” or “contente” - prompting further debate.
As French literature professor Éliane Viennot wrote in newspaper Libération: “[Even if you use ‘iel’ or ‘ille’] you must then choose between ‘iel est content’ ou ‘iel est contente’. Whereas in English, for example, a neutral pronoun can work, because the rest of the sentence is not affected.”
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That’s LifeStyle 74 News From the Papers on Thursday, December 12th.
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