French Workers to Protest Austerity Measures

Paris, Dec 13. -The main workers' organizations in France called to demonstrate on Tuesday to protest the austerity measures imposed by the Government aiming at stabilizing public finances.Leader of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) Bernard Thibault affirmed that the austerity plan announced in November by Prime Minister Francois Fillon will not solve the debt crisis, but will increase the risk of a recession.

The plan would reduce the government's expenses in housing subsidies, social security and education.

The workers will gather at le Pont de la Concorde in Paris, in front of the seat of the National Assembly, to reject the austerity plan.

The protests, to be carried out in the main French cities, aim at forcing the government to be aware of the discontent of the population, Thibault noted.

The union leader questioned the validity of the government's notification to hold a social summit on unemployment scheduled for 2012, a few months before presidential elections take place in April and May. (Prensa Latina)