Events
In May 1995, Jacques Chirac (RPR right-wing party) had been elected president. The new prime minister Alain Juppé then proposed an extensive program of welfare cutbacks, the Juppé Plan, intended to reduce the budget deficit from 5% to 3% as required by the 1993 Maastricht treaty. October and November saw a students' movement against the conservative agenda of the new government and its perceived attack on women's rights, notably the right to abortion. On 10 October and 24 November, a pay freeze on the public sector was met by civil servants' strikes supported by all major trade unions (CGT, CFDT, FO, etc.). The Juppé Plan was also a target of this strike.
In December, the railway workers were called on strike against the Juppé Plan by their unions nationwide, and paralyzed France's railway system. The main grievances for the railway workers were the loss of the right to retire at age 55 and an SNCF restructuring plan which was to eliminate thousands of jobs and which was imposed on the workers by SNCF management without negotiation. The railway workers were joined by Paris's metro personnel, postal workers, school teachers and others. The strikes spread from Paris, soon effectively covering the entire country, and major demonstrations were organized in both Paris and in the provinces.
The strike was called off on 15 December, when Juppé dropped the retirement reform plan.
Read more about this topic: 1995 Strikes In France
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