French unions representing public sector workers are threatening strikes over pay and working conditions as they face dealing with millions of visitors during the Paris Olympics this summer.
The prospect of potentially embarrassing protest action disrupting the showpiece event when the eyes of the world will be on the city has prompted the government of President Emmanuel Macron to begin offering bonuses to police and other workers.
According to some estimates, 15.9 million people could visit Paris and the surrounding region from July to September, the period of the Olympics and Paralympics.
The games are likely to increase strain in Paris, which has already been stretched by heightened security threats and chronic staffing shortages at hospitals and on the transport network.
Leading the way in threatening strikes is the CGT union, whose general secretary Sophie Binet has said it will provide notice for the public-sector workers they represent to walk out during July and August, coinciding with the scheduled dates of the games.
Among the groups of workers it represents who could strike are hospital staff, customs officers and those in the cultural sector.
One expert The National spoke to said the government has been slow to clarify whether workers will be paid more for the longer hours needed to keep Paris running during the games.
Paul Smith, from Nottingham University, said President Macron will be hoping to appeal to workers not to “ruin the party” and that the fractured nature of France’s unions will blunt any action.
“But the people who are there to make the magic happen are not feeling very magical at the moment,” he said.
Ms Binet called on the government to inject more funding into hospitals, which she claimed are in a “catastrophic” state if France wants to be able to deal with the influx of visitors.
“We are very, very, very worried about how it will be this summer,” she said.
“It won’t be possible to blackmail staff once again by asking them to work more overtime and call into question their paid leave. They are exhausted and can’t take it any more. We need a recruitment plan.”
The union leader said the government has yet to explain “how are we going to accommodate all the workers who will have to come for the Olympics?”.
“How are we going to take care of their children when they’re the ones who have to work? What kind of bonuses will they get?”
Ms Binet said “it’s getting very tiresome” calling on the government to ensure pay and conditions are sorted in time.
“We want the government to take immediate action to ensure the success of the Games,” she said.
The union is currently involved in a pay dispute with the Paris transport operator RATP, which is scheduled to continue until September.
François-Xavier Arouls, one of the leaders of the Solidaires union at RATP, said if “workers are no longer willing to make sacrifices for what the government says is the greater good”, but added that if properly paid “we will be there and help make the country proud during the games”.
Meanwhile the Force Ouvrière union, France’s third largest, said it was also looking at potential strike action during the period covering the games.
But general secretary of the CFDT union, Marylise Léon, said is “no desire to spoil this festive moment of the Olympic Games”.
In response, the government has agreed police officers posted during the Olympics will receive bonuses of up to €1,900 ($2,050). Other workers have also been offered up to €350 in subsidies for childcare as well as 1,000 reserved places for their children to go to camp.
Dr Smith said that “outwardly it would be an embarrassment” to President Macron’s government if there were to be strikes during the Olympics.
“The joke is of course that the French will excel at their national sport which is going on strike, and they will get a gold medal for it,” he said.
“But the trade unions need to be careful because the government can always flip it around and say ‘we’ve invited the world to our games and you’re the ones screwing up the party’.”
Dr Smith explained “there is a feeling in Paris and not just in people in unions that the whole Olympics business has been poorly organised”.
“People working in the private sector are unsure what the situation is about holidays is and what the compensation will be. There has been a lack of clarity from the government and these things could have been sorted at out before. It’s not as if they didn’t know the games were coming.”
“You listen to French ministers on the radio talking on a marco level about their plans but for many individuals, it’s not clear to them what’s happening.”
Paris prepares for Olympic Games - in pictures
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded