To set the tone An excerpt from the BBC via NPR
“Hundreds of thousands of French workers have begun protests across the country during a nationwide strike.
Schools are closed and public transport is being disrupted, with demonstrations organised in about 200 towns.
Police said there were about 85,000 people at the rally, according to the AFP news agency.
“They have a profound sense of social injustice, and that, I think, is something that neither the government nor the employers have understood,” said Jean-Claude Mailly, head of the large Force Ouvriere union.
Marches are also being held in Marseille, Lyon, Grenoble and many other towns and cities.
It is the second time in two months that major demonstrations have been held, following a similar display in January.
Recent polls show three-quarters of French people support the strikers.
President Sarkozy said on Wednesday that he “understands the concerns of the French people” but has ruled out plans for further measures.
Unemployment is likely to shoot up to 10% in the next 12 months with a further 350,000 lay-offs expected by the end of this year.
Many people are angry that big companies like the oil giant Total is making staff redundant while simultaneously announcing record profits, the BBC’s Emma Jane Kirby in Paris says.”
OK GOD here we have in a different part of the world where it seems outrage and injustice is a motivating influence upon the population…I would pray that we could learn in this country from our French role models about how to demonstrate our support for the common working folk who are fighting against unemployment with means that may not have proven terrifically effective over time but nevertheless show a solidarity that we so rarely see in this country.
I would pray for solidarity
I would pray for employment for all
I would pray to end hunger and
I would pray for respect for working folk.
I would pray that executives do the right thing even if the law doesn’t say they have to.
Amen