“Nearly 40% of personnel” from state middle schools and high schools took to the streets for the strike, according to the education union Snes-FSU. However, earlier in the day, Minister for Education Luc Chatel had forecast a 20% turnout for the education sector strike. 

16,000 jobs to be eliminated in 2010

This is the first strike in the educational sector since the beginning of the academic year, and it covers all levels of the school system.

Three unions called for the strike a month ago in protest at the announcement that 16,000 jobs would be cut in 2010, this would bring the total number of job cuts across the sector to 50,000 over three years.

Postal workers take a stand against privatisation

Postal workers also took to the streets across the country Tuesday, with the strike in Paris beginning at Port-Royal at 2:30pm.

The strike was called by five postal unions and, according to the head of La Poste, had a 14.07% participation rate. The action is aimed at voicing their objection to the proposed privatisation of postal services.

The five unions have also declared that the strike will be of indeterminate length. This is the fourth such anti-privatisation strike.