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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 22 January 2020

Changing tack, French strikers

turn off power to press govt

By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press
PARIS (AP) — Opening an-
other front in their battle
against the French govern-
ment, protesting workers
cut power to thousands
of Parisians on Tuesday,
plunging homes into dark-
A woman photographs the Mediterranean sea as the waves hit ness and shutting down
the breakwater during a storm in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday,
Jan. 21, 2020. trains to one of the capital's
Associated Press main airports.
The deliberate outage last-
Winter storm lashes ed around two hours. It hit French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech as he
users in the southern sub-
Spanish coast, leaves urbs of Paris, which include visits a plant of British-Swedish pharmaceutical group Astra-
the Orly international air-
zeneca in Dunkirk, northern France, Monday, Monday, Jan. 20,
port and the massive Rungis
2020.
4 dead, power cuts market that supplies food Associated Press
to the Paris region. Franck
Jouanno, a local leader of other methods to keep up the cut affected 35,000 of
the leftist CGT union, said the pressure on President its customers. At the Rungis
MADRID (AP) — A win- La Vanguardia newspaper Emmanuel Macron and his food market, generators
ter storm lashed much said. power grid workers target-
of Spain for a third day Another video showed the ed the area because it is centrist government. took over and maintained
Tuesday, leaving 200,000 swollen Onyar River in the one of "the economic lungs Jouanno described the power during the outage.
people without electricity, northeastern city of Gero- of Europe." Paris households that lost Julien Denormandie, a
minister,
con-
schools closed and roads na gushing past buildings "It's symbolic," Jouanno said power when families were deputy
blocked by snow as it killed and almost touching the of the power cut, speaking starting their day as "collat- demned the union action
as "scandalous, irrespon-
four people. bottom of some bridges. in a telephone interview. eral damage."
Massive waves and gale- Authorities warned there "It made a buzz and that's "It bothers me, but unfor- sible."
tunately there is always an Macron, who is trying to
force winds smashed into was a risk it could break its what everyone wants."
seafront towns, damaging banks. The CGT is pushing for a impact and a power cut blend scores of separate
many shops and restau- Much of Gerona province complete withdrawal of isn't the end of the world," pension systems and rules
rants and flooding some was without electricity for the French government's he told broadcaster BFM- into a universal French pen-
TV
sion, says his plan will be
streets. several hours Tuesday be- plans to overhaul the coun-
One video showed a pow- cause of a fault in the pow- try's pension system. The Power was cut to the au- fairer to all French workers
tomated shuttle train that and will be sustainable as
erful wave crashing over er connection with France, planned reforms have trig-
a seafront wall and send- emergency services said gered six weeks of protests serves Orly airport. The shut- the country ages.
ing water cascading to- on Twitter. and crippling transport tle's operator, the RATP, But workers in sectors who
ward the street and nearby Many schools remained strikes. said thousands of users can now sometimes re-
were impacted and that tire earlier than the official
buildings in Cala Ratjada closed in the northeastern But with many striking trans-
on the Mediterranean is- region of Catalonia as well port workers now returning it "firmly condemns this act age of 62 don't want to
land of Mallorca. as the Valencia region fur- to work, and train services of malice." Buses were used lose their special privileges.
Ports on the nearby island ther south and the inland largely restored in Paris to transport passengers in- Some power grid workers
can retire as young as 57,
of Menorca have been region of Aragon, Spanish and nationwide, hardcore stead.
closed for two days, the media said.q protesters are looking for Power supplier Enedis said Jouanno said.q