Strikes paralyse French ports

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

MARSEILLE, France (AFP) — France's biggest port of Marseille ground to a halt on Wednesday as walkouts by port workers angry at privatisation plans sparked disruption across the country.

Cargo traffic was paralysed in the Mediterranean port, although passenger ferries were allowed to move in and out freely, as around 1,000 crane-drivers, signals operators and dockers formed a picket line on site.

"The port is not for sale," striking workers scrawled across a highway bridge nearby.

Protestors also blocked access to the Atlantic cargo terminals at Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Saint-Nazaire, and Le Havre and Rouen on the Channel, unions and port management said.

In Nantes, some 300 demonstrators blocked access to France's biggest wood terminal with a...