(1 Mar 1979) notes: col print
location: paris
title: french economy
serviced date: 03/01/79
no: lnc 11557
date shot: file
length: 111 ft
seconds: 2.58
sound: natsof
date of arrival:
film shows: demonstrations in paris and the french provinces by workers against the government's economic policies as a backgrounder to the current workers' unrest situation in france.
lead in: the french premier, raymond barre, has reiterated his determination that the government will not modify its current economic restraint policies despite the serious employment difficulties in the steel industry and other ailing industrial sectors.
like great britain, france has been plagued with worker unrest over the government's attempts to defeat inflation. strikes and demonstrations have been manifold. while firmly rejecting gaullist party appeals to reflate the economy, premier barre has not ruled out measures to stimulate industrial investment at the appropriate time.
replying to criticisms, not only from the left wing parties but also from some of president giscard d'estaing's supporters, that the government was not taking the present crisis seriously enough, prime minister barre has said that it is pointless to chop and change economic policies all the time.
however, despite the protest about the rate of unemployment and the demands for higher wage settlements, all in all there is an upturn in the economy. the rate of inflation for the year ending december 1978 was held to a 0.7% rise at 9.7%. that, however, is still three times the west german rate, france's main trading partner.
if france is to succeed in her economic recovery, then that inflation rate must be cut back and her export goods made far more competitive.
feet r/secs
7 11 gv demonstrators with banners
10 16 ms socialist party leaders on balcony.
15 24 gv demonstrators with banners.
18 29 gv firemen demonstrating.
22 35 ms empty bus station
27 43 ms post office.
35 56 gv rail station pan across empty trains.
50 1.20 ms army collecting garbage. 4 shots
54 1.26 ms cgt delegates arrive.
59 1.34 gv cgt meeting. 2 shots
74 1.58 gv banks closed by strike. 4 shots
77 2.03 gv renault factory. 2 shots
81 2.10 ts renault cars.
87 2.19 gv farmers marching.
111 2.58 gv rioting scenes.
commentary: unemployment in france is now at its highest level with 1.3 million people applying for jobs and 900,000 on the dole. it may well keep growing in the near future and that does not even take into account a second big recession being imported from america in the next two or three years.
if france is not managing to solve all its economic problems it is not through lack of concern from its leaders. premier raymond barre is a highly trained economist and spends most of his time at the hotel mantignon dealing with the economic issues.
yet there is much underlying dissent and protest among the country's worke this one day strike by transport workers made going to work for parisians a misery. only one out every three suburban trains bringing commuters to the capital was running.
sporadic strikes by refuse collectors last october resulted in 3000 tons of garbage piling up in the streets of paris. the government summoned 3000 army drafteees from the vincennes barracks to clean up the stinking piles of refuse. the refuse collectors were demanding a higher job classification which would have meant wage raises all round.
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