Strikes spread to all nuclear plants in France
France’s union workers plan to begin rolling strikes in the power sector, including at all nuclear plants as part of nationwide protests against contentious labor reforms.
Members of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) union voted to down tools at all 19 nuclear power plants on Thursday.
“All power production sites voted to strike from Thursday. All 19 nuclear plants voted for the strike. We will start cutting power output tonight from 1900 GMT,” said CGT union official Laurent Langlard.
The walkout will unlikely end up in blackouts since there is a rule that obliges unions to retain a minimum output level that prevents outages.
However, the EDF, France’s nuclear electric power generation company, might be forced to boost its electricity imports from neighboring countries to make up for the shortage.
France produces around 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy. The rest is derived from renewable energy and fossil fuels.
Langlard said that in addition to nuclear plants, hydro- and fuel-powered stations also voted in favor of the strike.
Earlier, pilots at Air France announced that they were planning a walkout for up to four days at the end of the next week.
The call came on top of an open-ended rail strike which began across the country earlier on Wednesday.
The strikes in the transportation sector can create massive travel disruptions as the month-long Euro 2016 soccer tournament starts.
Last week, oil sector workers also joined the nationwide strike, which led to refinery shutdowns, blockade of fuel depots and fuel supply disruption.
Paris says the labor reforms are aimed at boosting the country’s economy and curbing the high unemployment rate.
Protesters and workers’ unions, however, say the government wants to make it easier and less costly for employers to lay off workers, calling the reforms an attack on workers’ rights.
The draft labor bill was recently forced through the lower house of parliament, but it must be debated in the Senate for final approval.
The French government has refused to scrap the bill, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls saying he will not bow to protests.
President Francois Hollande has also repeatedly stressed that the reform package would not be withdrawn despite stiff opposition and numerous protests.
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