French state employees strike over job cuts

Tens of thousands of French public sector workers took to the streets to protest against planned job cuts. Teachers, hospital workers and other state employees marched in Paris and several other cities around the country. They are angry at reforms by President Nicolas Sarkozy and are planning an even larger strike next Thursday. It is the third public sector strike since Sarkozy took office last year. The government says the cuts are necessary to rein in public spending and balance the budget by 2012.

Police estimated some 100,000 took part in the demonstrations while the organisers put the figure at more than double that.

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