Distracted drivers
Fri, 17 Apr 2009
Hardly surprising that this week's lead story is the blockade of France's northern ports by its belligerent fishermen; but it could very easily been another of the country's famously truculent industries, haulage, which is on the verge of meltdown.
So difficult has life become for French truckers that it appears they either no longer have the will for strike action - which simply beggars belief - or they are too preoccupied with winning any business they can.
France's road haulage federation, the FNTR, says it is not planning any protest action to draw attention to the plight of its members - in particular, the soaring bankruptcy rate among them.
This FNTR "we'll grin and bear it" attitude contrasts sharply with the more radical approach it adopted in the past, disrupting and, in some cases, blocking road traffic to get its case heard and push the government into action. Its prevailing mood is not a call to arms, but rather one of reflection - those most exposed to the downturn are utterly absorbed in individual battles for survival.
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