French union leaders said Friday they were disappointed with the initiatives of President Nicolas Sarkozy to tackle the financial crisis and warned they were ready to launch new protests against his government. Sarkozy announced Thursday that he would scrap a costly local business ads are tax regime to encourage companies to keep factories and jobs in France, but has refused to bow to EU demands to provide direct support to struggling consumers.
Instead, he suggested negotiations on February 18 to discuss possible increases to social benefits or partial income tax cuts. "There was no practical or immediate action. Everything was deferred until further discussion," says Jean-Claude Mailly, head of the Force ouvrière union. Up to 2.5 million people nationwide participated in the meetings of January 29 in protest against Sarkozy's 26 billion euro (22, 6 billion pound) stimulus package that focuses on public investment rather than encouraging the High Street price.
Leaders of France's eight Union Federation is due to meet on Monday to plan the next step in their protest movement. "It is clear that we must continue to mobilize. If not, we will remain in this hazy situation," Bernard Thibault, leader of the large CGT union, told Europe 1 radio, without giving further details. Francis Chereque, leader of the more moderate CFDT union, said he had expected more from Sarkozy but ruled out further strikes until labor leaders met with the President later this month.
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