FRENCH STRIKE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 120, 6 March 1950, Page 3

FRENCH STRIKE

WILD SCENES IN ASSEMBLY ' SPEAKER ADJOURNS SESSION (N.Z. P. A..—Copy rigli O (Rec. 9.40) PARIS, March 5. ■ About 50 Communist deputies this evening tried to get to grips with Government deputies in the National Assembly/ after violent verbal exchanges,, during the debate on the Government's AntiSabotage Bill.

Ushers barred their way, and a violent scuffle followed, during which the Speaker suspended the session, until late to-night, with about 30 Communist amendments still on the agenda. In all about 60 Communist amendments to the Bill had been proposed. All French and Algerian ports, except Marseilles, were idle yesterday after Communist-led dockers had called a lightning 24-hour strike to test their strength for planned action against United States 1 arms' shipments.. The Marseilles dockers decided to. work beeaiise they had struck on Fee-’ ruary 27. Between 350,000 and 400,000 French workers are on strike for higher wages —with the threat of worse- to come.

Many Groups Engulfed The , vast majority of strikers so far are metal workers, but the tide is engulfing other labour groups. Seventy per cent, of Paris civil servants have decided to stop work, and the ground staff at Orly, which is the main longdistance airport for Paris, has struck. The vast Alsace plants of Forges de Strasbourg and the Bugatti car works became idle on Friday, and the Nantes shipyards and Marseilles dockers are prepared to hack nationwide demands for a monthly bonus and more pay. v " The Government is completing emergency plans to deal with an ex-, pected bus and underground strike in Paris to-morrow. There is also a growing threat of large-scale strikes by gas and electricity workers later in the week. A final strike decision will be taken by 31,000. transport workers tonight. If they decide to come out, the Government will requisition the city’s buses and operate tb,em with troops. Service experts are also expected to be drafted into electricity and gas plants, where more than 70 per cent, of the workers are- on strike. The ) French National Assembly went into recess early this morning, after a record-breaking and violent debate on the Government’s Bill to deal with saboteurs. The . Assembly sat for 48 hours. It will meet again this afternoon. Wheh it convenes against the Assembly will take up immediately a compromise Bill agreed upon tentatively by the non-Communist parties with a view to passing it quickly. On Friday and,, yesterday 77 amendments to the Bill were tabled in the Assembly. Many of them were proposed by the Communist bloc, and are aimed at -suppression of the first article of the Bill, which provides gaol for saboteurs. . Guards , surged into the Assembly to-day, for the second time during the debate, to evict defiant Communists after the Assembly had voted to suspend a Communist deputy, Mr Musmeaux, for his part when nists stormed the Speaker's chair on Friday.