Paris Bread Shorter

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31017, 24 March 1966, Page 13

Paris Bread Shorter

(N Z P .4 -Reuter—Copyright)

PARIS, March 23.

Parisians today struggled to work after a breakfast without fresh bread as a nation-wide gas and electricity strike brought chaos in the home and to public transport.

The 24-hour stoppage by electricity workers, which began last night, drastically cut the number of trains.

Army lorries were called in

to help get people to work. But it was the absence of fresh bread which many felt most. Bakeries in the Paris area decided to close today because of the risk of cuts in electric current. As the Frenchman’s muchloved long loaves do not stay fresh for more than a few hours, it was a case of going without or turning to gen-erally-despised English-style cut bread, which keeps longer. Large areas of suburban Paris were plunged into total darkness soon after the strike began at 9 o’clock last night. There were also cuts in some provincial towns.

Parisians were hardest hit by the strike Only about half the normal commuter trains were due to run and there were long waits for trains on the city’s underground railway.

Hundreds of army lorries were used to ferry people to work from 18 scattered points on the outskirts of the city. Power cuts blacked out some traffic lights, adding to the chaos on the roads. Nearly 2000 police were specially detailed to control traffic in Paris at junctions where the lights were not working. Users of gas were warned to keep a* constant watch and turn off taps whenever the supply failed. Many factories and small businesses told their employees to stay at home. Most cinemas and theatres were due to open. So too were the majority of restaurants, but with simplified menus and serving mainly cold dishes. The strikes are part of a national trade union campaign for higher pay and better conditions, particularly in Staterun industries.

Railway workers have called their second strike in two weeks at midnight tomorrow night