BEFORE ZERO HOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 132, 1 December 1938, Page 9

BEFORE ZERO HOUR

START OF STRIKE

ARMED FORCES ON GUARD

(Independent Cable Service.)

(Received December 1, 9 a.m.)

PARIS, November 30,

The strike swung into action at \ p.m. on Tuesday, eight hours ahead of schedule, with a walk-out of photographers and operators on the "Paris Soir." This was followed at 5 p.m. by

what is claimed to t>e a 100 per cent, stoppage.at Hachette's great newspaper distributing agency.

Police and mobile guards carrying rifles took up positions on the footpaths outside these buildings, and round the corner theatre crowds queued up for a performance of "Carmen" at the Opera Comique.

The offices of the Communist newspaper "Humanite" v were closely guarded by workers who carefully scrutinised each visitor.

Ten thousand mobile guards were stationed at strategic points near the working-class quarters all over Paris, and the city was encircled by 40,000 troops, including Senegalese and Spahis. Tanks and armoured cars were held In readiness and troops moved into key positions throughout France, occupying power stations, gas works, and telephone exchanges. . Trains started running to schedule and the underground railways opened at 5 a.m. with soldiers on the platforms. The telephone exchanges were operating normally.

Early reports indicate that the strike has largely failed in the capital, although it is more successful in the provinces.

The situation in Paris was almost normal at 10 a.m., with buses, taxis, and underground trains running and the people going to work as usual. Only a small percentage of postal and telephone workers obeyed the strike order. . '

Police arrested a number of pickets near Montparnasse Station.

Lille and Lyons are reported to be calm, but there is a tense situation at Marseilles, where black troops are guarding the railway stations, public buildings, and bridges. Only a few trains are running. Street transport came to a standstill when the workers arrived at the depots but refused duty. A later Paris message states that cafes and shops are open. The Underground Railway Workers' Association cancelled the strike order at 8 a.m. The Ministry of Public Works reports that.the national railways are nearly normal.