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CU Finance Ministry building PAT TO demonstrators walking down road
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CU Demonstrators with banners (4 shots)
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GV Ministry building PAN TO demonstrators marching past (3 shots)
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Initials ET/319 ET/337



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Public service employees and salaried staff staged a mass demonstration march from the Hotel de Ville in Paris to the Ministry of Finance building on Friday (8 November).

WP Ministry is responsible for salaries of all people employed by the State and Friday's march was one of several protests that have taken place in France recently.

The national postal workers' strike is entering its fourth week and the two most important trade unions have called a general strike for 13 November. Electricity workers have been asked to strike on 13 and 14 November and print unions are also involved in protest movements, which are being supported by the journalist's unions.

The French Government has accused the strikers of political motivation, but the unions have vigorously denied this. They say that they don't see why the workers should take the brunt of austerity measures introduced recently in efforts to curb inflation, which, in France, is running at a yearly rate of 13 per cent.