1.
GTV Demonstrators with banners in street
0.14

2.
CU Banners (2 shots)
0.22

3.
CU Union representative speaking
0.34

4.
TV Demonstrators with banners (VOICE CONTINUES OVER) (2 shots)
0.40

5.
CU Union representative continues
0.45

6.
GV & LV Crowd cheering
0.51

7.
SV PAN Demonstrators listen
1.07

8.
SV & LV Union leader finishes speech and crowd cheers
1.20



Initials BB/1622 BL/JB/BB/1633



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Tens of thousands of French workers took to the streets of Paris in a mass demonstrations on Tuesday (12 November) on strikes spread through public and essenting services.

The spate of stoppages was triggered off byea postal strike which began four weeks ago, to orotest against the government's anti-inflation austerity measures.

The country's postal service has been crippled and agitation by railwaymen has meant heavy cuts in rail services.

The strike organisers -- the communist-led C.G.T. and the C.F.D.T., a more moderate group -- called on other civil service industries to join the strike. The call was answered by newspaper, hospital, customs and social security workers, as well as gas and electricity employees, who agreed to stop work for at least 24 hours.

The two major union groups have also called for a national strike on 19 November as another flage in their long-standing battle against President Giscard D'Estaing's anti-inflation measures.

The leaders of the union groups have said the aim of the strikes is to force the "government and the management association to negotiate". The government however, has claimed the strikes are politically inspired, with serious consequences for the nation.