French teachers go on strike over job cuts

By Brian Rohan

PARIS (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of French teachers and other public sector workers went on strike on Thursday to protest against job cuts and reforms announced by conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy's government.

It was the third broad public sector strike since Sarkozy took office a year ago promising reforms to reinvigorate the economy. Unions are already planning a bigger strike on May 22 involving a larger chunk of the workforce.

Teachers and students marched through central Paris in a demonstration that flowed through some of the French capital's biggest boulevards. Police estimated the number of marchers at 18,000 while organizers put the figure at more than 50,000.

The main issue in Thursday's protests was a plan to shed 11,200 jobs in education, including over 8,000 teaching posts, by not replacing one out of two retiring employees.

The government says the job cuts are necessary to rein in public spending and balance the budget by 2012, in line with a French commitment to the European Union.

An OpinionWay poll found 54 percent of respondents felt the strike was justified.

Sarkozy, whose popularity ratings are at record lows, said in a televised speech he supported the right to strike but would push for a law forcing schools to stay open during strikes so parents can go to work.

"Strikes bring insurmountable difficulties to many families... I have asked the government to submit a bill before the summer to guarantee a right for children to be received at our schools," he said.