A strike disrupted public transport, classrooms and shops across France yesterday as workers defied a government decision to scrap the Pentecost holiday to generate funds for healthcare for the elderly.
Millions were expected to stay at home or strike over what they call "a day of free work", undermining President Jacques Chirac and the government two weeks before a referendum on a new European Union Constitution which the "Yes" camp could lose.
"You cannot think that we can give up a day's holiday just like that," said Bernard Thibault, leader of the large CGT union which has urged workers to make the government's planned "Day of Solidarity" a day of chaos.
France's cash-strapped government hopes taxes on yesterday's production will generate an extra €2 billion to be spent on healthcare for the aged.
The Education Ministry said one in five teachers was on strike and the teachers' union said only 10 to 15 per cent of pupils aged between 11 and 18 were at school.
French unions said 27 regional transport networks had no service and services were disrupted in more than 70 others.
But Transport Minister Gilles de Robien said there were no major disruptions on the SNCF rail network or Paris underground services, and called the situation "very good overall".
"The only real difficulties concern some urban transport in cities in the provinces, which is managed by local organisations," Mr de Robien said in a statement.
Air traffic returned to normal in the afternoon after protests caused short delays in northern France and at Orly airport south of Paris, air traffic authorities said. At least 3,500 people marched through Bordeaux in the southwest behind a banner declaring "No To Free Work". Up to 1,000 people protested in the northeastern town of Colmar, and over 1,300 in southern Marseille, witnesses and police said.
About a third of postal workers were on strike and energy workers protested, unions said. Many shops remained closed.
Opinion polls at the weekend suggested more than half of workers planned to stay at home - 14 per cent because they planned to strike - and that two-thirds of French people opposed the government's decision.
By dumping what was one of 11 public holidays, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin hopes to avoid raising taxes on individuals. He was due to assess the response to his call to work in a television interview today.
In 2003, the government was criticised for being unprepared and not acting fast enough to save lives when an August heatwave killed 15,000 people, most of them elderly.
In Germany, members of the ruling coalition Social Democrats and Greens rejected calls by industry to scrap the Pentecost holiday. "France shows clearly that such an initiative would not be advisable," said Volker Beck, a Greens member of parliament.
The controversy in France comes at an awkward time for the government before a May 29 referendum on the EU Constitution, which is intended to make the 25-nation bloc work more smoothly following its enlargement in May last year.
Discontent over the scrapping of the holiday has contributed to a new surge in opposition to the charter, pollsters say.
Some 54 per cent oppose the Constitution against 46 in favour, according to an Ifop poll published on Saturday.