Strikes in Paris On Monday and Tuesday the French Government
was faced in Paris with a renewed outbreak of strikes. On Monday a strike took place among the packing and distributive staffs of the central warehouses, and spread to the large provision stores before it was settled on Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday also occurred the one- hour strike threatened by employees of the Paris Municipal Council ; a violent demonstration in the evening led to the death of a gendarme. Both strikes demonstrate the difficulty of applying the Matignon agreements, which were hastily drawn up in the summer as a means of settling the great wave of industrial unrest which faced the Blum Government when it came to power. In both also the employees based their claim on the rise in the cost of living which has exceeded any increases in wages. The strike of the provision workers was particu- larly important, because it took place after an award had been made under the process of arbitration which will become law under M. Blum's new Bill. The Socialist paper, Le Peuple, has frequently repeated that the Arbitration Bill does not do away with the strike weapon ; but that the workers should be so ready to meet arbitra- tion with strikes has dismayed many people, especially the Radicals. It is noticeable also that the employers, who in the summer resigned themselves passively to the situation, are now adopting a much firmer attitude towards their employees.
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