FRANCE – Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of France yesterday to demonstrate anger over an unexpected change in the country’s weather.
The 24-hour national strike comes after early predictions of sunny intervals proved inaccurate as stormy weather moved across southern parts of France, while Paris and the north saw light winds.
“What is this?” questioned one furious protester in flip flops and low cut blouse “They say sunny, now it is windy. How can we be expected to work below 20 degrees. I’m cold.”
Unfair conditions
France’s weather system has been subject to extreme variations throughout the year and activists are angry at being forced to work at such low temperatures, a problem going into the notoriously chilly winter months.
“We must raise the minimum temperature, otherwise there will be no way anyone will take the chance of actually going out and doing their job,” said Francois Chérèque, leader of the Sunshine For France Union.
Eurostar said its trains would operate normally as their drivers rarely see daylight anyway. Some air-traffic controllers walked out on first sign on cloud formation, forcing cancellations and delays of a quarter of flights from Paris airports.
Demanding a change in weather, protesters shouted through megaphones: “Light rain? No, no, no. Chilly winds? No, no, no. Sunshine? Yes, yes, yes.”
‘We’re not lazy’
President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted he was at a loss to respond to the unwillingness of the French people to work, adding that he ‘could not control the weather, so what do you want?’
Protester Michel Prouvier warned that all people of France were behind the rallies and called for urgent action to guarantee warm working conditions or the country could face further strike action:
“We’re even going to have old people out in the street. They love to complain about the weather more than anyone.”
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