Hostile take-over continues at Paris bank

Workers World, 6 February 1997

Workers occupying the Credit Fonciers bank in Paris vowed to continue their take-over until the government scraps its plan to spin off part of the bank's operations and lay off workers. Hundreds of employees took over the bank on Jan. 17. They held bank executives hostage until Jan. 22. On Jan. 28, some 1,000 workers marched in Paris in solidarity with the take-over.

The break-up of state-owned Credit Fonciers is part of Prime Minister Alain Juppé's government's plans to impose austerity measures in order to bring France's economy in line with integration into the European Union. The workers' union claims that the restructuring plan would cost over 1,000 jobs.

The bank take-over has become a lightning rod for the increasingly active French labor movement. Fourteen unions-- representing 80,000 workers--announced plans to hold a rally in support of Credit Fonciers workers on Jan. 28. The action has become the latest showdown between labor and Juppé. Juppé has tried to impose a series of budget-cutting and restructuring plans, only to be forced into retreat by mass strikes.