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FACTBOX-European governments face protests
29 Jan 2009 11:28:06 GMT
 Source: Reuters
Jan 29 (Reuters) - French workers staged a nationwide strike on Thursday to try to force President Nicolas Sarkozy and business leaders to do more to protect jobs during the economic crisis.

Here are some details of protests around Europe against the effects of the global financial crisis:

* BULGARIA

-- Hundreds of Bulgarians demanded economic and social reforms in the face of a global slowdown last week in a second week of anti-government protests.

-- Students, teachers, green activists, doctors and public servants took part in the rally in front of parliament in Sofia, calling on the Socialist-led government to act or step down.

-- Earlier this month, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, smashed windows and damaged cars in Sofia when a rally against corruption and slow reforms in the face of the economic crisis turned into a riot.

* FRANCE

-- France's eight national unions have backed a strike call and drawn up a joint list of demands for the government and companies, which they accuse of trying to use the crisis as a pretext to lay off workers and cut costs. [ID:nLT707950]

-- Public transport was snarled up and many flights were cancelled. Schools, banks, hospitals, the post office, law courts and state broadcasters were also expected to be hit by the protest.

* GREECE

-- On the 11th day of protests in Greece some farmers at key border crossings and the main agricultural town of Larisa in central Greece kept protests up, saying they would decide on further action on Thursday. [ID:nLT011533]

-- However other farmers in southern and central Greece accepted a 500 million euro government compensation package on Wednesday and began pulling their tractors out of blockades that had closed Greece's main arterial roads.

-- High youth unemployment was a main driver for rioting in Greece in December, initially sparked by the police shooting of a youth in an Athens suburb. General unemployment runs just above the EU average at 7.4 percent but the figure is 21.2 percent for the 15-24 age group and 10.5 percent for those aged 25-34. The protests forced a government reshuffle.

* ICELAND

-- Iceland's president called on Iceland's Social Democratic Alliance leader, Ingibjorg Gisladottir, this week to form a new government. She is widely expected to form a coalition with the Left-Greens, whose popularity had surged in the wake of the financial meltdown.

-- Outgoing Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned on Monday under pressure from a series of protests, some of which had turned violent.

* LATVIA

-- A 10,000-strong protest in Latvia on Jan. 16 descended into a riot, with protesters trying to storm parliament before going on the rampage. Government steps to cut wages, as part of an austerity plan to win international aid, have angered people.

* LITHUANIA

-- Also on Jan. 16, police fired teargas to disperse demonstrators who pelted parliament with stones in protest at government cuts in social spending to offset an economic slowdown. Police said 80 people were detained and 20 injured.

-- Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said the violence would not stop an austerity plan launched after a slide in output and revenues.

* RUSSIA

-- About 100 protesters were arrested in the Eastern port city of Vladivostok last month during demonstrations against hikes in second hand car import duties aimed at protecting jobs in the domestic car industry.


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