"The strike by transport workers and other public employees has paralyzed France since Nov. 24 ... "But what has really shocked President Jacquez Chirac and his prime minister, Alain Juppe, is broad sympathy among ordinary French citizens for the strike -- illustrated by the hundres of thousands who joined more huge protest marches across the nation Tuesday -- and the level of antipaty for the president they elected six months ago. "Instead of becoming angry at the strikers, most French are angry at the government. Very angry. Candidate Chirac promised them more jobs and higher salaries. President Chirac is demanding major sacrifices in the sacrosanct state welfare system to reduce its soaring deficit, and he has flatly refused to back down." -- "Public Support for Strike Stuns French Leaders," by Scott Kraft, L.A. TIMES, Dec. 6, 1995. No only is this good news, but it suggests that Daniel Singer's view that French politics became "Americanized" under Mitterand, though seemingly right at the electoral level, is wrong at the grassroots level. in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.
