Films blocked by French strikers

A shipment of film reels arriving for the Cannes Film
Festivals, has been briefly blocked by showbusiness workers
currently striking in France. Around 100 artists and
technicians stood in front of the gate at a warehouse in
Garges-les-Gonesse, Paris, where the reels were delivered.

The workers have been on strike since last summer in protest
at reforms which cut their benefits.

They have threatened to protest at the festival, which begins
on Wednesday.

Previously, France’s 100,000 industry employees qualified for
year-round unemployment pay-outs if they worked for just
three months.

Emergency

But changes introduced in January reduced the amount of
benefits and the period in which they are received - while
tightening requirements to qualify for them.

The French government has outlined an emergency plan to
settle the strike, pledging 20m euros (£13.5m) to a fund to
pay unemployment benefits to showbusiness workers.

They have said the fund would make payouts over a limited
period to workers who clocked 507 hours over a 12-month
period.

However, the CGT arts workers’ union has rejected the deal
and has warned the festival might still be disrupted.

Protests

The strike has already affected other major events in France.

Last summer, the Avignon Theatre Festival had to be cancelled
due to protests by performing artists.

The Cannes Film Festival has little chance of being cancelled
due to the strike, as it does not depend on part-time
showbusiness workers.

The Festival is due to open with Pedro Almodovar’s latest
film Bad Education.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/3696607.stm