"Put an End To the Beginning!"

In the Luxembourg - outside, beneath the trees and
the falling leaves.

Culture Strikes Continue

Paris:- Monday, 22. October 2001:- False bomb alerts and phoney anthrax alarms have drastically increased in frequency in France since the world 'changed forever' on Tuesday, 11. September. Before this date, nobody had ever heard of the disease.

Authorities here have reacted swiftly, with courts handing out prison sentences to offenders on the spot. No waiting five years to go to jail, like many unconvicted murderers and other violent criminals who can spend long periods in 'preventative detention' without being tried.

Whether as a gag or for revenge, the courts see no difference and they are being generous with jail terms ranging from a couple of weeks up to three months. The maximum penalties can be two years behind Swedish curtains and fines of up to 200,000 francs - which will amount to 30,490 euros after the beginning of next year.

The crime is called 'communicating a false information' - which, besides having a version in French also has a buzzword called, 'Intox.'

In the days before the world 'changed forever' Paris had an average of about four 'bomb alerts' daily. This figure - including the cases of mailing milk powder to the tax inspectors - has jumped to 40 a day in Paris alone.

Each 'alert' causes a big mobilization of firemen, police, bomb experts, and lately, detox experts - usually amounting to a sizable crew. Buildings and métro stations are evacuated and security perimeters are set up - with all the attendant disruptions these cause.

Psychiatrists say the fake warnings are sent by people who have loose marbles at the best of times, and get a kick out of causing trouble - or want to 'get even,' such as the man who took revenge on the source of all the junk mail filling his in-box.

So far, emergency measures have cost tens of millions of francs. Not only are public places evacuated, but many people have landed in hospitals for observation because they were in contact with suspected anthrax - which takes no less than 72 hours to verify. in France the disease is usually called, 'la maladie du charbon.'

What no reports mention, is how the authorities are tracking down the hoaxers they are catching and sending to jails in France. Unlike in the United States, French justice officials have not announced any one million dollar rewards leading to the arrest of people sending poisoned mail.

According to tonight's TV-news, France is the world's leader for phoney anthrax alerts. The stiff jail terms are meant to 'put an end to the beginning' of them.

As of the weekend strikes are still going on at the destinations of many visitors - the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Pompidou Centre - as well as non-destinations such as prisons in Alsace and Lorraine.

The implementation of the 35-hour work week is still the cause of the seemingly ever-lasting conflict, although the museums are under the Ministry of Culture and Justice looks after the prisons.

On the 1st of January, 2002, no less the 5.5 million civil servants are supposed to only show up for work for 35 hours each week.

One of the problems is that under current rules civil servants work between 1540 and 2080 hours per year, and the objective is to bring them all into line with about 1600 hours.

The other problem is that the government wants to do this hat-trick without hiring anybody new. The government also expects services to expand their hours, to be more accessible to the public.

This is not going to be easy to do without increasing the number of civil servants, while each of them get the equivalent of an extra month off work per year.

This has been partly solved at one tax-collection office that has reduced its opening hours. A sign on the door says, 'tap on the window for entry when we're closed.'

Last Tuesday's big strike was hardly felt in the public administration sector, but public transport was hit hard. Although strikers numbered less than usual for this sort of a multi-union affair, many users in Paris suburbs decided to take the day off - which is more easily done with the 35-hour week.

The result was some of the reduced number of trains that were operating, ran nearly empty. While leaders of the CGT and FO unions were satisfied with the results, the all-over effect was only a pale shadow of earlier 'grand strikes.'

The government reacted with announcements concerning the sectors directly concerned by the 'crises' - the airlines, insurance and tourism - and had nothing to say about salaries, unemployment and protection of jobs -which were uppermost in the demands of the unions involved.

Meanwhile in the Paris region, the semi-general strike, mixed with the 'Vigipirate' security operations - produced 279 kilometres of traffic jams at 8:30 - which was far from the 400 km record set in 1995 during the train strikes.

Last week the Galeries Lafayette group stepped in with an offer to assure the continuation of the Marks & Spencer chain in France, with a guarantee to save 1500 jobs.

However, the unions involved have not yet been informed of the conditions. They don't know if workers will continue to work for the old brand-name, or if the chain of stores will be absorbed into the Galeries Lafayette circle.

Besides its own flagship name, the family-owned Galeries Lafayette also controls the Nouvelles Galeries, the BHV department store chain, Monoprix, and a credit unit.

lib-er-aladj. Abbr.lib. 1. Having, expressing, or following social or political views or policies that favor non-revolutionary progress and reform. 2. Having, expressing, or following views or policies that favor the freedom of individuals to act or express themselves in a manner of their own choosing. 3.CapitalLAbbr.Lib. Of, designating, or belonging to a Liberal political party. 4. Of, relating to, or characteristic of representational forms of government. 5. Tolerant of the ideas or behavior of others. 6.a. Tending to give freely; generous: a liberal benefactor.b. Generously given; bountiful: a liberal serving.7. Not literal: a liberal translation.8.Obsolete.a. Permissible or appropriate for a free man. b. Unrestrained. 9. Relating to or based on a liberal arts education. -n.1. A person with liberal ideas or opinions. 2.CapitalLAbbr.Lib. A member of a Liberal political party. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin liberalis, of freedom, from liber,free.]