Surrendering to a bunch of a**holes

SARKO[ZY]: The answer from those bawling

Nicolas Sarkozy, France's finance minister, has given up any immediate privatisation of EdF and Gaz de France, the electricity and gas utilities, in a further concession to mounting union protests against any change to these state entities.

Hoping to appease EdF and Gaz de France employees, the richest and most powerful in the French trades union movement, Mr Sarkozy on Tuesday announced plans to set up a commission to look into the opening up of the utilities' capital. This could delay by 12 months any decision on the issue while providing a closer look at EdF's substantial investment needs and financial liabilities. . .

Mr Sarkozy said the commission looking into EdF and Gaz de France would lead to one of two scenarios: "Either there will be no need for new finance and in that case there will be no opening up of capital; or there is need for funds and in that case the government will provide EdF with the means necessary for its development. Once the new law is voted, one could well imagine the state remaining a 100 per cent shareholder for years: nothing says the state needs to cede its stake". . .

[Frédéric Imbrecht, head of the CGT's energy branch] maintained: "This shows the demonstrations by our members have not been in vain". . .

For weeks the CGT has carried out demonstrations and an escalating series of guerrilla actions. There have been power cuts affecting parts of towns, railway lines and motorway installations, plus blackouts on second homes of at least four ministers.

Demonstrators even removed on Tuesday the electricity meter from the home near Poitiers of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the prime minister, where his mother still lives. In Paris the CGT staged a 5,000-strong march under a banner: "No to privatisation, yes to nationalised public services."

Congratulations, Mr. Sarkozy. One step forward, two steps back.

No Reagan miracle for France. France doesn't deserve a Ronald Reagan anyway.

UPDATE: And it is of course still not e-nough.

There is nothing new. As far as we're concerned, what is scandalous is that Nicolas Sarkozy wants to change [EDF's] status at any price (...) He's putting in place the process for privatization", said to Reuters Maurice Marion, spokesperson for the CGT-Energie. . .

Some EDF employees cut off the power briefly on Wednesday, just after 3 pm, in several of Paris' arrondissements, causing power outages, notably at the Elysée Palace and on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées.

Demonstrators cut off power during about ten minutes in the "well-off parts" of the capital, in the 7th, 8th and 16th arrondissements. . .
Several buildings of offices, appartments, as well as a FNAC store were touched by these actions that aim at obtaining a withdrawal of the government bill for a change of status of EDF-GDF.

Below is a CGT demonstrator proudly brandishing the electricity meter of PM Raffarin's second home, after it was removed.