July 13, 2005
Liberté, Liberté chérie-euhhh...
Combats avec tes défenseurs*...
They might have been congratulated for their "green" efforts in an area of heavy air pollution.Instead a group of French cleaning ladies who organised a car-sharing scheme to get to work are being taken to court by a coach company which accuses them of "an act of unfair and parasitical competition".
The women, who live in Moselle and work five days a week at EU offices in Luxembourg, are being taken to court by Transports Schiocchet Excursions, which runs a service along the route. It wants the women to be fined and their cars confiscated.
Two years ago a business tribunal threw out the company's case. It is now pursuing the women in a higher court, claiming that their action has cost it €2m (£1.4m).
The women explained that for many years cleaners used the TSE line for the 40-minute ride across the border, which cost them €110 (£76) a month.
"Using our cars is quicker and at least twice as cheap. And on the bus we didn't have the right to eat or even to speak," said Martine Bourguignon. Odette Friedmann added: "In the evening instead of coming to get us at 9.30pm the bus would arrive at 10.30pm. If you made any comment to the driver you'd get a mouthful of abuse."
"It's absurd and ridiculous," said the women's lawyer, Cécile Klein-Schmitt. "I don't see how any magistrate can find any legal basis for this case."
TSE is also suing the women's employer, Onet-Luxembourg. "They've basically accused us of inciting the car-sharing scheme when we have nothing to do with the method of transport used by our staff," said director Frédéric Sirerol.
The court case will be heard in January next year.
(Emphasis mine)
*Liberty, cherished Liberty / Join the fight with your defenders
Posted by Carine at July 13, 2005 09:59 AMSign o' the times - independance is going to be illegal. Not because a fascistic state chooses to impose it, but because the populace demands that it does.
Posted by: Doug at July 13, 2005 12:09 PMFascists are, to a point, populists. Welcome to the brave new world. Thank God, my ancestors migrated!
Posted by: interventor at July 13, 2005 01:09 PMLiberté, Liberté chérie-euhhh... (Made in USA)
http://cagle.slate.msn.com/news/MillerPrison/images/stahler.gif
Posted by: Randall at July 13, 2005 03:10 PMRandall,
Can you make a point besides pointing to a cartoon?
There is no relation between what my post is pointing at and what your cartoon is making fun of. Especially since we're talking about two very different countries.
Maybe that's why you just posted a URL instead of explaining anything at all.
Randall,
I guess this is a more pertinent comparison:
The French media has reacted with shock after raids by police and the judiciary on two titles in Paris.An examining judge, flanked by a dozen staff and special police officers, marched into the offices of the weekly Le Point to seize files and computers.
The offices of sports weekly L'Equipe were raided by another judge.
(...)
It appeared to implicate police officers from the drug squads in an alleged attempt to cover up the story. The judges believed that the journalists interfered with their inquiry.
Prior to the raid, the three journalists at Le Point refused to give any information on their sources.
Their boss, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, said: "We've done nothing illegal, to ask us to name sources is impossible. When journalists betray their sources they are not fit to be journalists anymore."
Looks like in the country in which the "Liberté Liberté chérie" verse comes from, you have no chance to decide whether you're going to name your sources or not.
Posted by: Carine at July 13, 2005 04:01 PMYou'd think some freako eco group would be jumping at the chance to defend them.
Posted by: Jay at July 13, 2005 07:55 PMHelp me, O.K., the bus company is sueing the cleaning ladies for carpooling instead of take the bus to work?
Posted by: Bridgette at July 13, 2005 09:28 PMYep.
Posted by: Carine at July 13, 2005 10:05 PMYes, it really is that hard to believe.
Posted by: Jay at July 13, 2005 10:06 PMOt, but check this out - a Danish pizzeria owner refused to serve french or germans because of their position on the war, he's going to jail for 8 days (things turned out badly for him but he seems cheerful enough - anyway, I like this guy):
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBX1W8Y2BE.html
Posted by: Jay at July 13, 2005 10:24 PMOh, sorry if you'd posted about it before. It was news to me.
Posted by: Jay at July 13, 2005 10:45 PMNo no, I haven't posted about him. Thanks for the link!
But we heard about him several times since 2003. Last time was when he lost his pizzeria, unfortunately.
That's sad that now he has to go to prison on top of it. But I love the way he's going to decorate his cell ;)
Have you visited his website and tried clicking either on the French or German flag?
Posted by: Carine at July 13, 2005 10:50 PMMaybe he changed his website since then, I don;t see either flag so you may have to tell me about it. But do you mean this site?:
http://www.aagespizza.com/english/frameset.asp
Posted by: Jay at July 13, 2005 11:52 PMGot it, thanks.
Posted by: Jay at July 14, 2005 08:38 PM
