Sarkozy faces fresh test over crisis

Agence France-Presse

Fired up by a poll showing three-quarters of the public back their movement, unions and leftist parties hope to draw more than a million workers into the streets for their second show of force against the government in two months. One-day rally comes against a backdrop of mounting anger over job losses and factory closures, as France and its neighbors feel the bite of a recession that appears set to last well into 2010.

"Everyone knows a neighbor or a friend who is affected," said Francois Chereque of the CFDT, France's second biggest union. French unemployment has surged past eight percent with more than two million people out of work and another 350,000 set to lose their jobs this year, as the economy shrinks by up to 1.5 percent. To cushion the blow for the most vulnerable, unions hope to force Sarkozy to scrap plans to cut public sector jobs, reverse tax cuts handed out in 2007 and boost the minimum wage.