class struggle in imperialist countries

Goodyear Workers’ Clash Leaves 19 French Police Injured
Nineteen police officers were injured after clashes today with workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT) protesting the closing of a plant in France. Six of the police officers were taken for medical treatment, while one protester was arrested, the Paris police press office said. The protesters were throwing stones and other projectiles at the law enforcement officers, the police said. They were demonstrating in front of Goodyear’s French headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison, a western suburb of Paris. Last month, the 1,173 workers at Goodyear whose jobs are at risk demonstrated with their spouses and children in the town of Amiens, in northern France, where the U.S.’s largest tire-maker plans to close a plant. In a statement today, Goodyear said it condemns the “acts of violence.”
With the number of French jobless at a 15-year high — leaving about 3.17 million people seeking employment — labor unrest is turning into one of the biggest threats to the government of Socialist President Francois Hollande. Hollande, who promised to reverse the trend of rising joblessness by year- end, may be set to acknowledge that it’s a pledge he may not be able to keep. The CGT union condemned the “outburst of police violence,” it said in an e-mailed statement today. “Six employees have been injured, two of whom got a two-week medical leave,” the main union at the Goodyear plant said.