France: Le Monde strike to take place April 14

Employees at Le Monde voted Tuesday, April 8, to go on strike to protest the management's decision to cut 130 positions, in what will be the first strike in the newspaper's history.

At a meeting Tuesday morning, an overwhelming majority of the appoximately 300 members of the editor's society voted to stage a 24-hour strike on Monday, April 14. They also announced the decision not publish the Tuesday edition of the paper.

President of Le Monde Eric Fottorino said that he had planned to address employees next Monday to discuss the staff cuts. He declared himself disappointed that employees chose instead to declare a strike "in an informal manner, tallying votes through raising hands" before he had an opportunity to explain his decision, reports AFP.  

This latest issue represents only the third threat of a strike since Le Monde's founding in 1944. The prior two instances were resolved before employees went on strike.

Source: AFP