A strike by French dockers on 4 January disrupted freight traffic at France's two busiest ports, Marseille and Le Havre. The one-day nationwide strike was called by the CGT union to protest the government's port reforms and support demands for compensation for workers exposed to asbestos. About 16 ships were prevented from docking at Fos-sur-Mer and Marseille, according to Marseille port officials.
The CGT union said all 1,800 freight workers in Le Havre and most of the 1,500 employees of the port authority had walked off the job. Under a law adopted in July 2008, France's seven major ports are turning to private companies to run many of their services to make them more competitive.
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