International News

Shortly before the opening of U.S. stock markets, the Nasdaq 100 index futures and Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 0.62% respectively at 2289.25 points from 0.60% to 1297.70 points. The Dow Jones was due in part to its decline from 0.44% to 12,041 points.

What foreshadow a third straight session of declines. Yesterday, the Dow Jones had however managed to reduce its losses throughout the day to finish on a slight decline of 0.9% to 12,105.8 points. The Nasdaq, which fell 2% in session was also limited the damage, finishing on a withdrawal of 1.2%. The Standard & Poor's 500, after losing more than 1%, did ultimately crumbled by 0.6%.

The escalating violence in Libya andthe outbreak, more vivid than ever, oil, continue to weigh heavily on markets, on both sides of the Atlantic.Especially since Libya has suspended exports of gold and black as the risks of contagion to other exporting countries is not excluded.

In this tense international situation, which could be added on Thursday, some concern investors face early elections in Ireland, macroeconomic indicators of the day will they manage to weigh?

Durable goods orders, new housing and unemployment

On the agenda on Thursday are expected, from 14.30, orders for durable goods in January, enrollment to unemployment benefits. Thereafter, at 16.00, new home sales. The weekly petroleum stocks are finally known, at 17:00.

Orders for durable goods are expected up 2.8% or 0.5% excluding transportation. 405,000 new jobless claims are also expected.The FHFA index of house prices should receive a decrease of 0.1%, while sales of new housing could fall by 7.3%.

GM and AIG publish their figures 4th quarter

On the corporate side, General Motors (GM) will announce its results for the fourth quarter before trading, while AIG to sacrifice the performance after market no fax cash advance.

Investors may also keep an eye on Procter & Gamble, whose chief financial officer, Jan Moeller, participates in a Consumer Analyst conference in the afternoon.

Sears Holdings has reported a quarterly profit decline because of poor sales from the department store chain that bears his name.

Limited Brands announced Wednesday night a 27% increase in earnings for the fourth quarter thanks to healthy sales of its lingerie brand Victoria's Secret.The group posted net earnings of 452.3 million dollars, or $ 1.36 per share, against 356.1 million ($ 1.08) a year ago.

Bank of America was sued by investors who require it to redeem their mortgage loans which are backed by over $ 1.06 billion of securities they hold. Net income for the fourth quarter fell to 374 million dollars (3.43 dollars per share), against 430 million dollars (3.74 dollars per share) a year ago.

Magna International announced yesterday that it returned to profit in the fourth quarter, production and sales of cars continues to increase worldwide. Net income for the automotive stood at $ 216 million, or 88 cents per share.A year ago, the equipment had suffered a loss of $ 139 million or 62 cents per share over the same period.

Moreover, airlines, including American Airlines (-6.55% at the end), United (-6.8%) and U.S. Airways (-7.5%) should still pay the price, this Thursday, Arab crisis and soaring oil prices running.

Hewlett Packard (-0.6%) for its part will probably be very guarded today, having been severely punished after publication of its results.

The Pentagon is expected to unveil on Thursday its decision on the mega contract for refueling tankers to the U.S. Air Force, for which Boeing and Europe's EADS are competing for several years.

The Daily finally arrives. Feared by some and eagerly anticipated by others, the newspaper for exclusive iPad Rupert Murdoch was launched Wednesday with fanfare at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The event was originally scheduled at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco on January 19 last, but technical problems with the platform distribution would upset these plans. The announcement in the meantime the sudden departure on sick leave from Apple CEO Steve Jobs did not help matters. It is the vice president of Internet services from Apple, Eddy Cue, who replaced him. Apple has introduced a service that allows readers to subscribe to a publication directly from iTunes and see the newspaper delivered automatically on the iPad.

The Daily is the second newspaper designed exclusively for the Apple tablet.The Virgin boss Richard Branson, The Project was launched last November, a $ 2.99 monthly chic ranked eleventh in today's list of most popular publications of the tablet. The Daily him, is priced at $ 0.99 per week, initially in the U.S., or $ 40 per year. His first "A" shows a photograph taken in Egypt under the title "The Fall of a Pharaoh." Inside are 100 pages of articles, photos, videos and commercials, as well as weather, games and a section devoted to sports.

11% of revenues from the press

The News Corp credit reports free.. has so far spent $ 30 million to finance the launch. The operating cost will be $ 500,000 per week. The goal is to sell "millions of applications," said Rupert Murdoch.Eventually, declinations will be offered on other tablets, particularly those operating with the operating system Android, from Google.

The success or otherwise of the new daily fee on the iPad, which has no fewer than 60,000 applications, followed closely by the world press. The News Corp.., Owner of the British tabloid News of the World and the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal, hopes that the digital tablets like Apple will revive an industry in crisis, ignored by readers and advertisers.

Number of daily, weekly and monthly paid versions have launched online with more or less success in recent months. United States, online advertising now accounts for only 11% of total advertising revenue of the press, according to the American Association of Newspapers.Advantageous compared with a price, The Daily could overshadow Ongo, the new kiosk line funded by the New York Times, Washington Post and Gannett, are the analysts. For $ 7 per month, Ongo offers a selection of the most popular items of the three newspapers and the AP and the Financial Times.

Egypt is safer. After the violent demonstrations against Mubarak in recent days, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends to "defer all travel" to the non-emergency countries. One can read in the Travel section of the site of the Quai d'Orsay that "French people there are asked to limit their movements to a minimum and to stay away from crowds."

Accordingly, the National Union of Travel Agencies (SNAV) said on Sunday suspended all departures vacationers "until further notice." Notably, "there will be no departures tomorrow (Monday)," said Georges Colson, chairman of the professional organization. For clients on site, they "extend their stay and return without incident happen normally. Charter flights are parties to seek empty of customers.There was no notable incident. "Toursits Nearly 1,000 French are still in the country. They were 4,000 in the beginning of the weekend, according to tour operators.

Customers affected by the suspension of departures "may defer travel free at a later date on Egypt or any other destination programmed by the tour operator, has previously provided the Centre for the Study of tour operators (CETO) in a statement flexcheck cash advance.

By Friday evening, the French tour operators have suspended all departures scheduled this weekend to Egypt, following a request from French Foreign nationals "limit" their movements in this country. In 2010, 600,000 French surrendered in Egypt. Belgian tour operators have also decided on Saturday to suspend departures until Monday included.They do not plan to repatriate their customers already there.

Contagion events in North Africa has enough to worry the French tour operators. Tunisia is the first travel destination of the French, ahead of Morocco and Egypt.

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Received, two on two! Wednesday after Portugal, Spain and Italy have passed their test in the financial markets Thursday. The only problem is that the two countries have conducted such operations in interest rates sharply higher: 4.542% for Spain (against 3.387% in the previous issue) and 3.67% for Italy ( against 3.24%).

As a result, the CAC 40 moved closer still just over 4,000 points at 3974.83 points exactly. The index in Paris Will it ended the week by breaking the psychological barrier? It would take an increase in the CAC 40 0.63% reach the milestone. Nothing is less certain, after Wall Street finished Thursday down slightly disappointed by the increase in weekly jobless claims.

And especially after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged caution after the success of these bond issues.The IMF considers that Europe is still struggling to reassure investors.

Trading volumes higher

At the opening, the CAC 40 index opened slightly lower Friday morning: -0.34% to 3961.04 points. At the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE-100 fell by 0.11% to 6017.25 points, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the DAX 30 lost 0.28% to 7055.42 points.

Amidst all these economic uncertainties, there are still signs of hope: the trade volumes have returned to normal levels even higher. Thursday, 4.8 billion euros were traded and 4.2 billion on Wednesday.

On the macroeconomic front, are scheduled:

In France:

– The benchmark index reached 119.17 in rents in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to figures released Friday by the INSEE.In one year, increases of 1.45%.

In Europe:

– Sales of new cars fell 5.5% in 2010 in the EU compared to the previous year at 13.36 million cars.

– Foreign trade in November (11:00) and the second estimate of inflation in December (11:00) in the euro area

United States:

– Inflation in December (14.30)

– Retail sales in December (14.30)

– Industrial production in December (15.15)

– The first estimate of the index of consumer confidence from the University of Michigan in January (3:55 p.m.)

– Inventories and business sales in November (16 hours)

On the currency markets, the euro fell back against the yen at 1110.39 (-0.1%), and continued its momentum against the dollar at 1.3372 (+0.18%).

Carrefour confirms its objectives

Carrefour: 1.99% to 34.06 euros

Carrefour on Thursday confirmed its objective of operating income during 2010. The group last year recorded a growth of 5.8% of its sales to current exchange rates, thanks to the good performance of emerging countries payday loan.

Technip: 1.54% to 74.97 euros

Technip announced Friday it had won a contract from Chevron for the field development Jack and St. Malo, located in a water depth of approximately 2100 meters in the Walker Ridge area in the Gulf of Mexico.

Accor: 0.98% to 35.45 euros

Accor announced the sale of the walls of 49 hotels in France, Belgium and Germany to a consortium of Predica, Crédit Agricole subsidiary of Insurance (80%), and Land Walls (20%), amounting total of 378.4 million euros.

Renault: +0.40% at 48.44 euros

The complaint against X Thursday by Renault industrial espionage which he says victim is a foreign corporation, said the Paris prosecutor.

For his part, Peugeot climbed 1.38% to 32.32 euros, despite the decline of 5.5% of new car registrations in the European Union last year.

Intel's results boost values computer

After the good results on Thursday from Intel, the computer values show the largest increases in the CAC 40: Cap Gemini rises from 1.43% to 36.23 euros, ST Microelectronics rose 1.32% to 8.98 euros.

Aeroports de Paris: +0.08% at 59.05 euros

The government and airline officials agreed Thursday in a dozen measures to better cope with falling snow have disrupted traffic in late December.

Sanofi-Aventis: 0.29% to 51.95 euros

The U.S. ally Sanofi-Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb said Thursday the recall of 64 million tablets of Avalide, a treatment against hypertension in the United States and Puerto Rico.Moreover, the French laboratory hopes to conclude its takeover bid for Genzyme around $ 76 per share against 69 previously.

Bank stocks battered

Despite the success of bond issues, bank stocks were battered on Friday: Societe Generale, biggest drop of the CAC 40 lost 1.79% to 44.40 euros, Natixis was down 1.11% to 3.84 euros, Credit Agricultural loose 1.01% to 10.30 euros and BNP Paribas dropped 0.93% to 51.21 euros.

First U.S. bank to issue this year, JP Morgan Chase will present its fourth quarter results on Friday to 13 hours.

Stallergènes: -0.02% to 58.89 euros

Stallergenes reported Thursday of a rise of 12% of its turnover in 2010 but he confirmed anticipate a slowdown in growth for its new fiscal year.

Veolia: -0.57% to 22.77 euros

The city of Paris should entrust its lighting contract of 900 million euros sweat ten years to a consortium consisting of Bouygues (-0.09% to 33.11 euros) and Vinci (+0.05% at 41.22 Euro) at the expense of a subsidiary of Veolia Citelium, and EDF (+0.34% to 31.2 euros), according to Les Echos.

November 16, a diamond merchant in London, Laurence Graff, disbursing 46.16 million dollars to afford a pink diamond the rarest and finest ever auctioned. Ten days later, Hong Kong, a stock bought another diamond pink diamond of 14.2 carats for $ 23 million, setting a record in Asia. These two examples alone summarize the health of the diamond market in 2010. This shows an annual growth of 5%, allowing it to regain its 2008 level.

In Jerusalem which was in November the plenary of the Kimberley Process, the system of global regulation, the diamond merchants rubbed their hands. Avi Paz, president of the World Federation of Diamond Exchange, said when the press he was "very good results since the United States are not yet fully emerged from the recession."

Asian billionaires, engines of growth

The Americans are in fact the first world consumers of diamonds. They absorb half of the $ 13 billion of rough diamonds produced worldwide each year. But since the 2008 crisis, weakening their claim to the benefit of developing countries. According to the CEO of De Beers, the world's number one industry, the demand for the latter is already able to offset declining U.S. demand. According to analysts' forecasts, Chinese consumers would dethrone the Americans in the next 10 years.

Overall, Asia has been the key driver of demand in 2010. Evidence of this dynamic: a diamond exchange opened its doors in South Korea and the Bombay Stock Exchange has been completely renovated.In the area of cut diamonds, India has also become a fierce competitor to the major exchanges in Tel Aviv, New York and Antwerp. In 2010, Israeli lapidary saw their exports to U.S. fall by 28% over the first seven months of the year while the Indian lapidary saw them surge 25%.

Opaque sector

Despite the optimistic outlook, the diamond market is largely ignored by investors. Few fund managers can speak on this subject. "This is a difficult area to define. The diamond prices change depending on the color, clarity, weight (carat) and the cup, which is not the case with other raw materials.It is difficult to invest in a company in this field because its valuation will fluctuate greatly appreciate the characteristics of diamonds that are mined, "says Emmanuel Painchault, head of equity management infrastructure and raw materials at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management guaranteed pay day loans.

The opacity of the sector also weighed heavy. The diamond market is highly concentrated. Seven countries share nearly 80% of world production: Russia, Botswana, Australia, China, Canada, Angola and South Africa. As for diamond mines, only three players control extractions: the South African De Beers, the world, the Russian state company Alrosa and Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto. Pricing is a big question mark. Diamonds worth in fact $ 13 billion in gross but their extraction weigh between 64 and 72 billion dollars in wholesale jewelry."It is not clear, prices are more determined on a case by case, we do not know the status of stocks in a market where the diamonds are kept to create scarcity," laments one in Edmond Rothschild Asset Management.

The scourge of "blood diamonds"

Moreover, despite the good performance of 2010, diamonds continue to suffer from their bad reputation. The scandal of diamonds "dirty" used to finance wars and rebellions, illustrated by the movie Blood Diamond in 2006, making investors extremely cautious. The Kimberley Process, established in 2002 under a UN mandate, trying to bring more clarity to the certification process. But difficulties remain. So last November, the 75 member states of the committee failed to agree on the complete recovery of Zimbabwe's exports, which were suspended a year earlier.According to human rights organizations of human rights, military have taken control of local mines Marange in eastern Zimbabwe, considered the most promising in Africa. They have killed over 200 people passing.

These figures are difficult to verify but they are enough to deter investors from a market which remains highly promising. "Raw materials constitute a risk area. It is important to have a vision as fair as possible to the supply, demand and stocks. So be careful, "Emmanuel Painchault slice.

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After the ashes, snow. The capricious weather this year is sowing panic in transport. Cancellations of flights, trains, airport closures … Thousands of people have been crowding in the terminals, postpone or cancel their trip. Enough to put all the passengers on the nerves, especially if they have already experienced the episode of ash cloud from the volcano in Iceland last April. The crisis management and administrative maze to hope for reimbursement of travel has left bad memories.Despite the appointment of a mediator by the government, consumer groups had expressed regret that most travelers have not been compensated.

No force majeure

Yet the law is explicit: the ash cloud, such as snowfall, are "exceptional circumstances which require European airlines, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swiss take their responsibilities," says Nicolas Godfrey, a lawyer in the UFC- Que Choisir. Force majeure can not be invoked. Carriers must assist their passengers, guarantee repayment of notes and cover the costs they incurred following delays and cancellations. These rules apply to all passengers stranded at European airports even if traveling with a foreign company to the European Union. And "assistance does not provide a cot, but a real hosting solution.If for the moment the situation seems rather better managed than the last time, we still saw too many people sleeping in airport lounges, "says he regrets that not all airlines are not the same zeal to fulfill their obligations and satisfy their customers.

Refunds for Flights

Because of new snowfall expected on Wednesday evening, several companies provide on their websites instructions to manage its reservation. Air France offers its customers who want to leave before Dec. 25, a telephone number (January 1957 October 2, 1958) to obtain the free modification of their reservation in the same class. The company says it still places and agrees to take care of tariff differences.People who want to travel after December 26 can also modify their reservation at no extra cost but will have to pay the price difference with another price. For travelers who prefer a refund of their ticket, the company invites them to approach the seller (Air France office, travel agency or online form on the Internet cash advances pay day loan. Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, CEO of Air France-KLM told AFP that there was "no additional compensation."

EasyJet and Ryanair also on site exchange service reservation and make available a form for reimbursement for canceled flights.

Finally, when the weather prevented people who had bought a trip flight + accommodation to enjoy their entire program, the agency is required to change it.If the changes are not appropriate, clients may request a refund of all or part of the trip.

Traffic near normal at SNCF

If Eurostar announces a gradual return to normal for TGV rolling in the Channel Tunnel, the railway company that no longer calls the passengers to postpone their trip, however, recalls that all its trains were full until Sunday, December 26. Persons in possession of valid tickets between 19 and 24 December, knowing that no train will flow 25 may also exchange their reservation or request a refund. Exchanges are free at the point of original sale within 60 days after the date of original travel, for travel within 90 days. For bookings made directly with Eurostar, please send an email to contactus@eurostar.com giving your booking reference.Refunds will be processed and confirmed by email within 10 days.

Few passengers of the SNCF had to face cancellation of their train. In a statement, the rail company said that despite the difficult weather conditions, 1.4 million passengers took the train last weekend and were able to go on vacation. 97% of trains and circulated throughout the territory. People who have nevertheless found blocked should not expect reimbursement. SNCF does not support the delay that the cause is not its responsibility.

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"On pension reform, employers and unions have continued to talk." After this reform has given rise to serious wrangling between government and unions, the president of MEDEF, Laurence Parisot, now wants to look ahead. Objective: To revive the dialogue. "We believe in the power of the peer," she told Europe 1 radio on Sunday. And for that, she will invite leaders of various unions to meet to establish a "social agenda on the next two years."

For the president of MEDEF, we must find a way to "expedite all ongoing negotiations," including one on the modernization of institutions representing the personnel and the modernization of the peer.It is also necessary, she said, packing "obvious negotiations on supplementary pension schemes Agirc-Arcco.

"The government must establish more harmony in our country"

Laurence Parisot also expecting much from the new government. "We expect the new government's ability to establish a little more harmony in our country," she said.

Among the main issues she will discuss with them the job market. "We will diagnose the labor market," says the president of MEDEF. Freshly maintained his position as prime minister by the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Fillon said in a statement "to be firmly in a new stage which will allow our country to strengthen its economic growth in the service employment. For the president of MEDEF, the creation of jobs through the SOHO and SMEs."We must have the attitude of SMEs and to show solidarity with these companies, which may be both the most vulnerable, but also the first to leave."

"Continue to reduce deficits"

One of his goals is to bring the juniors and seniors. "There is a misconception that we have heard much that would be: a senior citizen who stays longer in the job is a job for a young and less," she insisted. We must, enterprises, we thought the relationship senior juniors in the same way. That is why we are considering the establishment of mechanisms for mentoring between junior and senior. "

Who said creating more jobs, said to boost this growth. Therefore continue to reduce deficits for Laurence Parisot. "If we continue in this direction, we could reach 3% or 4% growth by 2015. Otherwise, social issues will become dramatic. "The government has planned at least 40 billion euros in savings in the 2011 budget. Objective: To reduce the public deficit of 7.7% this year to 6% in late 2011.

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From our special correspondent in Seoul, Alexandrine Bouilhet.

The G20 just to bury the hatchet on the coins. Meeting of Heads of State and Governments of the twenty largest world powers opened last night in a tense, because of the strong opposition between Chinese and Americans on the front of currencies. "When we discussed the terms of currencies, the atmosphere was so stuffy in the room, we had to open the door!" Said one diplomat Korean.

The working dinner of Heads of State, chaired by the Korean Lee Myung Bak, failed to find an acceptable compromise."All countries must make concessions," urged the South Korean president, who had deliberately placed the dinner, President Barack Obama in front of his main opponents on the issue of currency: Hu Jintao (China) Lula da Silva (Brazil), Angela Merkel (Germany), and Dmitry Medvedev (Russia).

At dinner, Chinese and Americans insisted on the "need for cooperation," but, on the coins, they are sticking to their positions: Hu Jintao will not be imposed by the G20 a revaluation of the yuan more candid when he accuses the United States, issued the world's reserve currency, to depreciate the dollar voluntarily. The Chinese are not alone in criticizing the U.S. monetary policy.Europeans, Angela Merkel at the head, then Russians and Brazilians said to Barack Obama all the evil they thought the Fed's decision to inject $ 600 billion into the monetary system, to revive the economy.

The U.S. president was forced to defend the action of the Federal Reserve, in principle independent, placing it in an uncomfortable situation. Barack Obama has assured his peers especially that "the U.S. does not seek to weaken the dollar to gain in competitiveness. Not always convincing.

Towards a compromise "less ambitious" than that of Gyeongju

Failing agreement between heads of state, the "sherpas" G20 continued to work until 3 am on the final communique. But they went to bed without finding a satisfactory compromise."We want to send a message criticizing the competitive devaluations, as the notorious undervaluation of certain currencies, but in the present context, it is not easy!" Said one trader.

At this stage, the proposed compromise on the currency would be "less ambitious" than that reached by the G20 Finance Ministers, in Gyeongju (Korea). "The Fed's decision has robbed the Chinese, which brought us one step back," lamented a European diplomat.

"Need for sustainable growth and balanced"

Failing to extract a commitment on the Chinese yuan, the U.S. insists to get in the final communique, firm commitments for the reduction of current account imbalances. "We want to stimulate growth at home but also abroad," urged Barack OMAB.This should translate to Americans, by creating a new "mechanism" requiring exporting countries China, Germany, Japan to reduce their current account surpluses, which would translate into practice by opening new markets to foreign companies . Washington has given up trying to impose the limits of 4% surplus or deficits, a goal firmly rejected by Berlin before the summit.

But Barack Obama insists: if domestic demand and falling deficits in the United States, without China or other countries with high savings take over consumption, "it will result in a decrease of growth" for the world wide. "You see, we find an agreement by all countries including Germany, the fact that we need a sustainable and balanced growth," said Barack Obama.Answer today in Seoul.

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lefigaro.fr / jdf.com – Unemployment remains very high, growth for this year looks soft (OECD expects U.S. GDP growth of 1.5% in 2010, Ed). Could we expect that?

David Kalfon – It's a real disappointment given the amounts that have been injected into the financial system, that is to say, the $ 800 billion in the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP – Name Secretary to the Treasury of the United States – implemented from September 2008 to address the financial crisis) and the many unconventional actions taken by the U.S. central bank. The difference with the resumption of U.S. corporate profits have rebounded strongly since 2008 is obvious. However, if we analyze the situation correctly, this gap between macroeconomics and microeconomics is not so surprising as that.

To restore their operating margins, companies have been very aggressive in their restructuring costs declined sharply. What was the logical consequence of increasing the rate of unemployment (two years, from about 5% to 10%, Ed). Today, financial markets do not know who to trust. They oscillate between good corporate health and chilling the speech of the U.S. central bank.

Next Wednesday, the Fed should just announce in detail the measures it intends to take to support the economy. What should you expect?

I think that financial markets expect the Fed probably too much and its measures to support the economy. One can wonder about their effectiveness. Indeed, this "Quantitative Easing 2" (monetary easing) is the recognition of the failure of the Quantitative Easing 1 ".This monetary easing is likely the specter of deflation, but at what price? In reality, everything will depend on the tone adopted by the Fed than the amounts it will announce.

If investors and households feel its determination to support the economy, it could anchor inflation expectations in the minds of various economic agents. They will then be convinced that we must invest, borrow and consume now, because tomorrow, inflation will result in higher prices and higher cost of credit to what we enjoy today. A virtuous circle can be a lasting positive impact on the U.S. economy.

Next week will also feature the midterm elections in the United States. What should you expect as well?

If the Republicans win, the constraints on budget spending will be more stringent.From there, the dollar should strengthen the American economy and be penalized in the short term, a weak dollar is helping U.S. exports.

How are financial markets behave?

With these two appointments of monetary policy and fiscal stance, we should expect that financial markets are very volatile. One might wonder with an increase of 13% S & P 500 in a straight line on the last two months how the rates are not already incorporate a favorable outcome. If the news is disappointing, there is no doubt that the U.S. indices will consolidate. However, given the recent behavior of the indices, even with good news, it is not obvious to see the S & P 500 continue to rise unabated.

What attitudes must take investors?

I advise investors to remain relatively cautious and not take excessive risks. After thoroughly enjoyed the upward movement of the markets, and particularly the technology sector, we have decided to take a portion of our earnings and reduce our exposure somewhat action pending announcements next week, leaving to reposition itself quickly once the uncertainty lifted.

While large retailers announced this morning that thousands of service stations are out of stock and that strikes were continuing in the twelve metropolitan refineries, truck drivers have joined, as they had suggested this weekend, mobilization against the pension reform. As a result of blockages or deposit of industrial zones are multiplying across the country. Some have not taken the night, others continue on Monday.

Thus, thirty unionists since Sunday night block inputs and outputs of a logistics site in Carbon-Blanc (Gironde), which supplies fresh produce every supermarket group Auchan's southwest, officials said Monday morning from a trade unionist.According to Jean-Pierre Mespoulède, EDF employee and trade union CGT, teachers, railway and road transport workers involved in picketing, which aims to "stop the manufacturing process of wealth in order to get negotiations with the government"

At Le Mans, where the road had established roadblocks filtering 22h Sunday night, the area south of the industrial area was still blocked Monday by hundreds of protesters, all unions combined. The trucks are stopped using harrows craft and forced to park at the roadside. The congestion created a total ban on access to oil depot of Le Mans.

Deposits and oil terminals blocked

In the middle of night, the two oil depots of Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy, as well as that of Saint-Pierre des Corps, near Tours and Ruby near Rouen, was again blocked.These four deposits had already been blocked for several hours last Friday. Began around four o'clock that night according to police, the oil terminal in Port-la-Nouvelle (Aude) is also blocked on Monday mid-day with a hundred people on foot, mainly truckers that prevent all trucks coming to refuel. "We'll stay on until we can," said Joseph Sieiro the CFDT Transport Languedoc-Roussillon adding that he expected that "reinforcements interprofessional" are involved in blocking the course of the day.

The oil terminal at Fos-Lavera near Marseille, entered his 21th day on strike, blocking roads in 61 vessels including 47 tankers. To Lyon, blocking the fuel depot of Saint-Priest was up early this morning."We have blocked access to the deposit of one hundred trucks to deliver supplies from supermarkets and we left around 6:30 as planned," said Secretary General of Transport Rhone CFDT.

The game of cat and mouse

At Lorient (Morbihan), the game of cat and mouse continues. About thirty demonstrators blocked to half past three this night, a roundabout giving access to the port area where they were evicted by police an hour later, said Jean-Paul Le Dantec, the CFDT. Around half past six, the protesters, who received the backing of dockers, again blocked access to the port area. However, the oil depot was under control of law enforcement, "he said. In Brest, it is students have stepped in to block the protesters from the port fuel depot.At first repulsed by the police, they retreated to the two roundabouts leading to the filing, denying access to the port to thirty trucks.

In Dunkirk, dozens of opponents of pension reform try to block since this morning two fuel depots. Of road, railway, as well as employees of Total were present to form human barriers, playing "cat and mouse" with police, according to Philippe Wullens, Steward South Total refinery at Dunkirk . The prefecture, which confirmed the presence of 80 demonstrators, however, indicated that the deposits were not bloqués.Selon Mr. Wullens, a dozen trucks were out of deposits, but none could enter."We make mobile actions," said Philippe Toulouse, secretary of the CGT union local of Dunkirk. "It is not for confrontation," he added, explaining that the police were already on hand for the arrival of the demonstrators and that they alternately blocking fuel depots and the entrance from highway 25, up from Grande-Synthe (North).

Tension mounts between government and unions

Despite these many obstacles morning, FNTR, the main federation of motor carriers did not expect Monday at ten o'clock, a social movement to scale in the sector."Trade unions of employees to succeed nationally to mobilize a few hundred employees but we do not think it could be a widespread movement," said Nicolas Paulissen, Executive Assistant FNTR

For his part, Christian Estrosi industry minister said on RTL radio: "There will be no obstacle for companies, not blocking transport, not blocking the road users." Last night on TF1, Prime Minister Francois Fillon has warned the protesters. "The right to strike is not the right to prevent access to a fuel depot, it is an illegal action," he said. "I will not let our country block, I will not let the French economy choked by a blockade of fuel supplies."Right before the Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux had said he would appeal again "if necessary" force to "unlock the deposits."

While the government is sticking to its positions and hopes a slowing of movement, the unions are desperate to reopen the debate. "The country is not blocked. That said, the disruption on daily life begins to be real. The country is rooted in the mobilization sustainable, "warned the CGT leader Bernard Thibault, who has called for" suspend "the votes in the Senate. "If the dialogue resumed this week, the problem is solved," urged his counterpart of the CFDT, Francois Chereque, about the "risk of economic stagnation."

But not all unions are not in agreement on the method to adopt for relaunching the debate on reform.The CFE-CGC (frames) reported on Monday that it "condemns the actions of blocking and general strike" against the pension reform, the secretary general also stating that the trade union no longer participate in the events after that of Tuesday. "We are not in line to fight the government but to influence pension reform. From the moment the Senate after the National Assembly adopts the law, the context will be different, "said Carole Covered, general secretary of the Central Association, confirming this position.

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