French right to fly in the face of O’Leary

FIRST, a warning to those who might want to avoid the next 1,100 words. If you’ve been stuck in an airport waiting to go somewhere, waiting to get home from somewhere, trying to stay calm, trying to keep kids calm, feeling yourself sinking into a quicksand of frustration and misery, with the only hands within reach of pulling you out rendered limp from that frustration and misery, do not read on.

If you missed, or were late, to a pal’s wedding, your own wedding, a job interview, a sales pitch, your first holiday in five years, your first holiday ever, your precious family time, me time or anywhere-but-work time, the following paragraphs will not make you feel any better.

At times like this, calls for a ban on strikes by workers in essential services seem utterly sensible, proportionate and just. It does seem incredibly unfair that the gripes of one set of workers — in this case, French air traffic controllers — should be allowed to cause disruption, disappointment, and expense for tens of thousands of others.