French ports blockade leaves tourists stranded

THE French ports of Marseille and Bastia remained blocked yesterday by angry union members, amid a sometimes-violent privatisation dispute which has disrupted sea trade and left thousands of tourists stranded on Corsica island.

A first group of nearly 600 of the 15,000 holiday-makers stranded on Corsica left Ajaccio’s seaport in Corsica Saturday after riot police removed striking workers angered at government plans to privatise the state-owned ferry company SNCM.

The relieved tourists boarded the cargo and passenger vessel Girolata, along with their cars, and left for the mainland port of Toulon under maritime police escort.

While striking workers put up no resistance, violence flared later following the island’s largest demonstration in years.

Hooded youths battled police in Corsica’s other main port at Bastia, severely injuring one officer.

Later a powerful explosion damaged an unmanned French customs patrol boat moored in Bastia’s old harbor.

The explosion blew a 40-centimetre (16-inch) hole in the ship’s side at deck level, as well blowing out most of the windows, according to an AFP correspondent.

“There is a strong chance it was an attack,” said a police officer at the scene, although local Prefect Gilbert Payet said there was probably no link with the trade union unrest.

The 13-day old labour dispute over government plans to sell off the debt-ridden SNCM ferry company has taken on dangerous nationalist overtones on Corsica, an island that has been prey to separatist violence for more than 30 years.

In the biggest crisis to hit his four-month old administration, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has been trying to negotiate the sale of the SNCM to private investment firm Butler Capital Partners

This has provoked outrage from a strongly militant labour force.