It is all set to
conclude for 2016 – as the World number two Andy Murray moved through the gears in Paris after a
couple of early five-set marathons, but he continued his fine form by ending
Wawrinka's hopes of repeating his 2015 success in the French capital. On the
other half, Novak Djokovic's hopes of landing an elusive Roland-Garros title
will come down to the final for the fourth time after the top seed dismantled
rising Austrian Dominic Thiem today. It
marks the Serb's 27th straight Grand Slam match victory and for the second time
in his career he stands just one win from becoming just the second man after
Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once. So Andy Murray Vs Novak Djokovic in Sunday's
final - a seventh Grand Slam final
meeting between the pair, Djokovic winning four of the previous six.
Moving away from
Tennis, much of France may soon come to a halt as more workers from different
industries join nationwide strikes over labor reforms, threatening to turn the
Euro 2016 soccer championships into a logistical nightmare when they start next
week. The French government has been
scrambling to keep gas stations from running dry and cities powered after
workers at oil refineries and nuclear plants walked off the job weeks ago, but
its worries grew worse Wednesday as transportation workers joined the strike,
hitting the country's rail and metro networks. Just a third of rail services were
running Thursday, and some air traffic controllers went on strike this week,
grounding at least 10,000 British airline passengers.
Households and
businesses throughout France have been left without power as part of a strike
by union workers against the country's controversial labor reform. It comes as
demonstrators hit the streets to voice their opposition to the legislation. Power
cuts in Saint-Nazaire led to some 120,000 households being left without
electricity just after 11am local time on Thursday. Electricity was also shut
off at the town hall of Tulle, and over 1 million homes in the Paris region
were switched over to a low-cost power supply, Reuters reported.
It comes after
members of the CGT union at 16 of France's 19 nuclear plants – which provide
the majority of the country's electricity – voted for a one-day strike
Wednesday. Along with addressing sector-specific demands, the strikes and power
cuts are aimed at protesting a much contested labor law reform forced through
by President Francois Hollande's Socialist government, which will make it
easier for employers to hire and lay off workers.
Almost half the
country's rail services were also brought to a halt on Thursday. The CGT said
its workers briefly halted departures from the Gare de Lyon station in Paris by
occupying the rail traffic control office. The CGT also said it cut off power
to the holiday home of the leader of French employers' body MEDEF, Pierre
Gattaz, after he accused the union earlier this week of acting like
“terrorists” and “thugs.”
If you are a fan
watching Roland Garros, this is another photo, you would wish to see – a masked
French protester swatting away a smoke
bomb using a Tennis racket at violent labor reform demonstration. MailOnline reports that tension over France's
new labor laws continues to boil over across the country with protesters and
riot police clashing in the western city of Nantes. Shown on this photo is a protester looking fit to hit the French Open at Roland Garros as
he used a tennis racket to return a tear gas canister during the demonstration,
which also saw a number of hooded youths smash shop windows in the city.
The government is
scrambling to end the wave of protests that has been taking place all over
France in recent months, fearing that they could disrupt the Euro 2016 football
championship. The French government has pleaded with protesters to end their
strikes and demonstrations, fearing the industrial action may put Euro 2016 at
risk. The open-ended national stoppage on the railways has reduced train
services by about half, a week before the June 10 opening of the Euro 2016
which should draw some 2.5 million fans, many from abroad. The disruption was
compounded by the worst flooding in at least 30 years as the Seine river broke
its banks in the center of Paris, forcing closure of a commuter train line and
a halt to barge transport on top of massive traffic jams on flooded motorways.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
3rd June 2016.
