Port Workers Begin Rolling Strikes
Unions representing port workers in France have announced a series of strikes to protest pension reform that may impact shipments leaving or arriving in the country.
The industrial action follows a 48-hour national strike between January 30-31 and a four-hour walkout on February 4. More four-hour walkouts are now planned for February 6, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20, 24, 26, and 28 February and will include the country’s two largest container ports of Le Havre and Marseilles.
According to RailFreight.com, the AUTF shipper’s association has warned of “serious operational and financial consequences” and “disruption to freight flows and business activity coming to a halt”, with the potential for additional costs of demurrage, detention, parking, and waiting time for containers to be dropped off or picked up.
While the four-hour walkouts are unlikely to affect shipping schedules, any repeat of the 48-hour industrial action could result in vessels being diverted to other ports in Europe.
Neer Service will continue to keep our partners advised of developments.
Growth in Americans Moving to France
Americans made up the fifth-largest recipients of new French residency cards in 2024, as the number of United States citizens moving to France continues to increase.
According to the Connexion, preliminary data published by the Interior Ministry show that 13,000 Americans received their first residency cards during the year, a 5% increase from 2023, only behind, Moroccans, Algerian, Tunisian, and Chinese citizens in the number of residency cards and visas delivered to residents in France and visitors in 2024.
In total, an estimated 336,710 new residency cards were issued in France in 2024, an increase of 1.8% from the previous year. The number of residency permits that were renewed also increased to a total of 879,790, with the number of renewals related to economic reasons, such as employment, increasing by 10.5%.
In contrast to American’s, the number of first-time residency cards issued to citizens of the United Kingdom fell by 10% to 8,400, the third year in a row the number has reduced.
