Apparently a call has been made for a general strike in Portugal on Nov 24th as protest against the austerity measures, tax and Vat rises.
Given similar events in France , Greece and Spain we should not be surprised.

Trichet ( head of the ECB ) has stated that the bank has not intention to renew financial easing which is one of the reason why the Euro has risen so much against the £ and dollar.

How a strong Euro will benefit the poorer EU countries like Portugal who struggle to export is open to debate .

The French, especially, and the Germans don't give a toss about the weaker countries in the community...........as long as they prosper that is all that matters....so much for cordiale!!

I sat for 2 hours in a strike induced traffic jam just outside Calais this week. Thankfully coming from Rouen (where there were also jams) I was heading for Eurotunnel but I imagine that the time would have doubled if I was going for the ferry terminal which is further east.
If there was a World Cup for organising strikes then the French would win hands down - the Portuguese should get some tips from them

The french are certainly revolting

On boarding our flight at Bristol yesterday morning we were warned that we could be in for a long wait as the French ATC were on a work to rule.
We were lucky and after a short delay were given a slot using a longer route and arrived only 15 mins late.

The public announcement system at Faro was full of delays 2-3 hours was not unusual.

With regard to industrial action, the British are far more civilized with a nice cup of tea to discuss what to do. The French seem to strike at anything - even at matches!

A decade or two ago with those lamb wars in France, a few demonstrators overhauled a few British trucks and burned the trucks with the lambs and sheep in them. Utterly horrifying and barbaric.

The most effective militant action in the UK in recent memory was Tony Blair and that fuel accelerator impending duty increases, The country was then at ransom with fuel blockades and the government soon caved in.

A general strike here and there at one day at a time is ineffective and at best a temporary inconvenience. Unless there is something deeply unfair and unjust then a strike is deemed reasonable. For the French to strike about increasing the retirement age when at present it is far lower than the UK is so arrogant. Anyway, they should be bloody lucky to be in jobs to contribute to a state pension, in the first place! Rant over!