Films blocked by French strikers

The workers have been striking since August 2003

A shipment of film reels arriving for the Cannes Film Festivals, has been briefly blocked by showbusiness workers currently striking in France.

Around 100 artists and technicians stood in front of the gate at a warehouse in Garges-les-Gonesse, Paris, where the reels were delivered.

The workers have been on strike since last summer in protest at reforms which cut their benefits.

They have threatened to protest at the festival, which begins on Wednesday.

Previously, France's 100,000 industry employees qualified for year-round unemployment pay-outs if they worked for just three months.

Emergency

But changes introduced in January reduced the amount of benefits and the period in which they are received - while tightening requirements to qualify for them.

The French government has outlined an emergency plan to settle the strike, pledging 20m euros (£13.5m) to a fund to pay unemployment benefits to showbusiness workers.

They have said the fund would make payouts over a limited period to workers who clocked 507 hours over a 12-month period.

However, the CGT arts workers' union has rejected the deal and has warned the festival might still be disrupted.

Protests

The strike has already affected other major events in France.

Last summer, the Avignon Theatre Festival had to be cancelled due to protests by performing artists.

The Cannes Film Festival has little chance of being cancelled due to the strike, as it does not depend on part-time showbusiness workers.

The Festival is due to open with Pedro Almodovar's latest film Bad Education.