In a massive stoke of fortune (or is misfortune?), I was in France when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) strike happened.

In it, I was among the thousands that was stranded at Heathrow because of the strike happening in France. I am in-transit from KL to Toulouse with a group of other journalists to witness the new Airbus 350 that Malaysia Airlines is buying and leasing from Airbus Corp.

The ATC strike is carried out by the controller’s union and they are stopping work as part of a national strike against the labour reform policies that newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron is carrying out.



It is worth noting that Macron wasn’t too popular in certain segments of the labour population, despite winning swathes of popular support from the general public.

On-the-ground, the French is divided on the ATC strike.

I interviewed an airport worker, Jacque Villanue on why he agrees with the ATC strike despite him being stranded at Heathrow along with me. He says that “the culture in France is we protect the laborers. France is a republic that is meant for the people and not the elites”.

I asked another traveler Madam Bisoux, if she concurs with the above view. She says that “if the aim is to disrupt public order, then the ATC union must be happy for themselves. But must your joy be at the expense of others?”.

I’ll be in France in a few hours, and I will continue my observation on the strike.
Note: Smart Money with Ibrahim Sani is going international this month. For now, he is going to London, Toulouse, Paris, Munich, Tokyo. Let Ibrahim Sani knows what you want to look out for. using #AWANImarkets. He will read it, promise Smart Money airs on @501Awani daily.