Hardline French union files public sector strike notice covering Olympics

Move allows CGT, which represents largest number of state employees in France, to call for industrial action over summer

Leaders of one of France’s most powerful unions have filed a strike notice allowing them to call for industrial action among public sector workers during the Olympic Games.

The move on Wednesday came after the hardline CGT union, which represents the largest number of state employees - including hospital staff - rejected suggestions of an Olympic “truce”. It follows a strike notice filed by the Force Ouvrière union, the second largest in the public sector, last month.