French threaten a second blockade
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• French truckers plan to take their transport minister to court over the penalty points system which sparked July's motorway blockades.
The Federation Nationale de Transport Routiers says it wants to take minister Georges Sarre to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on the grounds that the loss of a licence could affect drivers' freedom of movement. The union also claims that French law deprives licence holders of the right of appeal.
Truckers' unions are still threatening strike action folio wing a drivers' meeting at Avallon on Saturday (5 September). But a militant union's call for a renewed nationwide strike to start on Monday night seems to have been largely ignored.
However the moderate driver's union SCPR, which organised the weekend meeting, says it will not wait forever for its government to act.
Spokeswoman Elisabeth Delvart says: "We won't wait beyond 15 September for a reply because after the Maastricht referendum on 20 September there would be little chance of getting any concessions."